The recent rash of bullying episodes of gay teens across the U.S. leaves me shaken; in spite of great strides in recent years, gay kids in too many places still live in fear of their surroundings — and for those of us who have made it through youth’s crucible and sit comfortably in diverse major centers, the echo of intolerance still resonates.

I thought about this while watching the new Wall Street movie, a sequel to the acclaimed original from 1987. It’s interesting to see what’s changed since then: New York is glossier, shinier, and ever more expensive. Wood-paneled steak joints have been replaced by sushi spots and nightclubs as the preferred hangout of the Wall Street elites. Gordon Gekko, played by a much older Michael Douglas once more, nails it best: “I once said greed is good; now it seems it’s legal.” From the petty miscreancy of insider trading has emerged far more elaborate — and difficult to prosecute — ways of making obscene amounts of money, oftentimes at the expense — literally — of millions of regular folk. The gap between the financiers — indeed, anyone in senior positions in America — and the Rest Of Us has gone back to extremes not seen since the Gilded Age.

But the Gekko line that sums it all up even better than the greed quote — and connects it with these bullying incidents — comes late in the movie, after old Gordon has revealed his true colors. When pressed to ask why he does what he does, if it’s about the money or about something else, Gekko angrily retorts: “It’s about the game.” A senior bank executive in Chicago once said something similar to me when I naively mentioned my satisfaction with this country’s diversity and openness; his response: “What really makes America succeed is its competitiveness.” He went on to tell me an anecdote about his high school football team being told to tone down their brutality; “they didn’t make the playoffs that year,” he continued. “What does that tell you?”

It’s this mindset that I find most worrying, as bullies grow into men (or women) and find legal and moral justification for their ways in the capitalist system. Yes, a world of dominance and predation can work — but at what cost? Are we simply looking to perpetuate the world we knew in our darkest childhood moments? Are we okay with society quietly degenerating into Lord of the Flies?

Pessimists say it’s inevitable, philosophically reciting notions about human nature. But not everyone accepts this world view: if there’s one thing that encourages me about this latest rash of young violence and suicide it’s the outpouring of concern and support by media and celebrities. I’d like to think we live in a better time, where stuff like this is openly discussed and disparaged instead of being swept under the rug or pooh-poohed as “boys will be boys.” I look to my own family and see my nieces and nephews raised to accept diversity and to shun violence and nastiness. And I hold out the belief that we can grow as a society, as a civilization, without the need to baldly assert dominance over each other.