[Blarg]

You can help them though, by establishing a better way of talking to you. I've been able to do this even with bosses, almost always. You have to be willing to stand up for yourself consistently though, and maybe even bark back once or twice yourself. Many people have a much easier time understanding that someone is pissed that they are treated badly than they do understanding that you shouldn't treat people badly. If you never raise it as an issue, it won't even register to them that they're doing it.

Double whammy on that: you get more and more mad as they do it more and more over time, and they get more and more used to thinking it's okay to do. After a while you're either heartsick or furious while they don't even know anything is wrong, and maybe one day you explode inappropriately over some minor matter and can fairly be called crazy.

It's always good to clear things up before bad habits get set in stone and resentments start piling up and choking you, or just draining your spirit. People may not like you for pointing out flaws in the way they talk to you, not at first anyway, but they will respect you a LOT more for it. And in the end, abusive people tend to like someone who demands respect anyway. Those who knuckle under? If they didn't despise them already, doing so becomes inevitable. Bullies never come to respect their victims for taking their abuse.