I said "usually", not "aways." There ARE people who just enjoy hurting people. They are called psychopaths. Most people are not psychopaths. By derivative, most bullies are not psychopaths, and thus most bullies don't have such a rationale behind their bullying.
In either case, separating the bullies from those they bully is the first step-- it allows the ones being bullied to be free of the bully, and that seperation allows for the remedial social support training for the bully away from those they were bullying. Should they fail to respond to treatment, and present clinical signs of psychopathy, they can be detected early, and much harm can be avoided. Those that respond well to the new environment become better socially adjusted people with stronger internal coping mechanisms that dont rely on hurting others.
But again-- requires telling parents that they are doing something wrong with their child, which is a non-starter.
Neon:
You make that assertion pretty boldy. Have you ever been a bully?
Many times in my people watching, I have observed more of the bully's social life than what most who have experienced bullying do. Bullies tend to get bullied themselves by their peers. They may not have any real, intrinsic desire to hurt other people, but do so out of a sense of needing to remain socially relevant. EG, the clique of cool girls who pick on the nerdy girl. Most of that clique does it because the "big bitch" does not like the nerdy girl, and the local social structure revolves around the bitch. (just as an example.) It then becomes a choice of sticking with the social dynamic (due to lack of strong internal self-esteem), and bullying the nerdy girl-- or suffering an identity crisis after refusing to bully the nerdy girl. Kids may not be fully aware of this choice-- people are programmed for social behavior biologically, they don't usually rationally contemplate their actions.
There are similar group dynamics that happen with groups of boys.