power plays and male bonding

it has been two days of being enmeshed in the petty politics of all dimensions. inevitably, because of recent developments certain facts, which were always known, were brought to light- and once out there in the open we have been forced to act upon them. there is the danger that plagues young men looking for security, especially young men who are not so secure in themselves. they crave a space where they are accepted. sometimes this can be good, sometimes it can make them fall. and to vie for their attention are a myriad different ways of seeing, many different power centers, each resenting the other, dissing it as invalid or corrupt. given this situation, and the trauma of an architectural education, is it really that surprising when gods are made of mere mortals, when cliques are formed over cigarettes and beer; when devotees and acolytes throng around anyone who offers them clarity- a rule book from where to begin living their lives. when something here goes wrong, it can destroy the very foundations upon which this community is built. built on a trust, it is a brittle thing to break if a crack develops. and when it does, it becomes fetid with rumours and backbiting; of gossip and bitching. from the point of view of an outsider, it must seem rather insidious; but i do not know if it is easy to extract oneself from its grasp when the community is as small as it often is. power is addictive, as we know. and most of the time it is its own reward.