Ok but if I'm even slightly mean to someone they try to screw me over for the rest of my life. Meanwhile, I see people getting away with it. I need a tutorial on being an asshole that people tolerate.
You have to make sure you're only being an asshole to people who're seen as beneath you. If someone above you both likes that person better than you're going to get fucked. They on the other hand can be an asshole to you with impunity.