Comment 19 by Callinectes "Bullying can be done entirely through words. Kids can be driven to suicide by them, and I could not say that adults cannot be bullied in the same way. I have yet to satisfactorily resolve this apparent contradiction, and it would seem to be relevant here. I wonder if anyone has any suggestions?"

Yes, kids have to make this decision all the time when bullying happens in school: do they tell the teacher, or do they just let it go on? It would seem the only alternatives adults provide for kids are these two: enlist authority or deal with it yourself. Well, neither are adequate. It is when bystanders intervene that the chance of continued bullying is reduced. Of course adults can be bullied too, and whether one is the bully or the bullied, it all comes from the same place as does religious conditioning, or a civic spirit, or any other kind of positive or negative conditioning one receives as a child.