A bully’s outrage is always selective. Where there’s bullying, there’s usually a phenomenon called “selective outrage.” So, what is selective outrage?

It’s when people become outraged over something the targeted person says or does but ignores or approves when anyone else says or does the same or worse.

Here’s a perfect example of selective outrage:

For years, bullies repeatedly and viciously attack a target both physically and psychologically and no one says a word. The target finally gets fed up and beats the crap out of the bullies in self-defense. Now, suddenly, everyone is outraged and wants to punish the target for having the gall to defend themselves.

You see it all the time. It’s not about the deed itself, it’s about who’s doing the deed. Bullies will berate that target for things others get away with. This only goes to prove that they really don’t care about the (perceived) wrongdoing, slight, or sin. Bullies only want to feel like they’re better than someone else. So they take the “moral high ground” and shame the target for something they would approve of if it came from anyone else.

Here’s another example:

The target tells a legitimately funny joke and that supposedly offends and outrages the bullies. Then, sometime later, someone else tells the exact same joke and the exact same bullies who grew outraged at the target only burst into laughter and slap the joker on the back, telling the second person what a “good joke” it was.

It’s not About the Deed Itself, It’s About The Person Who’s Doing The Deed

Therefore, if they really cared about a wrong or inappropriate action or statement, they would be against it one hundred percent, across the board. In other words, if it’s wrong for one person or group to say or do, then it’s wrong for everyone. Otherwise, they’re only holding one person or group to a double standard. To sum it up, it’s blatant hypocrisy.

Understand that people who can’t have a good time themselves want another person to be as miserable as they are. Again, it’s not about the joke itself. It’s about who the person is who’s telling the joke. Therefore, bullies and their sheepy followers and conformers make who the person is the determiner of whether they should be offended and outraged.

Stop and think about it for a moment. Selective outrage is something you often see at ball games. When the home team cheats or bends the rules, people ignore or even justify it. However, when the opposing team does it, people suddenly become outraged and want to punish the opponents.

The sooner you see this hypocrisy for what it is, the better you’ll be able to expose it and weaponize it. You will be better able to stand up to this madness and come out of it with minimal damage to your psyche.

With knowledge comes empowerment!