Bullied out of the Áras? Well that’s Mary’s story now

NOT so long ago Mary Robinson branded Donald Trump a bully, adding that we ‘have to stand up to bullies’. Now she says that she allowed former UN secretary general Kofi Annan to bully her into leaving the presidency early. Perhaps she used the term lightly and meant that Annan was just guilty of not-so-gentle persuasion. At any rate, it would be interesting to know why she bent to his will. Malleability is not a quality we associate with President Robinson, for obvious and commendable reasons. If she wanted the United Nations job desperately enough to risk alienating our goodwill, then she should just admit that now at this stage in her career. Bullying is an ugly business; it exists in all walks of life, at every level of society and across all age groups. But it will never be challenged as long as we use it too lightly or imprecisely, or if it’s used as an umbrella term for teasing or forceful persuasion, which seems to be the case here. On the other hand, if Mrs Robinson genuinely maintains that Kofi Annan actually bullied her into taking a job against her better judgment then we should sit up and listen. The UN is dedicated to forging peace and human rights throughout the world and Annan was one of its most prominent figureheads. It would be bleakly ironic if bullying was also a part of that august organisation.