Today’s fact is If you don’t confront a bully directly, he will own you. This applies to all levels of society, from the schoolyard to the overarching government itself.

Bullies are on a power trip. They get off on making the “alien” element among them, among their version of society, kneel. It is up to you to interrupt their power trip, breaking the chain in their (limited) consciousness.

Fear is the soul-killer. Fear of confrontation. Fear of standing up for yourself.

Fear makes indecision possible. When you’re young, and a bully is stalking you, the best thing to do is go up to the bully and smack him in the head.

Fathers should teach their sons this invaluable skill. He should practice being the bully with his son, so that his boy develops brain patterns — automated response units in the mind — that have him lashing back. The goal of the victim should be not only to stop one act of bullying but to shut the bully down for good. Violence is acceptable in this pursuit.

Even if you’re not violent, showing resistance is a good way to stop bullying (although I still support a fist in the face). You can’t just pretend nothing is going on. Something is going on.

The born bully looks for easy marks. He’s like the lioness hunting in the field. She goes after the weak and the slow, not the strong and the fast. If you separate yourself from the category of “easy mark,” he will leave you alone and go for another sap.

The bully is a twisted individual, in a lame way. He typically isn’t very good at school, and probably doesn’t have much to recommend him as a human being. Bullying is one of his few outlets of pleasure. You can’t reason with a bully or talk him out of it. Adolf Hitler or Donald Trump won’t ever be swayed by your words alone. They hate weakness — so don’t show it. Marshall your resources to put up a good fight. That’s all you can do.

Pain is the antidote to bullying. Put the bully in a world of pain. Leap on him and claw him with your nails. Kick him in the groin. If you don’t act, he’ll own you. You’ll live in terror of crossing the wrong patch of schoolyard or workplace with him in it. Do you want to live in terror? You must double down on resistance as the path to greater security. Resist resist resist!

Violence is a part of the world and should be accepted as such. The nonviolent pacifist, or protester, or kind-hearted sap, is out of the loop. If you’re a woman, you can afford to be nonviolent — society magically yields for you, allowing you to be gentle and passive. But if you’re a man none of the rules apply to you. Violence can be visited on you at any time. If someone spits on you, knock out their teeth. If someone trips you, get up, dust yourself off — and charge them in a sprinting rush. You must be prepared for violence in this life, or prepare to be “owned.”