Bullies come in all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life.  I think we have an idea or stereotype in our head about what bullies look like which keep us from seeing the real bullies that are a part of our everyday lives.  Lately, we have been experiencing some bullying by people, for all intents and purposes, who seem very nice.  They are not threatening to hurt us physically but they are threatening our self-esteem.  They are trying to make us feel, less than, not good, ashamed.   Any person that tries to make you feel bad about yourself so that he/she can get their needs met, is what I call a bully.  Big businesses often act in bullying ways, people with money can act very bullying, any person or group of people that try to push you around because they can or are in a position to do so, are in my book.......... bullies.  Be careful not to bully others and if you run across a bully, stand up for yourself, set a boundary, no matter how crude it may be.  Tell them no they can't treat you poorly or with disrespect.  The problem with bullies is that they are empowered by fear, theirs and others and if we act afraid or respond in a fear-based way we guarantee that the bullying behavior will remain in effect and will continue to used against us.  Don't just do it for yourself, do it for the world at large, for all the people that are bullied every day with very little recourse or way to fight back.