How do bullies always manage to make themselves look the victim when pulled up for their actions

[Clairenewbie]

Are they just good at manipulating others?

This isn’t always my experience tbh.
Could you give a few more details and it might be clearer why you are feeling the way you do.

Girls in my school did a 'mean girls' type of bullying where they pretended that THEY were the targets of another girl in order for her to get into trouble and be labelled as a bully. Similar?

I think the - rather childish - tendency of people to want to divide the world into 'goodies' and 'baddies' is often at the root of this problem.

Say for example, someone isn’t constantly on your back, making snide remarks to others or constant talking behind other peoples backs, but when pulled up the person will play the victim and tell anyone how much a bully you are.

Yeah I've seen this. Soon as they're stood up to then it's everyone else who is soooooo mean.

Or you are a sensitive snowflake who needs to get out of the kitchen if you can't stand the heat and they just need to get the job done so do as you're told and stop mithering about being bullied.

One person's bullying is another person's gentle instruction!

Bullies are very good at making it about them.

Well unfortunately running keenstar no matter how bad your life is no amount of namecalling and belittling netfolk will make you feel better about yourself.
Have a nice day

the problem is that there is always someone willing to excuse bad/bullying behaviour.

I don’t understand why people never see through it.

In some cases people don't see through it because some bullies are very good at playing the victim.

In some its because people don't want to say anything in-case they become the victim.

In some its because the bullies are very good at hiding what they are.

And in other cases people don't know because the victim is to scared/worried about it escalating to say anything.

Maybe they do see through it, but don’t want to be the bully’s next victim, @Clairenewbie.

I was bullied through the full five years of senior school (it was an 11-16 comprehensive), and I must be a real snowflake because I was depressed and having suicidal thoughts as a result by the time I was 14, and depression and low selfish esteem have blighted the rest of my life.

Oh, and I hate it when people call the victims of bullying ‘sensitive snowflakes’.

Lots of practice. Do you honestly think the bullies just start as adults? No way, they have been pulling these stunts since they were children. They learned what they needed to say to pull the wool over the eyes of their parents, their teachers, their fellow students, etc, etc. When they get caught out, they adjust their tactics. You are likely witnessing decades worth of perfected bullying tactics.

Think it's the

Drama Cycle. People who are caught up in it tend to only play 3 parts..

1. The persecutor
2. The victim
3. The fixer

They don't know what other roles can be taken and it ends up in a cycle

My daughter has been bullied at school from reception age. She has minor SENs.

The bullies initially were easily recognised and stopped. As they've grown they've got better at not getting caught or making the other person look unreasonable. Nothing seems to get them to stop bullying others. My daughter is learning how to deal with it but still finds it very upsetting.

The parents think their children are strong characters; they just wanted to sit on 'their table'; apparently my child should have known this. Their children insisted my daughter moved as they wanted to sit together where she was sitting; her school dinner was knocked off the table. She didn't move quickly enough when they 'asked' her to and she failed to grab her tray as they helpfully 'passed' it to her. I now identify it as being Trumplike.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius

Oh, and I hate it when people call the victims of bullying ‘sensitive snowflakes’

I've found most of those calling anyone 'snowflakes' seem to lack empathy and compassion for others.

Having thought some more about this, there are those bullies that are very very good at judging what is happening and will call bully on their victim first.

I'm not including the goady ones that annoy others then when they break cry that they have been hit.

Prime example: Tommy Robinson....

Acts like a complete arse hole and racist bully, tried to jeopardize a trial and then cried victim when he got pulled up on it.

I’m very sorry you went through that SDTGIS. Some people aren’t happy until they’ve kicked the person down far enough that they think about suicide.
As for your daughter I hope she finds someone at school who will look out for her. It only takes one person to tell a bully to back off.