We divided them (children）into three groups, bigs, middles, and smalls. One of the middles was perpetually ill-treating the smalls, so I asked him why he did it. His answer was: 'The bigs hit me, so I hit the smalls; that's fair.' And he really thought it was.
Source: The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, v.2
More info.: https://russell-j.com/beginner/AB24-070.HTM
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The weak are objects of relief. Nevertheless, at first -- and sometimes for quite a long time -- they are often ignored. Only when the situation can no longer be overlooked do people finally step in to help.
In reality, however, it often happens that when a strong person bullies someone, the victim then bullies someone weaker. As a result, the weakest person, who cannot bully anyone, ends up suffering the most.
A remark by a certain bully, quoted in "Today's Words of Russell" -- "The bigs hit me, so I hit the smalls; that's fair." -- vividly illustrates this structure.
This structure can also be seen in international relations. For example, when President Trump strikes at a certain individual (or a certain country), that individual (or country), in turn, strikes at someone even weaker (or an even weaker country). So, which country, the weakest of all, is suffering the most? A bitter irony indeed.
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