Short answers, pulled from the story.
In the 1530s, the word bully meant sweetheart, a term of endearment applied to either sex, derived from a root meaning lover or brother. By the 17th century, the meaning had deteriorated through fine fellow and blusterer to become harasser of the weak. The verb to bully was first attested in 1710, marking the moment language crystallized the behavior we now recognize as systemic abuse.
Studies have shown that bullying behavior is positively correlated with Dark Triad traits, with psychopathy being most strongly correlated to bullying. Psychologist Roy Baumeister asserts that people who are prone to abusive behavior tend to have inflated but fragile egos, reacting to perceived disrespect with violence and insults. The combination of antisocial traits and depression was found to be the best predictor of youth violence.
Often, bullying takes place in the presence of a large group of relatively uninvolved bystanders, creating an illusion that the bully has the support of the majority present. The bystander effect suggests that the more bystanders there are, the less individual responsibility each one feels to take action. The presence of bystanders is not merely passive; it is an active component of the bullying dynamic, transforming individual aggression into a systemic cultural phenomenon.
Individuals who are persistently subjected to abusive behavior are at risk of stress related illness which can sometimes lead to suicide. Those who have been the targets of bullying can develop long-term emotional and behavioral problems, including loneliness, depression, anxiety, and increased susceptibility to illness. It is estimated that between 15 and 25 children die by suicide every year in the UK alone because they are being bullied.
The first known documented use of workplace bullying is in 1992 in a book by Andrea Adams called Bullying at Work: How to Confront and Overcome It. Workplace bullying occurs when an employee experiences a persistent pattern of mistreatment from others in the workplace that causes harm, often perpetrated by someone in authority over the target. Bullying in the medical profession is common, particularly of student or trainee doctors and of nurses.
In 2016, in Canada, a North American legal precedent was set by a mother and her son, after the son was bullied in his public school. The mother and son won a court case against the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, making this the first case in North America where a school board has been found negligent in a bullying case for failing to meet the standard of care. There has been only one other similar bullying case and it was won in Australia in 2013.