‘Want to know what happens when bullying backfires? Here is everything you need to know to be encouraged to defend yourself against bullies.
In this post, you will learn what happens when bullying backfires.
Once you learn all about these crucial details, you will smile when you see a bully get their comeuppance. Moreover, you will be encouraged to defend yourself when a bully comes for you.
This post is all about what happens when bullying backfires, so that you will defend yourself when you face bullying.
When Bullying Backfires
It doesn’t happen often, I’m sad to say. However, there are times when bullying backfires in a big way. I’ve seen times when bullies bullied a victim and did not get the reaction or the attention they wanted.
Here’s what happens.
1. the victim gets sympathy from bystanders.
In most cases, bystanders become bullies themselves and join in. However, sometimes, they don’t and end up surprising you.
This happened to me a few times. However, it only occurred occasionally. Nevertheless, it was a relief when it did. There were times when I got sympathy from a few upperclassmen when I was in the ninth grade and being bullied.
And they helped me report the bullying. A few of them also stood up for me when a group of bullies tried to tag-team me in the school parking lot. And I could not have been more grateful to those older girls.
The point of this section is this. Sometimes, you will gain sympathy from bystanders when bullies gang up on you. It’s rare, but it happens. Therefore, when this does occur, be grateful and bask in it.
Also, you must see this as an opportunity to make friends with these people.
2. When Bullying Backfires:
The bully faces accountability.
Sometimes, people in authority do the right thing. However, this only happens rarely.
There will be times when your bullies do something foolish and end up exposing themselves to authority. Superiors may suspend, fire, or arrest the bully, leaving you off the hook for acting in self-defense.
I tell this from personal experience because it happened to me a few times in school. So it can for you too. And when it does, look at it with an attitude of gratitude.
3. The bully gets backlash.
Bullies love attention, and they’ll do anything to get it, especially if they have narcissistic personality disorder. However, their bully sometimes backfires, and they get attention they don’t want and never expected.
Instead of admiring them for their “strength,” witnesses only look down on them for being such assholes. Moreover, others may retaliate against them.
The last thing bullies want is to lose face. In fact, losing respect and admiration is what they fear most. They never expected it to backfire as it did. And now, they’re getting backlash they never thought possible!
Therefore, your bullies will likely leave you alone. Moreover, they will find someone else who is safer for them to bully.
4. When Bullying Backfires:
the bully loses credibility.
Believe it or not, bullies must work hard to keep up appearances and to maintain their fake facades. Bullies, especially popular ones, have an image to keep up, and they monitor themselves nonstop, twenty-four-seven.
Also, they must keep up with and remember all the lies they tell to keep their stories straight. Moreover, they often spend beyond their means to look like they have lots of money.
Is it any wonder that many bullies get charged with crimes like embezzlement, fraud, and theft? Most have to steal to keep up!
Bullies think that people must adore them at all times. They feel they have to be at the center of everything and that the world should revolve around them.
This is why most bullies are fakes, frauds, and impostors. Therefore, they have to hustle to keep that image that impresses others. Consequently, they mask their true selves. But understand that they do this out of insecurity.
Bullies aren’t happy with themselves and fear that their true selves will be exposed. And there are times when bystanders see them for the losers they are. Once others see through the bully’s facade, the bully becomes a laughingstock.
Although the bullies are afraid of looking weak and being bullied themselves, that is exactly what happens.
I’ve seen this happen many times. And, let me tell you! Hell hath no fury like bullies exposed. Be aware that your bullies will retaliate against you to tip the scales of power back in their favor. Therefore, you must be vigilant.
5. When Bullying Backfires:
The bully becomes a crybully.
Most bullies don’t mind provoking you over and over, but when you finally get fed up and show your ugly side, they aren’t only surprised but also offended. Realize that bullies are cowards. They’re also entitled little brats.
Why? Because they think they should be allowed to treat others any way they want without repercussions. They think that they are beyond reproach and feel that the world owes them.
Therefore, when you don’t bow down to them and take the abuse, they don’t like it. When you finally get fed up with their crap and respond in kind, they suddenly get their little feelings hurt.
They then morph into a crybaby who runs to the authority and cries like a little bitch. Think Nellie Olson and Nancy Olson in the TV series, “Little House on the Prairie.”
