--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When people don't like themselves very…" description: "\"When people don't like themselves very much, they have to make up for it. The classic bully was actually a victim first.\" — Tom Hiddleston" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/tom-hiddleston-1633_bully_when-people-don-t-like-themselves-very-m_2575651.png" --- # When people don't like themselves very much, they have to… ![“When people don't like themselves very much, they have to make up for it. The classic bully was actually a victim first.” quote by Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/tom-hiddleston-1633_bully_when-people-don-t-like-themselves-very-m_2575651.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/tom-hiddleston-1633_bully_when-people-don-t-like-themselves-very-m_2575651.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/tom-hiddleston-1633_bully_when-people-don-t-like-themselves-very-m_2575651.png) > “When people don't like themselves very much, they have to make up for it. The classic bully was actually a victim first.” [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Insecurity can drive bullying; bullies often project their own self‑hate onto others. **In simple terms:** Bullies act out of low self‑esteem. Key Takeaway Address personal insecurities to reduce bullying. Themes psychology bullying self‑esteem Mood empathetic concerned Type educational reflective When to use this quote - school - online forums Key Concepts projection defense mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to build self‑respect? - How can you support victims? A Different Perspective Not all bullies fit this pattern. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actually Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actually-victim-1732319/) [Bully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bully/) [Bully Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bully-actually-1732317/) [Bullying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bullying/) [Classic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classic/) [Classic Bully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classic-bully-1732318/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/) ## Related quotes > [When I wrote 'Bully,' I was actually writing it. I was playing the beat and I was trying to write with a pen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-spice/when-i-wrote-bully-i-was-actually-writing-it-i-was-playing-the-beat/) [Ice Spice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-spice/) > [The best revenge against bullies is absolutely, resolutely, never to let them change who you are. Know that whatever bullies say or do -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/the-best-revenge-against-bullies-is-absolutely-resolutely-never-to/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [“but at heart, he was still a coward which he masked by being a bully. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/but-at-heart-he-was-still-a-coward-which-he-masked-by-being-a-bully/) [Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/) > [Our Animal Sanctuary initiative has many layers. We are aiming to create a place where abandoned and bullied creatures come together with bullied youth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-somerhalder/our-animal-sanctuary-initiative-has-many-layers-we-are-aiming-to/) [Ian Somerhalder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-somerhalder/) > [I feel as though I'm nice and that I'm down to earth, and - people like me get taken advantage of. So by being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-williams/i-feel-as-though-i-m-nice-and-that-i-m-down-to-earth-and-people-like/) [Wendy Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-williams/) > [Even bullies need love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-walters/even-bullies-need-love/) [Eric Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-walters/) > [Bully and Jealousy are such an ugly quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uniique-styles-randxom/bully-and-jealousy-are-such-an-ugly-quality/) [Uniique Styles Randxom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uniique-styles-randxom/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-shanks/) > [ \[Putin\] 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/) > [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/) ## More by Tom Hiddleston > [“My mum always taught me the value of knowing, recognizing and acknowledging when you had a good day. There are so many bad days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/my-mum-always-taught-me-the-value-of-knowing-recognizing-and/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [I definitely go through periods where I'm in a particular mood, or there's a consistent imaginative context that I feel I'm in, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-definitely-go-through-periods-where-i-m-in-a-particular-mood-or/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [We're all intrigued, in our civilized world that we live in, and curious about how we would get on, on an undiscovered island that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/we-re-all-intrigued-in-our-civilized-world-that-we-live-in-and/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [“To have compassion for a character is no different from having compassion for another human being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/to-have-compassion-for-a-character-is-no-different-from-having/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [I think a healthy connection with the natural world actually makes us more human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-think-a-healthy-connection-with-the-natural-world-actually-makes-us/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [If you look at all of the villains in the course of human history, they've all believed, delusionally, in the virtue of their actions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/if-you-look-at-all-of-the-villains-in-the-course-of-human-history/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [I don't want to be quoted as 'Tom Hiddleston, psychologist says...' But there is a psychological aspect to being an actor. We are particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-don-t-want-to-be-quoted-as-tom-hiddleston-psychologist-says-but/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [I gave myself permission to care, because there are a lot of people in this world who are afraid of caring, who are afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-gave-myself-permission-to-care-because-there-are-a-lot-of-people-in/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [The most interesting thing about being alive is that there is no black and white; there are many shades of gray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/the-most-interesting-thing-about-being-alive-is-that-there-is-no/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [ “Well, the thing that I suppose is closest to my heart is Shakespeare. I really am a nerd about Shakespeare, I love it \[laughs\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/well-the-thing-that-i-suppose-is-closest-to-my-heart-is-shakespeare-i/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [I would always play the baddie, incidentally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-would-always-play-the-baddie-incidentally/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [Make love, not war. Unless you’re Loki, in which case: do what you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/make-love-not-war-unless-you-re-loki-in-which-case-do-what-you-want/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [Everybody is great and the chemistry is different with everyone. That is the joy of acting - you really don't know how it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/everybody-is-great-and-the-chemistry-is-different-with-everyone-that/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [Truth in drama is elusive. You never quite find it, but the search for it is compulsive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/truth-in-drama-is-elusive-you-never-quite-find-it-but-the-search-for/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) [Explore all 220 Tom Hiddleston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "When people don't like themselves very much, they have to make up for it. 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