Do you think bullies can grow up to be decent people?

  • Maybe if they've had a dose of their own medicine and wise up before it's too late. I'd been bullied for most of my life both at school and by my own sister. She is still contemptuous towards me but realizes she's been wrong on a lot of things particularly as we are the only members of our family left with both our parents gone. My daughter was also bullied in her early high school days and some of the kids are still dickheads today so they obviously haven't changed. It depends on the person really.

  • Of course.


    Nobody is the same person they were years ago. Even if there's minimal change, everyone can change - it's up to them and the people around them to decide if that change is positive or negative.


    Bullying is a motivated action like every other action. If you take away the motivation, add on the guilt for committing the act, and there's all the protentional to reflect and become a better person.


    Reflection is different for everyone, reform to. In the end, the answer is yes, people can change. The real question is if they're willing to reflect and put the effort in.

  • You're like an 80 year old wise elder in the body of a maknae.

    N Ξ O C I T Y

    EWwNl6R.png

  • of course people can change...


    anything is possible but that does absolve them of their past - no...


    a person can live a great and good life for 99% of their lives but if they drink drive one time and hurt/kill someone well they are a criminal right?


    just as a bully can grow up and repent and be a good person but if their actions caused irreparable or lasting damage...


    Like I always say I'm a consequentialist - that is a person should be looked at and judged according to the consequences of their actions

  • Yeah. Although it depends on how bad was the bully. Stupid bully who couldn't control emotion when young or was stressed and bully others to compensate for that? Sure, it's possible although they probably brush it off as a phase or think it wasn't that serious while victims have to live through that. I don't think many try to redeem themselves. They just move on and maybe get less shitty because social norms just become more complex and complicated compared to middle/high school.


    If they got caught, confronted, and corrected, I think they have a better chance to self correct themselves.


    Someone who abused his/her power position to bully others? Hardly. Probably these types get worse. Chances are they just continue bullying others. They just learn how much they can get away with.

  • I believe in believing the best in people. Some people can and will always be capable of change or learning from the past. If reflecting happens and is a normal process as we grow for people who aren't bullies, I imagine the case for bullies would be the same. However, there are definitely bullies out there who will never change because for one, they don't realize what they're doing wrong in the first place and other factors come into play with that like people in their lives enabling them to do so. The ones in my life never changed so far and it became pitiful over time, I'd like to think they will work on fixing their character for their own good but the reality is some people get off their high from gaining superiority by treating people like trash.

  • I reckon it depends on why someone is a bully.

    If they bully others because they genuinely enjoy making people suffer for example, then I don't believe there's a lot of hope for them. That's far too likely to be an early manifestation of some kind of serious personality disorder.

Participate now!

Don’t have an account yet? Register yourself now and be a part of our community!