Life Lesson #1: Bullies Are Cowards at Heart

In the last seven decades I've watched bullies get away with their actions and I've also seen victims turn the tables on their tormentors.

In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive and include: 

An imbalance of power: kids who bully use their power - such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity - to control others.

In today's world there are four kinds of bullying: physical, verbal, relational, and cyberbullying. 

A bully's behavior runs the range from obvious and highly visible (punching or hitting) to subtle and virtually invisible to everyone except its victim and participants.

I remember when I was in 5th Grade, we had a schoolyard bully named Lyle who roamed about during recess picking on kids (that were usually smaller) and who made lunch time a trial for everyone. He was universally feared.

One day I was playing basketball with some buddies when Lyle walked up and suddenly snatched the ball out of my hands! 

I was so startled I just stood there speechless while anger slowly bubbled to the surface. Before he could react, I grabbed the ball back and started to walk away knowing he'd come after me. At the last moment I turned and said, "You want the ball?" and hurled it at his head. It made contact with his nose and blood gushed forth like a mini fountain from both nostrils.

At this point I should explain that he was a head taller than me and heavier. When Lyle burst into tears and grabbed his injured nose the spell was broken - he ran away bawling like a baby as my buddies and I watched with amusement. I never had a problem with Lyle again after that. I had exposed him as a coward.

Over the years I've seen bullies from all walks of life making it hell for those who are under them.

I've also watched many cases where the bully got what he deserved in the end.

Bullies in power pose a grave threat to societies all over the world. America is currently an example of that with Trump running roughshod over the Constitution, the judiciary, and every other agency in Washington DC. 

Like all bullies Trump is a coward. He avoided the draft by paying a physician to say he had bone spurs when of course he didn't have them. He directs his minions to do HIS dirty work of destroying our democracy.

Bullies have always been around as past civilizations have shown us. It's a character flaw that either comes naturally or by practicing. In Trump's case it's probably both. 

As it Stands, I think there's a time in a person's life when they have to stand up to a bully, regardless of how big he is. Right now, it's time for all Americans to stand up to Trumps assault on our freedoms.