I'm not saying bullying doesn't exist, or that it shouldn't be responded to appropriately. But I think people miss that there is a TON of speech that is not malicious on nature but gets treated as such. That's not bullying, and if you respond to it with defiance, you're escalating situations, not building trust with people different from you.
Why is angry response to my defiance considered warranted while my defiance as response to perceived hostility is not? My defiance is not malicious either.
It's not. But an eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind. You can continue to participate in that cycle, and most do.
I'm simply pointing out that there's another option, which is to get off that train. And it's actually quite simple to do.
There's a little voice in our heads that says we can't let the other person win. If you want to, you can ask it questions. Like, win at what? What's the prize? What is it worth? And not always, but sometimes, the answer is there nothing at stake and you should pick your battles.
