Faggot=Loser

Corbett's personal approach to young boys' anxieties and aggression, I think, is lovely. What he recognizes in Josh, I see every day, with almost every guy. It's interesting how easy it is to notice people's defenses. Yesterday, as I was going down the elevator, two guys were talking about one of their friends who was not with them at the moment. One of the guys in the elevator said something like "He's such a faggot for not coming tonight." He played it cool for a couple of seconds and then accidentally broke character for a second to look at the other guy and his reaction to calling their friend a faggot. He wanted his friend to acknowledge his manliness, which he did soon after with a fake laugh and a "yeah, what the fuck!", so that he could feel perhaps more connected with his more immediate friend. Maybe he's scared, maybe he doesn't know who the hell he is. Guys want to be the biggest, most important things in the room and do everything they can to trick the people around them to agree. The word "faggot," or "fag," is especially effective at helping people feel big because only the manliest, emotionless men receive admiration. They're willing to sacrifice others, the "fags," for that trophy, recognition/admiration. The hardest part of this quest I think is muffling all emotion and intimacy toward others as one proceeds to take such an intense and emotional objective such as acknowledgment.