Is it socially acceptable to bully high status individuals?

Three Seasons

If you earn a lot of money or are generally high status or you are an authority figure it appears to me that it is socially acceptable at times for people to bully you.

Has anyone else noticed this?

I don't have any particular anecdotes to recall but it's just the general impression I've gotten over the years.

jester77

Three Seasons wrote: »

Has anyone else noticed this?

Strange question but nope, no one bullies me.

frag420

Did someone steal your lunch money OP??

Caveman1

Thats the whole point of twitter

Ruu

I was going to berate you for this post but noticed your post count. Have a nice day now. *shuffles off, cap in hand*

FTA69

I agree. The rich and powerful are terribly oppressed.

awec

FTA69 wrote: »

I agree. The rich and powerful are terribly oppressed.

Hyperbole, that's not what he said.

orestes

Bullying is all about intimidation, can you actually intimidate somebody who has more power or authority than you?

Legs.Eleven

Good question.

discus

orestes wrote: »

Bullying is all about intimidation, can you actually intimidate somebody who has more power or authority than you?

Power and authority mean nothing when strangers are shouting in your face on a friday evening in a pub, giving out about decisions you mad in work last year. Rather intimidating, for anyone. (Gardai excluded, cause those lads don't take **** like that!)

orestes

discus wrote: »

Power and authority mean nothing when strangers are shouting in your face on a friday evening in a pub, giving out about decisions you mad in work last year. Rather intimidating, for anyone. (Gardai excluded, cause those lads don't take **** like that!)

Even if we agreed that bullying is about intimidation it wouldn't mean that all instances of intimidation are therefore bullying. Intimidation can be random, but bullying is specifically targeted intimidation based on a personal dislike/hatred.

castletownman

No. It's socially unacceptable to bully anyone, regardless of status.

Except Justin Beiber.

kneemos

Seems to be acceptable but extremely boring.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

orestes wrote: »

Bullying is all about intimidation, can you actually intimidate somebody who has more power or authority than you?

Oh you can, You just have to get their permission first.

Sergeant

I sometimes have been accosted on the street by various proles and peons. The type of people who ring Liveline. I usually just give the ruffian a hard stare and they skulk away down some side street. Very occasionally I've had to admonish them with some harsh words, or dispense a solid kick to their filthy posterior.

FTA69

awec wrote: »

Hyperbole, that's not what he said.

Meh it's the thrust of it. If you're talking about bullying someone because they're an accountant or a guard well that's different. When it's referred to multi-millionaires, the business elite, bankers and politicians then accusations of "bullying" are a load of nonsense. This same load of rubbish came up at the time of the MacAntee suicide.

Iain Duncan Smith recently said he'd have no bother living on fifty pounds a week and as such there are petitions in circulation challenging him to do it as well as people generally calling him out on Twitter etc about being an asshat. Is that "bullying"? No it isn't, because government minsiters, the mega-rich etc aren't a vulnerable or threatened group so trying to portray anger toward them as "bullying" is a load of b*llocks.

discus

orestes wrote: »

Even if we agreed that bullying is about intimidation it wouldn't mean that all instances of intimidation are therefore bullying. Intimidation can be random, but bullying is specifically targeted intimidation based on a personal dislike/hatred.

So, are you telling me that a man, who roars at a politician in a pub on a friday night, is not "targeted intimidation based on a personal dislike/hatred."?

Answer on postcard plz

syklops

orestes wrote: »

Bullying is all about intimidation, can you actually intimidate somebody who has more power or authority than you?

Ask Shane Mcentee.

Chuck Stone

syklops wrote: »

Ask Shane Mcentee.

He's dead.

orestes

discus wrote: »

So, are you telling me that a man, who roars at a politician in a pub on a friday night, is not "targeted intimidation based on a personal dislike/hatred."?

Answer on postcard plz

I did say "even if we agreed that bullying was about intimidation",, I didn't say anywhere that my definition of bullying is the only one.

But using your example, no, I don't think somebody shouting at a politician in a pub is being a bully. I think they are clearly being an arsehole, but being an arsehole doesn't mean you're being a bully. Otherwise every instance of someone looking at somebody the wrong way could be considered bullying. You're ignoring the systematic nature and intention behind the actions.

Ray Palmer

orestes wrote: »

I did say "even if we agreed that bullying was about intimidation",, I didn't say anywhere that my definition of bullying is the only one.

But using your example, no, I don't think somebody shouting at a politician in a pub is being a bully. I think they are clearly being an arsehole, but being an arsehole doesn't mean you're being a bully. Otherwise every instance of someone looking at somebody the wrong way could be considered bullying. You're ignoring the systematic nature and intention behind the actions.

I don't think bullying has to be systematic or even constant. One instance of intimidating somebody can be bullying. Catching a public figure in a pub and shouting at them when they can't really defend themselves I would consider bullying .

Position of power at the time can mean a powerful person can be not in much weaker position at the time of intimidation. By no means can you consider this the same as somebody giving you a dirty look.

AnonoBoy

I used to bully Tom Cruise but then Eamon Gilmore said I had to stop because he was going to come over and save the Irish economy.

