I think this article is spot-on. I’ve never bought the bullies-are-hurting-inside psychobabble. Kids can be cruel because they can’t empathize until they themselves suffer. Thus, kids at the top of the social heap are more likely to be mean, whereas kids who are picked-on are usually kind to other kids. Growing up, the smarter (in a non-nerdy way), more athletic, better looking kids were the bullies and the ugly, uncoordinated kids in the “dumb group†were the ones they picked on. It has been ever thus.
I’ve never bought that nonsense about bullies having low self-esteem either. In my experience, they are usually people who were never trained at home to respect others, or (in some cases) they actually had bullying modeled for them by a parent who was a bully. Incidentally, I know someone who says all the guys in his school who were bullies became cops. Intimidating other people gives a thrill to people with a certain personality type.