A Bully Exposed: Lesson from Putin on How bullies operate
The horrific events unfolding in Ukraine, which are 100% caused by Russian president Vladimir Putin, are a perfect case study for how bullies attempt to coerce, threaten, and intimidate their victims. Seeing his behavior against Ukraine, Russia’s neighbor to the south, demonstrates how a bully operates. Here are 4 ways we can see a parallel between Putin’s activities and the common, schoolyard bullies who live in every state, every city and every village across the world.
1. Bullies operate from a position of weakness and insecurity. Former Senator McCain, an American hero, once reminded us that “Russia is gas station masquerading as a country”. The national economy of Russia is less than 1/20th that of the United States even though boasting a larger land mass. California has a GDP equal to Russia. The per capita income of the Russian population is around $10,000, lower than virtually all western countries and less than one-third of that in the US. Russia, except for the fact that they harbor nuclear weapons, is more like a third-world country with rampant crime, poverty, and low standards of living. Like most bullies, Putin is not operating from a position of strength, but one of weakness when set alongside his peers. Looking past all the bluster of fancy buildings and flags flying, when Putin meets with world leaders he is inevitably operating from a position of national weakness. As the US Government notes (www.stopbullying.com) many bullies are insecure and look for power imbalances to inflict their own pain upon others.
2. Attacks on the perceived weakness of others. “Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school children that involves real or perceived power imbalances” (US Government). Bullies on the playground or in the office, generally seek out those they perceive as weaker, not the strong. Putin attacked a country that an entire world of experts agreed was weaker and would likely collapse in days. As with the attack on Ukraine, bullies need to feel the strength of the global community, or the playground community, and be encouraged to back off! Regardless of what happens long term, the bully Putin will pay a very heavy price because the entire global community has fought back, and shown him force---often the only message bullies understand.
3. Lies and Dishonesty. Bullies often explain and rationalize their behavior with out right lies, deception and half-truths. Again, the Russian president was spewing lies weeks and months before the attack that western governments predicted would occur. ‘We don’t want to attack Ukraine! They want to have nuclear weapons!’ and on and on, his lies unfolded. Off the world stage, bullies often set-up their attacks with lies “You hit me first!”, “You said something bad about me!”, or other misdirection statements to take the focus off their own bad and destructive actions. Call a bully out on their lies or half-truths, and potentially shame them into backing off.
4. Threats and Intimidation. Bullies rarely just become physically harmful without first becoming verbally abusive. Putin threatened his Ukrainian neighbors and the world for weeks prior to launching missiles towards the innocent. Authors Fuhrmann and Sechser who wrote a book entitled “Nuclear Weapons and Coercive Diplomacy” have noted 29 instances where Russia issued empty threats of nuclear weapons to intimate and cower their neighbors. Bullies, use threats to soften up and attempt to terrify their victims. As one US General has said, “the threats costs him nothing, the use of them costs him everything.” It is not easy for anyone, especially a child, to emotionally confront someone making threats in their direction. But teaching children to distinguish threats from action and to not be intimidated by the taunts of bullies is key to overcoming the unwanted aggressive behavior of the bullies in our midst.
What is occurring in Ukraine in late winter of 2022 is a horrible example of how bullies act, but also a teaching lesson for our children to learn how to understand the mindset and the tactics of bullies they encounter and deal with them in productive, non-violent ways.
Thomas Bogle
Author of BACK OFF BUZZ! Ollie Outsmarts the Bully!