Then he did.

So I stopped.

wendell borton

Sergeant wrote: »

I sometimes have been accosted on the street by various proles and peons. The type of people who ring Liveline. I usually just give the ruffian a hard stare and they skulk away down some side street. Very occasionally I've had to admonish them with some harsh words, or dispense a solid kick to their filthy posterior.

To dissuade the more audacious ruffian i make use of my cane.

Zebra3

FTA69 wrote: »

Meh it's the thrust of it. If you're talking about bullying someone because they're an accountant or a guard well that's different. When it's referred to multi-millionaires, the business elite, bankers and politicians then accusations of "bullying" are a load of nonsense. This same load of rubbish came up at the time of the MacAntee suicide.

Iain Duncan Smith recently said he'd have no bother living on fifty pounds a week and as such there are petitions in circulation challenging him to do it as well as people generally calling him out on Twitter etc about being an asshat. Is that "bullying"? No it isn't, because government minsiters, the mega-rich etc aren't a vulnerable or threatened group so trying to portray anger toward them as "bullying" is a load of b*llocks.

+1. Well said.

BillyMitchel

I get it all the time from my older cousin Phil.

suicide_circus

syklops wrote: »

Ask Shane Mcentee.

Sorry i dont know this story, how was Shane McEntee bullied?

wendell borton

It was during the red terror.

syklops

suicide_circus wrote: »

Sorry i dont know this story, how was Shane McEntee bullied?

He was the victim of a hate campaign all because he supported budget cuts. He got a barrage of abuse on twitter, and even got text messages to his phone. One of them said "Have your family ready for a funeral", which he reported to Gardai.

anncoates

I'm sure Bono lies awake and weeps in bed every night about being called a cunt by people he's never met.

FTA69

syklops wrote: »

He was the victim of a hate campaign all because he supported budget cuts. He got a barrage of abuse on twitter, and even got text messages to his phone. One of them said "Have your family ready for a funeral", which he reported to Gardai.

He represented a party that implemented savage cuts on ordinary people's living standards, people who were in a much more precarious situation than himself. He was a public figure that put himself forward into that sphere. It makes me laugh that politicians will champion policies such as cutting carer's respite allowance and then moan when they're taken to task on the likes of Twitter.

Now before people start p*ssing their pants, I'm not suggesting that threatening people's families over the phone is acceptable; it isn't under any circumstances. There is a very clear line there that shouldn't be crossed in that regard. But that having been said, the likes of a factory worker calling Enda Kenny a bolox on Twitter or whatever, or me calling Bill Cullen a w*nker on Facebook isn't a sign of some unjust and endemic campaign of bullying. That's simply hyperbolic nonsense to be honest.

Shane MacEntee killing himself was a tragedy, no doubt about that. But this notion that it was the baying mob of plebs who led to a good man killing himself is complete sh*te. There's no way it was as simplistic as that.

jaffacakesyum

FTA69 wrote: »

Meh it's the thrust of it. If you're talking about bullying someone because they're an accountant or a guard well that's different. When it's referred to multi-millionaires, the business elite, bankers and politicians then accusations of "bullying" are a load of nonsense. This same load of rubbish came up at the time of the MacAntee suicide.

Iain Duncan Smith recently said he'd have no bother living on fifty pounds a week and as such there are petitions in circulation challenging him to do it as well as people generally calling him out on Twitter etc about being an asshat. Is that "bullying"? No it isn't, because government minsiters, the mega-rich etc aren't a vulnerable or threatened group so trying to portray anger toward them as "bullying" is a load of b*llocks.

Jesus Christ just because somebody's rich doesn't mean they don't have feelings. I don't know the Ian Duncan Smith story so I'm not really referring to that but in general are you saying bullying rich/successful people/people in power is ok just because they're not in vulnerable position financialy? Not trying to put words in your mouth here but if that's what you believe it's pretty sick man.

Don't get me wrong I feel a lot more sympathy for people going through financial difficulties, homeless people, victims of domestic abuse, alcoholics, young single mothers trying to cope etc. etc. but we're all human, we all have feelings. Some people are asshats and it doesn't matter if you're rich or poor you have asshats in all walks of life.

FTA69

Jesus Christ just because somebody's rich doesn't mean they don't have feelings

I'm not saying that at all. A friend of mine is a partner in an accountantcy firm for instance, on serious cash. If I was to start giving him serious hassle in the pub just because of his wage that would be bullying, and generally horrible behaviour. But that isn't the question being asked though is it? The OP asked was there bullying toward the super-rich or the political elite in general, and to be honest there isn't. There may be real anger out there that is targeted toward these people as a class, and rightly so, but to portray them as some sort of vulnerable and victimised group in society is crap.

What real power does the ordinary working person have to "bully" the likes of Enda Kenny, or David Cameron or Richard Branson?

"Oh poor me, I just belittled everyone on the dole, cut the carer's respite allowance despite being on over a hundred grand a year with a pension for life and now people are being mean to me on my Facebook page."

Honest to God like.