Do you think everyone has some good qualities,however bad they are?
By pandaeyes
@pandaeyes (2065)
March 26, 2010 6:10am CST
I remember a bully in school who could be terribly mean. She would pick on peoples weaknesses and she was very good at noticing what they were.
I didn't hate her though, she was quite a friendly person if you got her on her own.
I think the verbal attacks on people were a defensive action to take the focus from her own self doubts.
Once ,one of the kids in school had to be home for a while as they had a grumbling appendix, this was one of the children she had teased mercilessly but it was her suggestion that we all make a collection to buy him a get well card and a present.
It doesn't excuse her bullying ways but it does make me wonder if she was really just a nice kid stuck in a mixed up body. Maybe all bullies are.
What do you think?
4 people like this
19 responses
@Loen210 (1540)
• United States
28 Mar 10
I think that it is pretty impossible NOT to have some good qualities, no matter who you are, bad or good.
Even the people we may hate the most in this world, even if we just knwo about them as Most Wanted by police or something we hear on TV, unfortunately.
Criminals also haev the talent of being able to conjure something up or able to connect with people well, or they are able to think quickly, or they have strong will power, etc.
1 person likes this
@Loen210 (1540)
• United States
28 Mar 10
I know there are people out there who I am so angry with terrible stories about abuse, murder, torment, cruelty.
But I still think everybody has to have some good qualities or at least things that they are good at doing or thinking, however small it is. It could even be something like, having good smell and sensing qualities. I can't imagine surviving in this world without having some good qualities, or at the last some time in your life, whether it was only when you were younger.
@pandaeyes (2065)
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28 Mar 10
Some can be resourceful it is true but not always the case.
I think they are not suited to life such as school because they are forced to interact on an equal playing field and yet they feel open to attack and so defend themselves constantly by attacking those they see to be less able to cope mentally.
Most bullies will use the things that they fear the most as the bullying tactic when dealing with others.Therefore one who points out glaring physical differences is likely to worry about their own .
@craftyhomebody (443)
• United States
27 Mar 10
bullies come in all shape and sizes they can be veraly mean
and it hurt's to be bully i know i was all my life because i
started wearing thick glasses at the age of 2 so i was always
called names like four eyes hoot owl this affected my life alot
when they finally made contacts that my parents could afford i
got my frist pair on my 13 brithday color my hair blonde and
there was a new me i am 53 now and i still will not wear my
glasses out in public because some one all ways has something
to say behind my back and i hate bullies and it still hurts
1 person likes this
@craftyhomebody (443)
• United States
28 Mar 10
o i love your thought they pointed out your differences
to mask their own. may i use this phrase for my grandson
they call him jolly green giant and other name because he
is the tallest in his class first grade but not his fault
mother 6'2 and father 6'5 but kids our mean.
@pandaeyes (2065)
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28 Mar 10
It affected you a lot to be bullied so its hard for you to see any good qualities in the bullies!
I can understand that.
They pointed out your differences to mask their own.
@pandaeyes (2065)
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28 Mar 10
You are right that our circumstances colour our way of thinking.
I do think though that we all have control of ourselves or the ability to control ourselves as we mature and that is maybe why so many child bullies become nice people later on.
@celticeagle (167019)
• Boise, Idaho
27 Mar 10
I think all people start out as good people. They are influenced by other people and by what happens in their lives. Genetics and family make up add to this. And people act on their weaknesses and strengthes as well. Everyone is different and some are worse than others.
@celticeagle (167019)
• Boise, Idaho
28 Mar 10
It is the psyche of the individual. Most people do not chose to be bullies. Something that happens in their lives makes them this way. Perhaps they were bullied by someone as a child or they were treated in a way that made them feel small or not in total control at some point in their younger life.
@pandaeyes (2065)
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27 Mar 10
My brother in law was a bully in his dealings with my husband.
He also had a spate of wife beating but weirdly was a very family orientated person .
I do wonder how one person in a family of 5 children ,can be a bully when none of the others are.
I think sometimes just talking things through with people would lead to a lot less frustration and odd behaviour in life.
@besthope44 (12123)
• India
28 Mar 10
Well, thats true everyone has mixed qualities. No one is extremely bad or extremely good to catagorize.. Its a famous saying, in extreme bad, there is little good. So your friend though doesnot mind hurting others weakness,there is a tender heart inside her to feel for the one. Basically its nature of any human being.
@pandaeyes (2065)
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28 Mar 10
Some are much more extreme than others.
One girl in school was almost evil in her meanness which made her a frightening person unless you learned to laugh it off as I did .
One of my friends avoided that girl like the plague.
