When I was a kid I was tormented by bullies endlessly.  Total strangers from higher grades used to come to take a poke at me.  I never understood it.  I learned that they prayed on me because I was so sensitive.  I wore my heart on my sleave. In time, I learned the proper way to ignore them.  They wanted the shack reaction.  That was what made them feel powerful.  When I started ignorning them, or worse yet, agreeing with them, they started leaving me alone and looking for other victims. I did this to my brother, learning not only to take it but to dish it out.  He started leaving me alone, and actually turned to start tormenting my parents.  I could never seem to teach them how to do what I did. So last night we had the return of a bullie to these boards.  Someone picking on the emotionally vulnerable in the depressed forums.  How sick is that?  Unfortunately, people were giving her exactly the reaction she sought.  It's hard not to.  The proper response would have been, "yeah, yeah, whatever" and to ignore her completely.  But I feel so bad for the people that she hurt.  It brings back ugly memories of my own childhood. The bullies have their own form of mental illness.  A pre-emptive attack so that they will not be attacked.  Almost all of these people have their own achillies heal.  For the most part, it is not worth seeking this heal out -- it's far, far better to get them out of the way so they can do no more harm.  Sad.