In general, I have held to the notion that I was bullied for most of my time in elementary and middle school. Starting with a kick to my throat on the kindergarten playground, to being hung upside down on a teeter-totter, to having my head thrown to the curb, to being tripped regularly, to having books knocked out of my hands, to being mocked an jeered in the locker room, to being insulted for my Middle Eastern appearance (despite my lack of Middle Eastern heritage), to even having someone try and hit me with a car, I felt that I had ample evidence that I was the victim of bullying. Although I am not doubting that claim, I do wonder if others may have felt just as bullied by me.
I clearly remember a few students in the sixth and seventh grades seemed to enjoy picking on me no matter the situation. However, I just as clearly remember "getting even" with them with particularly pointed insults. In one case, a meeting with one of my tormentors at our five-year reunion demonstrated that he felt he was the victim of my aggression.
In truth, I didn't always treat my friends that well either. I tended to say what I thought was funny (and in high school, I found a lot of crude comments funny) without considering how weak my "I'm just joking" defense was when taking account my friends' feelings (which I was not always the best at doing anyway). I certainly did not consider what they might be going through and how off-the-cuff sorts of comments might have only added to their problems.
I wonder how many other bullies think of themselves as victims too. Did we perhaps create cyclical scenarios where one type of bullying led to another? Did those who bullied me face bullying elsewhere in their lives?