Teachers however, found the girl to be charming and sweet and I could see their point of view as her smaller sister was in a lower year and was a dear little girl (although maybe she was equally as unkind to her peers).
@pandaeyes (2065)
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28 Mar 10
Yeah, quite nice seeming people can have a bad side to them too.
I think it all depends how careful we are in controlling the balance of our personalities.
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
28 Mar 10
I know I was raised to try and believe that there was some good even in the worst type of human. In all honesty when I see all the cruel and inhuman acts perpetrated by man I am convinced that there are truly evil people in the world who do not have a trace of goodness in them.
@pandaeyes (2065)
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29 Mar 10
So you think there are some people who have no good qualities.
I expect there are some who have hidden their good side very deeply so maybe it never will be seen.
@recycledgoth (9894)
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26 Mar 10
I have always tried to see the best in a person before making a judgment but it sometimes seems that any good is very well hidden deep inside. I thinkbullies are often deeply troubled and unhappy and they take their unhappiness out on others.
@pandaeyes (2065)
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27 Mar 10
They do seem to go hand in hand, the troubled lives and the bullying actions.
I think if people were a bit more caring of little children's feelings sometimes, it would lead to less aggression later on.
@macdingolinger (10386)
• United States
26 Mar 10
i do think all people have strengths and weaknesses. Many times our weaknesses are because of our strengths. Like independence is a good quality except that you can start acting like you don't need anyone. It can also make it difficult for working as a team. There have been many terrible leaders whose gift was leadership! It all depends on what people do with what they have!
@pandaeyes (2065)
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27 Mar 10
Yes that's true.
That reminds me of the film full metal Jacket where the sergeant is the bully to the point of being murdered for it but managed to turn quite passive people into soldiers with hardened attitudes.
He was hugely successful in hardening recruits but a terrible person to have, teach anything.
@sublime03 (2339)
• Philippines
27 Mar 10
For me I really do believe that everybody has something good in them no matter how they were growing up. There are some who become so rough and all when they are little because they have experienced something they shouldn't. Or some may just have a bad childhood and thus they become mean at one point but eventually out grows it. To each has its own but every has a good side in them no matter how you justify things.
@pandaeyes (2065)
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27 Mar 10
I think if only we could all see the good quality and emphasize how good it is, it would be the thing that helped that person to be more peaceful and kind overall.
@1anurag1 (3576)
• India
26 Mar 10
yes i agree with you. every body has some good qualities and there is a need to find them out in each person. i think if you just try to find bad there is nothing scarcity of bad things in any person. but if you are looking for some good qualities even then you will not be disappointed any time from any body. so there is a need to change the perspective.
@pandaeyes (2065)
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27 Mar 10
I suppose everyone has something they value and finding what that something is ,could be the key to finding the good quality in that person.
@lipstick2009 (1236)
• Philippines
27 Mar 10
Yes i agree, maybe they lack attention at home and they feel that way too when she is with other people.She would do something so people will notice her.Although we know that bullying is never a nice way to get attention but maybe because she is too
crushed inside that she doesn't know that it is not proper.
It just take some people with more patience and more love and or some situations just like you mentioned in your topic that you can actually see that inside they are meek as a lamb.
@pandaeyes (2065)
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27 Mar 10
I think being able to speak to a bully as an equal is a good way to combat 'being ' bullied yourself.
I never was bullied in any way except verbally and usually it was about my clothing or appearance(badly cut hair or scruffy looks) which were not anything I could choose to change at the time.
I used to point out that these were beyond my choice and that given the same home life, they would be wearing the same clothes and looking the same as I did.
It used to result in me being a neutral person, not bullied, not the bully.
My dad however, was quite a bully and would fly across the room and deliver a box round the ears for quite mild behaviour. He was not a great talker or philosopher and so would resort to violence to shut his kids up.There was no time to reason or talk with him.
He was a lovely dad when we were very tiny though and massively patient with infant aged children.
@RobtheRock (2433)
• United States
26 Mar 10
I agree. Every human has some good qualities. I had a family of bullies I clashed with from kindergarten to sixth grade. I still remember how for some reason I still don't know of, I ended up being on the ground and trying to rise as the older kid had my arms down and his brother was kicking me in the back. From that time onward, it was me against them. I had a couple of fights with him when he picked on someone smaller than him. Around my sixth grade year some gang from another part of town fought his family and their friends. Then they joined together and there was an incident involving me. That's when the family changed and sort of looked out for me. In high school he, the oldest brother, and I were in a math class together and with me being smart, he spread the news that I was very smart. Now he is a model citizen. I've seen other bullies grow to be better persons and friendly towards me, sadly some of them are gone to another world. Although I don't condone bullying, I look back and see them as making me tougher and those experience has helped me to make it without breaking the law because there are bullies at the job who bully you indirectly knowing that you can't do anything because you can get fired. I stand up to them anyway and let them know that I know the law and I won't be bullied.
