I have known bullies all my life. I was not particularly “bullied” as a child perhaps because, although I was small for my age, I always fought back when I was. I didn’t often win those brawls (usually behind the gym after school) but the victor would, as often as not, have a bloody nose when it was over. Bullies don’t like being stood up to.
The definition of a bullying is “the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception, by the bully or by others, of an imbalance of social or physical power, which distinguishes bullying from conflict.” (Graham Juvonem’s article in the Annual Review of Psychology, 2014)
By this, or any other definition, Donald Trump is a bully. He threatens and seeks to intimidate and dominate women, Hispanics, Muslims, and anyone he perceives to be his rival. Why? Because he knows there is an imbalance of social or physical power and he seeks to exploit it.
Many, if not most, of Donald Trump’s supporters are also bullies. I hesitate to say it, but most of them are also white and male and many are blue-collar workers. Bullies often share those same characteristics (although clearly not all white, male blue collar workers are bullies).
The people most likely to recognize and stand up to bullies are those who are most often bullied — women, minorities, people with disabilities, and young people. I believe it will likely be a coalition of such persons — women, African Americans and Latinos, students, and those who care for them — who will likely defeat Donald Trump is the general election. Hopefully, we will win that battle.
If not, let us be sure this bully comes away from the November contest with at least a bloody nose!
That We All May Be One 
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