But see this for what it is. The bully is doing this to make you look like the bully and gain sympathy. And sadly, most bullies are successful at this. Therefore, it’s up to you to call out this behavior and ensure that you don’t take the blame for it.
So, don’t be afraid to name it and shame it.
6. They become a laughingstock.
Bullies must have approval from others at all times. And most bullies bully for it. And, if they don’t get approval, they feel inadequate. So they bully in front of an audience to get it.
Understand that bullies are simps. They only simp in ways that aren’t so obvious. However, understand that anyone who seeks approval, no matter how they do it, is a needy and pathetic human being.
Sadly, bullying usually gives them the attention they are looking for. However, in some cases, it only produces the opposite. Instead of cheering for and admiring them, bystanders only make fun of them. And rightfully so.
I’ve also seen this happen.
7. When Bullying Backfires:
The bully loses power.
When you take back your power, bullies react in various ways. This is because they feel a sense of dismissal or rejection when you stop letting them control you. Nobody likes being rejected and dismissed – especially by someone they consider inferior. That’s a blow to the ego like no other!
Why? Because the power dynamic automatically shifts in your favor.
Also, others may finally see them for the creeps they are and lose respect for them. So, they lose social power and influence as well.
The mighty always fall the hardest.
Here are several ways bullies lose power.
1. You stand up to the bully.
Anytime you stand up to a bully, you instantly change the power dynamic. In other words, you put the bully in a position of weakness and inferiority.
You flip the script and take the position of power over the bully. Bullies feel that they must always be in a position of power in the bully/victim relationship.
A bully gets angry enough when anyone stands up to them. But if the person standing up to them is someone they’ve grown accustomed to having power over, it makes them livid. But their anger only further exposes them.
You must realize the reason for this. This is because you’re likely at the bottom of the pecking order. So, when you finally buck up and stand up to a bully, you, figuratively, trade places with the bully and put them on the bottom, if only for that moment.
Bullies rely on fear. Therefore, when you show them you aren’t scared of them, they take a few steps back and rethink their decision to mess with you.
And when you’ve finally had enough of their gas and set your foot down? You will throw them off balance. And do you know what else you’ll do?
You’ll blast a massive hole in their ego and shock the hell out of them.
When Bullying Backfires:
When a bully loses power, be prepared for anything.
Bullies are very prideful, and their pride takes a massive blow anytime you talk back or fight back. And most bullies would rather die than be made inferior, especially to their targets.
Therefore, if you are a victim of bullying and you finally grow a spine, your bullies will do anything they can to break it. They will escalate the bullying when you first stop accepting it.
So, prepare for them to act out at first. However, keep standing your ground, and they will eventually realize that you aren’t worth the trouble. Then, they’ll leave you alone and search for another victim.
2. You DON’T respond the way the bullies expected.
Remember that bullies think that you’re weak. They never bet on the possibility that you may be a little smarter than they are. So, you let them assume what they want and trap them with it.
What do I mean? I mean that your bullies expect an emotional reaction from it. It’s how they get their power.
And when you stay calm, it throws them off. Then they become even more emotional to try to trigger your emotions. And when you finally come to a place where they can no longer faze you, you are better able to use your head.
Understand that when bullies fly into a rage, they can no longer think clearly. That’s when you have the opportunity to use it to your advantage.
Responding to a bully inventively isn’t as hard as you think. It’s pretty easy if you don’t let intense emotions get in your way.
3. When Bullying Backfires:
You snap and BEAT the crap out of them.
If you’re dealing with physical bullies who use their fists, you must defend yourself in the only language they understand. So, you finally grow sick of them using you as a punching bag and beat the living shit out of them.
Not only do they feel physical pain, but they also never thought they’d feel. But they also suffer the humiliation of getting their butts handed to them. Therefore, physical bullies will likely leave you alone if you give them a dose of their own medicine.
Moreover, others will know that they were never as tough as they made themselves out to be.
In conclusion
It may not occur often, but bullying does backfire. And when it does, it’s glorious to watch! Let this encourage you.
This post was all about what happens when bullying backfires so that you can keep this in mind and be encouraged to defend yourself.
Related posts you’ll enjoy:
1. Defending Yourself from Bullies: 11 Best Defenses
2. Encouraging Words for Bullying: You Can Overcome!
3. Bullying Story: Endurance, Survival, and the Will to Overcome
4. When Bystanders Become Bullies: 11 Behaviors of Bully-Supporters