@RobtheRock (2433)
• United States
27 Mar 10
I agree. I also think it's sort of inherited too, in some cases. There are some folks walking around whose ancestors were torturers and powerfully mean chieftans. I might be wrong, but I heard Edward Longshanks could be cruel. He's a distant relative of George Bush.
@pandaeyes (2065)
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27 Mar 10
You can stand up for yourself I think.
I think sometimes that is one of the qualities a bully can detect.
They can see the person who will back down or hide if they are confronted, and they sort of home in on them.
I expect long ago, they would have been the chieftains of the clan or the warriors.
@melloncollie (661)
• Philippines
27 Mar 10
There is good in every one only if we just give time to question why the person is acting harshly.
Most bullies are just really afraid of themselves. Afraid that they will be seen inferior -- afraid of the truth, because truth hurts.
@pandaeyes (2065)
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27 Mar 10
It is all about fear isn't it?
You are right!
I think it is a bit of a survival instinct.
@maximax8 (31046)
• United Kingdom
26 Mar 10
I am a primary school teacher. I like to give every child praise and it can be challenging to see much good behavior from a nasty bully. I notice the slightest good thing that has happened like he was sat on his chair sensibly for one minute. Praising that might lead to some decent work and sensible behavior.
A bully might be a soft person inside but a hard person outside. He or she might be an unhappy person if they live in a challenging home environment. Verbal attacks might not be well thought out. The person might be a nice person really but is just going through a difficult time in his or her life. It was lovely that the bully organized the get well card.
@pandaeyes (2065)
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27 Mar 10
In very small children, it is easy to praise good behaviour etc, in older teenagers it is harder as most teenagers seem to go through a stroppy and rebellious phase.
My son was quite mouthy at school, I mean he just said whatever he thought.
At home ,we gave him responsibilities and listened to him seriously but in school he was labeled a trouble maker.
@unique16 (1531)
• United States
26 Mar 10
Hello Pandaeyes,
Bullying is all about power and low self esteem. I think everyone has good qulaities. Now if people are not praised for the qualities and praised for the bad qualities etc..then bad quality will win out. Even the handicap people have good qualties and the autism children have good qualties they may be more subtle and harder to see because majority of people only see what on the surface and do not spend quality time with everyone etc...
Thanks and have a great day
Sincerley Unique16
@pandaeyes (2065)
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27 Mar 10
That's very true about low self esteem.
I think it is a bit of a power thing too, they must get their attack in first or fear being attacked.
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
26 Mar 10
I really think most bullies are decent enough people when they are "off the clock". They really have no reason to bully people when no one is around. The reason for this is being most bullies want to get attention for whatever reason. Perhaps they have a poor home life, but there could be any number of reasons. Bullies tend to be odd in the sense that they can be a major jerk most of the times, but there are times where you would never know.
I do think they are a switch that turns on in many of their minds when they are around a lot of people. Around a crowd, bullies revert to their bullying ways, at least in my experience. I guess they want as many people to know that they are not weak, to bolster their self esteem. So there are reasons why people to this. I think deep down, everyone is decent, even if it does not come out all of the time.
@pandaeyes (2065)
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27 Mar 10
That sounds very well put.
They want to be the center of attention but on their own terms.
I think everyone probably has an element of that in them but some people take it to extremes.
@ernkjha (46)
• India
26 Mar 10
Hi panadaeye,
i too believe that guys having bad qualities may have good qualities. It depends on us that whether we consider a specific thing good or bad, for one it may be good and for another it may be bad. for example a guy may say living alone is good in life but at the same time his other friend may say that no i can never live alone and that its bad. It all depends upon our degree of thought and our mindset towards life.
A boy may be very good to his male friends but he may hate girls for some or the other reasons. right!!!!
@pandaeyes (2065)
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27 Mar 10
It would be very interesting I think to see some of these peoples home lives.
I wonder especially with small children who bully, whether they are the victim of bullying at home.
While that doesn't excuse anything in the end, it does throw some explanation on their behavior if that is the case.
@Matt90 (36)
• Switzerland
26 Mar 10
in reality the bullies always turn out good people..many times is just a way to deal with life..especially the teenage years. Then some you create a mask..armor..but really are people like all other..and more often totally change when they grow up..then of course depends on many things..family, aducation, friendships and values!
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
27 Mar 10
I think you are right.
Most people grow out of it as they mature.
Not everyone though.
A few times there are still the manipulators and mental bullies .