When I was seventeen, I worked in a restaurant. One afternoon I was on my knees cleaning the floor. My manager walked by and stepped on my hand - he weighed about 275 pounds, and it hurt. "Sorry," I said, removing my hand from his path. He said nothing.

Yes, status play makes for good drama. ("House" is enjoyable mostly for that reason.) But I question whether it has inherent value in real life. I don't think either of us came away from that interaction better than if he had apologized and I had not.