Do bullies usually back down when someone firmly stands up to them?

[Anonymous]

My brother and I just came to finally meeting our maternal grandfather Armando. My mom reunited with my father at the age of 61. He's now in his late 80's. My mother was raised by her grandparents and supposedly he was fighting for years to see his first daughter (mom) but she actually got lucky she wasn't ever raised by her father. After what I heard how he raised his kids (mom's half siblings) he didn't deserve her in the end.

He told her himself that if he had raised her, he would've spanked her growing up. My mother's half-sister and half-brother told her she's lucky because he would've hit hard with hose, belt or sticks. While the half-brother is all about saying how grateful he is for that harsh upbringing, the half-sister explains their father was so mean and that everyone had to be seated and all quiet when he came from work. She went on explaining that when she was 18 or in her early 20's, her father tried to hit her with a hose or something but she grabbed him hard by both wrists, pushing him with all her might and anger in her tone, loudly told him along the lines ''Hit my brother. He tolerates it but not me. I'm not my brother. Don't you ever hit me again. That's the last time or else, you understand''. He turned bright red from feeling upset, powerless and embarrassed , walked away and till this day never dare hit her ever again. She left him speechless.

So this is how most bullies are? Cowards? Backing down when someone doesn't show fear anymore?

[lilBigPotato]

Bullies like to go after the weak. I'm sure many will back down if they're up against someone equal or stronger, because they're cowards.

[Asker]

Yeah from what I'm hearing, my mother's half-brother Marlon has always been a kiss-ass towards his father. Armando treated their other brother Rafael (mom's other half-brother) better; for some reason he's the only child he never hit. Ironically Rafael (the one he never hit) doesn't even visit him that much and he still has preference for that son over Marlon, the kiss-ass. Yet the one that was hit a lot, is close to his father, is ever so sweet to his father, total kiss-ass. My mother's half-sister isn't that close to her father, doesn't kiss ass.
Totally doesn't make sense.

[Asker]

Looks like Armando was allowed to be a bully because of Marlon being weak meanwhile his other two children aren't kissing asses. I guess it's true for bullies, not only are they cowards and they will only be bullies to whoever tolerates them.

[Pterodon]

Definitely you might still lose but at least they’ll respect you

[Asker]

Indeed. Meanwhile my mother's half-brother has always been a kiss-ass (even now as a man in his mid-late 50's) to his father, still very affectionate, putting his father on a pedestal, thinking those whoppings made him a progressive, decent family man, etc.
All that and yet my grandfather Armando still considers his younger brother (my mother's other half-sibling) Rafael his favorite child. That's the only child he never hit and that child doesn't visit him too much, isn't very affectionate. He's also a wealthy man even without getting hit but he isn't kissing asses like the other one. I'm guessing he likely sees the ass-kissing son as weak and a pushover.
At least the daughter put a stop to his abusing ways. She never placed him on a pedestal and told my mother how he was like. She never once said how grateful she is for whopping like the kiss-ass does.