Serial bullies tend to get away with bullying because of their vindictive nature. The longer this pattern goes on, the more damage they bestow on their victims and the more likely the bully will carry this behavior into adulthood. As children, bullies can be taught to change their behavior and learn new ways of relating to other children. When questioned, serial bullies generally deny they did anything wrong and often twist their answers in such a way so they appear as if they are the victims.
Serial bullies twist the facts and often lie to get out of any impending trouble. The serial bully will show little to no emotion and appear matter-of-fact while the victim loses control of her emotions and looks like the one lacking self-control. This is one of the methods the serial bully uses to keep his victims under control. Serial bullies are charming, yet deceiving. It can take a long time to figure out these deceptive mind games, while the victims often suffer unacknowledged, in silence.
Serial bullies are often emotionally stunted. Perhaps, they were abused, have poor role models or were emotionally neglected. They know what to say to their followers and authority figures. They speak in a way that makes authority figures dealing with these situations believe that the bullies will stop and they understand that their behavior is wrong. The problem is that they are missing something inside that allows them empathy for others and the bullying continues once the authority figures leave the scene.
Serial bullies thrive on gaining and keeping control to get what they want from others. They know who to please and how to go about charming those in power. Serial bullies are often able to turn group members against the victim. The people in the group may fear the bully turning on them so they go along with it even though they know it's wrong. The bully increases his power over the group while the victim becomes further isolated and alone.