Sorry I didn't mean to imply that your friend is abusive, I don't know him.
I am wondering, if you don't mind me asking if you do just ignore me
, about this that you said..
.
"He just expects people to be confident (he's not exactly confident himself thus lack of confidence in others bothers him.) and he thinks the best way to help them get there is to challenge them by joking about their weaknesses and continuously challenging them"
How does he respond when they challenge him, what does he say or do?