"Cry-bullies" is a derogatory term used to describe "social justice warriors" or activists who assemble to "bully" specified opposition targets. The word is derived from "cry-bully," a label coined by right-wing (Spectator UK) columnist Julie Burchill, who uses it to describe individuals who are a "hideous hybrid of victim and
victor." Burchill's examples are arguably more bully than victim, however, and include
ex-Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson and self-proclaimed "Queen of all Media" Perez Hilton.
The plural "cry-bullies," unlike the singular "cry-bully," is used to anti-sympathetically identify groups of social activists who attempt to force
change in the name of social justice "Cry-bullying" is a social justice swarming tactic that is done publicly (or through livestreaming and/or uploading to
YouTube). Cry-bullying is a form of
high-stakes,
high-pressure social activism.
The term is used in the title of a video uploaded to
YouTube showing Yale Professor Nickolas Christakis, a world-renowned sociologist and physician, "standing up to Cry-Bullies." In the footage, Christakis rejects the group's "bullying" tactics by explaining to its members how the protections granted by the
United States Constitution's First Amendment apply not only to the group's right to free speech, but also to every other American citizen's, including his own.
