act out towards Tiffany

The authors desire to fit in caused him to act out towards Tiffany.  I believe this essay is about the effect of wanting to belong.  All his examples of how they ridiculed, teased, and beat her were the effect of wanting to be part of the group, and to have the feeling of belonging to something of a higher power.  I am sure that we have all seen this and have been a part of it is some way, either by being on the receiving or giving end of it.   I don’t think that it stops at the school yard.  I have seen it happen in the workplace as well.  May people use gossip as a way to try to make them look better than a coworker, or a way to make that coworker have less worth to the company than they do.  It could just be to make them feel better about themselves, as if they were somehow raising their own self worth by ridiculing others.