いじめっこ、いじめられっこ

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奥さん：隣にいるA君、高校ではいじめられっこなんですってね。
ご主人：いや、ところが近所の中学生に言わせると、彼はこの辺のいじめっこグループの一人だそうだよ。

Ijimekko, Ijimerarekko

Okusan: Tonari ni iru Ei-kun, kookoo de wa ijimerarekko nan desu'tte ne.
Goshujin: Iya, tokoro ga kinjo no chuugaku-sei ni iwaseru to, kare wa kono hen no ijimekko guruupu no hitori da soo da yo.

Wife: Apparently the boy next door is the victim of a lot of bullying at his high school.
Husband: But from what I've been told by some of the middle-school children in the neighborhood, he belongs, himself, to a gang of bullies around here.

* * *
The expression "ijimeru" has something unpleasant and depressing about it. Recently it often appears in the newspapers in connection with the problem of bullying at school. Some say its cause is the use of corporal punishment by teachers. Others argue that it is the education itself which encourages selfishness and egotism.
"Ijimekko" refers to someone who, for no good reason, bullies another who is weaker; sometimes kicking and punching him; sometimes even stealing from him as well. It can also happen, as in this conversation, that the bully may, himself, be a victim ("ijimerarekko"), too.