My wife teaches at a small middle school. For years she was complaining about this one class. Far more than other classes at this school, this one was torn apart by clicquishness, mean gossip, social scheming, climbing, backstabbing, deliberate exclusion, etc. -- all the sins for which middle school is notorious. She often said that the problem was that there were no clearly dominant figures in the class. If the dominant figures are nice, then the class tends to be nice. If they are miserable, the class tends to be miserable. But when they were absent, it caused anxiety and uncertainty that led to a loss of minimal standards of social behavior.

*sigh* So we're monkeys. At least we don't throw excrement at each other. Mostly.

That cities will now bear a "made in china" tag? :)