We’ve all experienced bullies. From the neighborhood to the schoolhouse, black, white, rich and poor, we’ve all either been bullied once or twice or witnessed someone else being set upon. Some bullied people fight back. Some suffer through the abuse. Some sadly take their own lives. But victim or observer, there is a universal truth no one can contravene: nobody likes a bully.
The Seraaj Files by Kevin Seraaj, OrlandoAdvocate
According to a study posted in the National Library of Medicine, “the characteristics [of bullying] include aggression, frustration, lack of empathy, poor impulse control, a tendency to blame others for their problems, an inability to accept responsibility for one’s actions, a desire for power, the perception that others are hostile, and having friends who are bullies.”
America’s “Bully-in-Chief” demonstrates all of these clinical characteristics and more. And as the definition notes, bullies typically have a bunch of friends who are bullies, too.
But this behavior only works for so long. Eventually, people get tired of being pushed around. Sometimes even people in a cult. And when they do finally get fed up, bullies often find out the hard way that intimidation pays its own price.
Political bullies are a lot more dangerous than the playground kind. They don’t just make life miserable for the people around them — they can shape entire governments, poison public debate, and make democracy work worse than it should. Bullies rely on two things: fear and passivity. They scare opponents into silence, and they count on everyone else to look away and let it happen.
Ken Rex McElroy, known as “the town bully,” terrorized tiny Skidmore, Missouri for decades. Decades. Some bullies never grow up. They never outgrow their need to dominate other people when they can. On July 10, 1981, the town had had enough. Over 60 people surrounded his pickup truck on Main Street in broad daylight. He was later found in that truck shot to death. All sixty people claimed not to have seen anything. Residents could finally sleep at night.
Now, I don’t advocate violence of any kind (except in self-defense), but in a paraphrase of comedian Chris Rock: “I’m not saying they were right– but I understand.”
Sooner or later, people stop putting up with the abuse.
How bullies hold power
Political bullies usually operate in two ways.
First, they create fear. If you challenge them, you risk being mocked, attacked, professionally punished, or publicly smeared. In Trump World 2.0, lawmakers risk being “primaried,” where the president and his billionaire friends pour huge amounts of money into running another candidate for the party’s nomination. The fear of being forced out of a cushy lawmaker job makes it hard for congresspeople to speak honestly or to do their jobs representing and protecting us.
Almost a year ago to date, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (D-Alaska) told the American public that a fear of retaliation under President Donald Trump’s administration had risen to levels she’d never seen before:
“We’re in a time and place where — I don’t know, I certainly have not — I have not been here before. And I’ll tell you, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice because retaliation is real. And that’s not right. . . . We’re all afraid,” she said.
Murkowski said that she would try to work through the President’s intimidation by “using her voice.” Not a few onlookers wondered aloud why she didn’t simply leave the GOP and become a Democrat or Independent, but fear is a powerful influencer.
Political bullying doesn’t just hurt the immediate target. Its effects ripple outward. During California’s Proposition 8 campaign against same-sex marriage, anti-LGBTQ bullying in schools went up. Just the facts.
There’s also evidence that prejudice and political violence are connected. A 2023 study found “strong links between racist, sexist, and homophobic attitudes and support for political violence.” In other words, the same mindset that excuses bullying in politics can also make violence seem more acceptable.
As the Journal of American Politics noted: “individuals who express approval for Trump are also significantly more likely to endorse positive descriptors for the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and are more likely express support for the use of political violence more broadly.”
People like Pete Hegseth, the former newscaster turned Secretary of Defense who dresses up in the language of divine appointment, speaking God out of one side of his mouth and “no mercy” out of the other.
When bullying becomes normal, it rewards the worst instincts: cruelty, aggression, and domination. That’s how you end up with systems where the loudest and nastiest people rise to the top– not by virtue of their competence, mind you, but because of their meanness.
Key Takeaways
- Political bullies use fear and intimidation to control others, stifling honest communication and action.
- Bullying, whether in school or politics, has widespread negative impacts on individuals and society.
- A historical pattern shows bullies in power resorting to tactics that harm democracy and encourage societal division.
- The need for a People’s Primary arises, focusing on citizens’ needs rather than party affiliations or money.
- To combat political bullying, voters must unite and hold lawmakers accountable for their actions.
The Spirit of Againstedness
I refered to this mindset as “the Spirit of Againstedness.” It is manifested in people who exist in a state of irrational opposition– like the woman who told then-Presidential candidate John McCain that she didn’t like Obama because he was an Arab. Obama, McCain promptly told her, is not an Arab.
Or the couple who didn’t like Obama because they said he was trying to replace their Affordable Care Act insurance with Obamacare. Yeah, imagine that. Opposed without an actual basis for being opposed.
In America, there is a long history of bullies in power.
Joseph McCarthy rose to power in the 1950s by intimidating people and accusing them of disloyalty and being communist. George Wallace used racism and hate as political fuel, promising “segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” And Donald Trump has given new meaning to the term “bully pulpit,” using it to mock a journalist’s disability, threaten opponents, publicly humiliate supporters, and treat allies like political subordinates and vassal states.
But sooner or later, the bully’s truck gets surrounded, and the people realize they have the power to end their suffering. Lawmakers like Lisa Murkowski who cower under the threats of being primaried must understand that the real power of the primary lies in the hands of the voters. Dollars don’t vote. Dollars buy ads used to spread disinformation and convince people to vote against their own self-interests. Elon Musk learned that lesson after giving away millions to produce an election result in Wisconsin that he didn’t get.
We need a People’s Primary. Not a Democratic or a Republican primary, but a primary focused on the needs of American citizens. All of us. Or at least those of us who care about rest of us. It’s time.
There will always be that 30 percent of the country who will fall for any lie that reinforces their own insecurities and feelings of inadequacy. Trump said “I love the uneducated,” suggesting that they were the core of his support group. They make up a large portion of that 30 percent, but they are not alone. As Trump famously said: “Smart people don’t like me.” Two sides of the same coin.
Instead of cowering under the threats of Trump, lawmakers ought to be concerned about the threat of us– “we, the people’– an electorate that is tired of the racial hate and the political bullying. It is us who ought to primary every lawmaker that has refused to stand up for us– for everyone who has lost a small business or a farm because of Trump tariffs and trade war, every person who has lost SNAP benefits or healthcare coverage, every person who is out of a job because of DOGE cuts that masqueraded as a crackdown on fraud and waste, every person having a hard time putting food on the table or paying a light bill while lawmakers give away our hard-earned money in tax cuts to billionaires and handouts to countries like Argentina, every person who is appalled at the continuing protection of child sex traffickers by Trump and His Gang of Pedophiles (the new GOP). We should put them all on notice, let them know what’s coming.
This new GOP (Gang of Pedophiles) is dangerous. Our democracy is at risk. Maybe they’ll wake up, turn around, and do what’s right. But I say: vote ’em out. All of them. Trump doesn’t respect them, so why should we? There is a Day of Reckoning coming. The People’s Primary. Trump called them “losers.” Let’s make them exactly what Trump says they are. #thepeoplesprimary
- Kevin Seraaj
- Kevin Seraaj
- Kevin Seraaj
- Kevin Seraaj
