Cliques within large companies like Microsoft are common actually. From a higher perspective, it is a subset of people who agree to a particular fiction, and they live by it.

So, for example, there is the "Indian Brotherhood" within Microsoft (NOT being racist, it is THEIR term). There are people who send in doubles to interview for them (to help you understand: at Microsoft you interview with a team you won't be working on, and on top of that, several months to a year may pass between the interview and when you actually start work). Such that, it becomes the case that the guy who shows up on day 1 is not the guy who passed the interview a few months ago. If you are a manager, and maybe you came from India and were hired in by the same route, you may feel an overwhelming social obligation to protect persons like this. It becomes the case that anyone who shows disgust, or judgement whatsoever is now a threat to them. On top of that, you have an incredible amount of leverage over this person. They have demonstrated that they are willing to lie, cheat and live a totally false life in order to impress family that lives across the seas. That person is your bitch now, and they'd better do whatever you say, or you will reveal them as a fraud/fire them (or so they think).

Reality sucks so hard.

No, that's remarkably abnormal.

That said, there's more to what was presumably male socialising, than what's on the face. There's a distinct difference in ribbing each other and poking fun versus being verbally hostile.

Yep. :(