The personality of a bully is a social aberrant. Could we imagine a functioning society were that was a dominant trait, a commonality among people? The word dysfunctional falls short. But, none the less they will always be part of the social soup.
I too despise fake praise, however I'm trying, I'm really trying to give them the benefit of doubt and lately as you can see from the little spammer in here, I've been trolling them back. A soft deterrent... if they show up again, then I might flag them.