I had a bully boss who would come up to me in the afternoons and point a sharp implement at my face and say, “Is it safe?” He was quoting Laurence Olivier’s line from the movie Marathon Man. Olivier plays a Nazi war criminal who is torturing Dustin Hoffman’s every man using dental tools.
After about a week of this, I stood up, looked down at my boss (he was short) and said with my best Southern drawl, “Boy, you gotta real purdy mouth, ain’cha?”, which of course is from a disturbing scene in the movie Deliverance. His eyes got as big as saucers, he said, “You are sick” and ran off. He never again bullied me in this way.
So is it moral “to look down and laugh at people who try to bully you or make you feel bad?” If you get the upper hand and treat the bully mercilessly, then you are a bully. However, if it stops them in their tracks and you treat the erstwhile bully with respect, then it is not only moral, but it a moral victory.
©2016 Stephen L. Martin
This is awesome! You weren’t malicious just being as overpowering as he was but slicker. I think of doing this stuff most days, all day long. Glad someone acted out instead of just keeping it in.
One thing bullies don’t like is when you play them at their own game. They cannot stand this.