Teenage boys and the locker room!

The locker room has always had a machismo persona attached to it when dealing with boys athletics. It's been a place of camraderie, game-planning, celebration and agony. But it has also been a place of cruelty. A place where the "weak" are not welcome and are reduced to prey from entitled predators. Often high-school athletes have been crowned "super special" by their peers, coaches and even themselves by virtue of running, kicking, throwing, shooting, tackling or manipulating their bodies or some ball in a way that is superior to the typical person. Is this lunacy or not? Why is the chess guy not revered or the computer geek who coded Mario Bros. (well I'm sure he is) or the dude that leads the improv club? Who decided that shooting steroids, treating girls like crap, seeing school as an obstacle to overcome and sporting a winning smile behind arrogant eyes is worthy of such noble notice? I abhor the locker room culture not because I was a target as I was an all-state athlete. But because I was often among other athletes that felt that they were better than other kids because they played a sport. In the big picture, no one truly gives a crap!