--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: but at heart, he was still a coward which…" description: "\"“but at heart, he was still a coward which he masked by being a bully. ”\" — Dirk Patton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eee/dirk-patton-14812_bully_but-at-heart-he-was-still-a-coward-which_151889.jpg" --- # but at heart, he was still a coward which he masked by… ![“but at heart, he was still a coward which he masked by being a bully.” quote by Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eee/dirk-patton-14812_bully_but-at-heart-he-was-still-a-coward-which_151889.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eee/dirk-patton-14812_bully_but-at-heart-he-was-still-a-coward-which_151889.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eee/dirk-patton-14812_bully_but-at-heart-he-was-still-a-coward-which_151889.jpg) > ““but at heart, he was still a coward which he masked by being a bully. ”” [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A bully may hide cowardice behind aggression, revealing underlying fear. **In simple terms:** Bullies often mask fear with aggression. Key Takeaway Address the root fear behind aggression. Themes psychology bullying fear Mood concerned thoughtful Type reflective advice When to use this quote - schools - workplaces - online communities - family interactions Key Concepts social dynamics defensive behavior Questions to Reflect On - Why do people use aggression to protect themselves? - How can we confront bullying without reinforcing fear? A Different Perspective Not all aggression stems from fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bully/) [Bullying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bullying/) [Masked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masked/) ## Related quotes > [If you are courageous, listen to the heart. If you are a coward, listen to the head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/if-you-are-courageous-listen-to-the-heart-if-you-are-a-coward-listen/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Bullies are always to be found where there are cowards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/bullies-are-always-to-be-found-where-there-are-cowards/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [We despise and abhor the bully, the brawler, the oppressor, whether in private or public life, but we despise no less the coward and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/we-despise-and-abhor-the-bully-the-brawler-the-oppressor-whether-in/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Bullies are always cowards at heart and may be credited with a pretty safe instinct in scenting their prey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/bullies-are-always-cowards-at-heart-and-may-be-credited-with-a-pretty/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [They look so expectant, and then they look so depressed... that was the other great lesson that The Royal Hunt of the Sun taught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shaffer/they-look-so-expectant-and-then-they-look-so-depressed-that-was-the/) [Peter Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shaffer/) > [In Paris, our lives are one masked ball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-leroux/in-paris-our-lives-are-one-masked-ball/) [Gaston Leroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-leroux/) > [Ambition is but avarice on stilts, and masked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/ambition-is-but-avarice-on-stilts-and-masked/) [Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/) > [“Our lives are one masked ball.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-leroux/our-lives-are-one-masked-ball/) [Gaston Leroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-leroux/) > [“Your darkest moment rips off every mask. It makes you see the world for what it really is. And people, for who they truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/your-darkest-moment-rips-off-every-mask-it-makes-you-see-the-world/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“Every dystopia is masked by a utopia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-lovejoy/every-dystopia-is-masked-by-a-utopia/) Rose Lovejoy > [“masked ball tonight,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-rice/masked-ball-tonight/) [Morgan Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-rice/) > [And I wasnt playing a role I was trying to be myself. But the harder I was striving, the more I was realizing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-i-wasnt-playing-a-role-i-was-trying-to-be-myself-but-the-harder-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It has long been my conviction that a masked man with a gun is a target. I see no reason to change that view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/it-has-long-been-my-conviction-that-a-masked-man-with-a-gun-is-a/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [“His character would be blamed, loathed, discussed, and adored – but somewhere there, behind his mask of a hero, Cardew would remain faceless. Anonymous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simona-panova/his-character-would-be-blamed-loathed-discussed-and-adored-but/) [Simona Panova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simona-panova/) > [“Masked by a pair of pink cotton panties, the man looks like some sort of deranged bank robber.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-lundy/masked-by-a-pair-of-pink-cotton-panties-the-man-looks-like-some-sort/) Dave Lundy ## More by Dirk Patton > [“A friend of mine had called it ‘the Finger of God’ because whatever it reached out and touched just ceased to exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/a-friend-of-mine-had-called-it-the-finger-of-god-because-whatever-it/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [“unlike in the movies, propellers don’t dice up the bad guy to end the fight then keep on spinning like nothing happened. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/unlike-in-the-movies-propellers-don-t-dice-up-the-bad-guy-to-end-the/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [“We had been hiding and fighting for days and were still within a two hour drive of Atlanta. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/we-had-been-hiding-and-fighting-for-days-and-were-still-within-a-two/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [“It was just like a scene out of The Walking Dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/it-was-just-like-a-scene-out-of-the-walking-dead/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [“We blasted through Laramie, Wyoming, seeing nothing other than the empty pavement brightly illuminated by the Charger’s lights.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/we-blasted-through-laramie-wyoming-seeing-nothing-other-than-the/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [“The concern was an infected getting sucked into an engine. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/the-concern-was-an-infected-getting-sucked-into-an-engine/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [“They’d found both, and brought back a variety of non-lethal weapons.  He snorted at the oxymoron.  How could a weapon be non-lethal?