Pretty much all bull****. I'm sorry Apollo, if you were a bully then that's what it was.
Bullying isn't something that is "inevitable" nor "genetic". It is something that is either socially acceptable or not. In your case, I'd guess it was an accepted reality by everyone involved. I've heard that this problem is endemic in America, for example. However, the existence of thousands of counter-examples of other cultures having a deeply ingrained behavior of not bullying shows that this is a solvable problem. It may be very hard to change a culture like that, but to call out the discussion as being stupid a priori is.... ****ing stupid.
The desire to dominate others is a natural human trait, as we can see from nearly every civilization that has ever existed. Bullying is simply one manifestation of it; imperialism and authoritarianism are others, and they are all related.
Yeah, except we don't live in a dictatorship anymore, now do we? It may well be the case that these "traits" are genetic, but they aren't deterministic. At all. As I said, counter examples abound.
My perspective may be skewed because I live in America, where in my experience bullies are everywhere. What are these counter-examples you mention?
I have a bird's eye view of this because I have experienced "both worlds". I did experience 4 years of a culture completely lacking any kind of bullying at all in my infancy. And then I experienced 4 years of astonishing levels of bullying. The kids weren't that different. However, the culture was a completely different one, what was innacceptable in one was deemed innocent in the other. Where one school was capable of exerting its authority, the other had practically given up.
I haven't all the answers, but the question of the inevitability of bullying seems a trivial one: no, it's not inevitable. If you are to say that the solutions are not trivial due to the factors involved being very deep (cultural, parenting, social alienation due to urbanization, etc.,etc.,etc.) I'm with you. No they aren't easy. To say that the conversation itself is inane and dumb is however a step backwards. What a waste! What a way to give up before even starting.
Yes, bullying is a big problem, yes, we should have this conversation, and yes we should try to solve it.