Thanks, SE. I can't believe that professional jealousy could lead to this. I'm trying to find a term for it and I'm failing.
Here is my e-mail to Mr. Laurence:
Once upon a time there was a schoolyard. Every day during recess it was filled with children playing and laughing together.
As often happens, the children grouped themselves in various little sections according to the kinds of games they liked best.
One day, some of the children didn't return with the others to the classroom after recess. No one paid much attention till it was time to go home. The teachers were concerned and set about searching for them. The other children were secretly glad because they didn't like the games the missing children played. They laughed about it and talked about how smart they were for playing the best games in the schoolyard. A week went by and none of the missing children were found. The other children went on.. not paying attention or worrying about their schoolmates.
It required a grown-up to talk with the children and teach them it was wrong not to wonder, care and worry about the fate of their schoolmates. But for these children it didn't matter- they never listened to the grown-ups They pretended to listen- but they didn't, not truly.... and so they never grew up.
Please tell this little tale to your children and ask them if they would want to have friends as these.
Terms are easy to find if one uses blue language. Sometimes it's tough staying out of the gutter, because the only way to describe gutter runners is to use their language.