Eh, I was bullied at school. I went to a Rudolf Steiner school after being homeschooled until Year 5, so I was socially awkward, unfashionable and "different". I was bullied for 9 months. It was awful.

However I stood up to my bullies, and argued back at them, coming back with witty comebacks. Eventually it was like a switch flipped in their head, and they respected me, and later they said they respected me because I didn't take their shit. Later, some of those bullies became my friends. They did change.

I don't like this messaging of "bullies are worthless abusers with no inner pain and no reason to be doing what they're doing apart from being a psychopath, there is no way to teach them empathy, force is ALL they will EVER be able to recognise".

It's basically consigning children to irredeemability.

And as a bullying victim, that is not my experience. Children can indeed change. Most children are not psychopaths. Some bullies are, but most are not. Most bullies are acting out tribalistic instincts of "in group/out group" that adults continue to enact in their day to day. It normally is a sign that they feel insecure. And for bystanders it's DEFINITELY a sign that they feel insecure.

If you want to just write off millions of CHILDREN as irredeemable assholes that need "force" to stay in line because that's "the only language they understand", that says more about you than it does about most bullies. I recommend you get therapy so you stop projecting your revenge fantasies upon children.

By the way I'm not saying "bullies should face no consequences" but the way you're writing it's like you think punishment, and more punishment, and more humiliation, and yet more punishment, is all these "worthless" people will ever deserve. And that's not something I can get behind.

I'm sorry you were bullied. But that's not an excuse to deny the full humanity of children. As an adult you should know better.