OMG, this piece is so painful and true. And the sentence above contains the core mystery: what happens to these little boys? How does the world warp or fail them so deeply that they turn into brutes? I'm the mother of sons who are wonderful men and I'm married to another wonderful man, so I'd take my chance on the man in the woods rather than the bear. But like you, I sure understand those who would choose the bear. The odds back them up, sadly.