Wondering about bullies

[Confusedpers]

In the past I’ve taken pity on people who bullied me because I have seen them as struggling people. Unfortunately this only exposed me to further bullying because I tried to be nice.

Am I being unreasonable to think that encouraging compassion towards bullies messes with their victims’ heads.

I have never stood up to bullies - this has led to problems in later life. I think it is a cause of my occasional bouts of road rage - it's not just the actions of aggressive bullying drivers, it's that I've never addressed the issue.

I've never taken pity on bullies though.

Yanbu. It’s not the victim’s responsibility to care about what the bully may be going through. Why should they?