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/they-d-found-both-and-brought-back-a-variety-of-non-lethal-weapons-he/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [“leaned into the void and placed his”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/leaned-into-the-void-and-placed-his/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [“A deep strike to the kidneys will send the human body into immediate shock, rendering it unable to fight or flee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/a-deep-strike-to-the-kidneys-will-send-the-human-body-into-immediate/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [“Outfitted with a 25 mm GAU-12 Equalizer, one Bofors 40 mm autocannon, and one 105 mm M102 cannon, it can and does unleash hell on earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/outfitted-with-a-25-mm-gau-12-equalizer-one-bofors-40-mm-autocannon/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [“The truck was two-wheel drive,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/the-truck-was-two-wheel-drive/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [“Screeching to a stop, he jumped out and quickly unhooked the chain from the back bumper, hopped back in and roared away, female infected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/screeching-to-a-stop-he-jumped-out-and-quickly-unhooked-the-chain/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [“you fight with what you have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/you-fight-with-what-you-have/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [“There was no tickle of breath as she held her face in front of the pilot’s.  He was dead.  Rachel sat back with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/there-was-no-tickle-of-breath-as-she-held-her-face-in-front-of-the/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [“polite society is just a paper thin veil that masks the true animal nature of man”. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/polite-society-is-just-a-paper-thin-veil-that-masks-the-true-animal/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) [Explore all 45 Dirk Patton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) ## More Bully quotes > [I never caught on to being a bully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/i-never-caught-on-to-being-a-bully/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [ \[Putin\] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/putin-is-a-bully-and-bullies-only-understand-when-we-punch-them-in/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [Bullies enjoy dark happiness; these are the blank parts that eventually fill their minds with nothingness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-shanks/bullies-enjoy-dark-happiness-these-are-the-blank-parts-that/) Emily Shanks > [“You fed us, washed us, forced that vile medicine down our throats. By sheer force of will you made some of us live who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-osborne/you-fed-us-washed-us-forced-that-vile-medicine-down-our-throats-by/) [Maggie Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-osborne/) > [Nothing can prepare you for living or working with a sociopathic serial bully. It is the most devastating, draining, misunderstood, and ultimately futile experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-field/nothing-can-prepare-you-for-living-or-working-with-a-sociopathic/) [Tim Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-field/) > [John McCain is a liar and flip-flopper and panderer and bully and whiner. And it seems to be working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tomasky/john-mccain-is-a-liar-and-flip-flopper-and-panderer-and-bully-and/) Michael Tomasky > [Democracy becomes a government of bullies tempered by editors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/democracy-becomes-a-government-of-bullies-tempered-by-editors/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I daydreamed that when you grow up there are more bullies and how wonderful that would be if it were true, but, it's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-daydreamed-that-when-you-grow-up-there-are-more-bullies-and-how/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [The real problem with Donald Trump is, if you engage him, it will only make things worse. It's like - it's a little bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-walter/the-real-problem-with-donald-trump-is-if-you-engage-him-it-will-only/) [Amy Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-walter/) > [It won't ruin our movement if someone gets killed in an animal rights action. It's going to happen sooner or later. The Animal Liberation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-vlasak/it-won-t-ruin-our-movement-if-someone-gets-killed-in-an-animal-rights/) [Jerry Vlasak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-vlasak/) > [It's the bully who is insecure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shay-mitchell/it-s-the-bully-who-is-insecure/) [Shay Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shay-mitchell/) > [Knowing what's right doesn't mean much unless you do what's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/knowing-what-s-right-doesn-t-mean-much-unless-you-do-what-s-right/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [“Jilly looked at it with a sinking heart. It was difficult enough when the exotic, undeniably gorgeous creature of her fantasies had turned out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-stuart/jilly-looked-at-it-with-a-sinking-heart-it-was-difficult-enough-when/) [Anne Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-stuart/) > [Always be a first-rate version of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-yourself/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) [Browse all 729 Bully quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bully/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“but at heart, he was still a coward which he masked by being a bully. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dirk Patton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/but-at-heart-he-was-still-a-coward-which-he-masked-by-being-a-bully/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bully" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/but-at-heart-he-was-still-a-coward-which-he-masked-by-being-a-bully/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eee/dirk-patton-14812_bully_but-at-heart-he-was-still-a-coward-which_151889.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eee/dirk-patton-14812_bully_but-at-heart-he-was-still-a-coward-which_151889.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eee/dirk-patton-14812_bully_but-at-heart-he-was-still-a-coward-which_151889.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“but at heart, he was still a coward which he masked by being a bully.” — Dirk Patton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dirk Patton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“but at heart, he was still...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/but-at-heart-he-was-still-a-coward-which-he-masked-by-being-a-bully/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/but-at-heart-he-was-still-a-coward-which-he-masked-by-being-a-bully/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```