The Deep Structure of Bullying

Bullying creates a moral dilemma in which the manner of the victim's reaction to an act of aggression can be used as retrospective justification for the original act of aggression itself. The ideal victim is one who fights back in some way, but does so ineffectively by flailing about, screaming or crying,. Threatening to tell their mother, pretending they're going to fight, and then running away. This triangular dynamic among bully, victim and audience is what i mean by the deep structure of bullying. It deserves to be analyzed in textbooks. Actually, it deserves to be set in giant neon letters everywhere.