groups and packs

  • December 11, 2010 2:59 AM GMT
    Groups and packs seem to be an indisputable trait of human behavior. Groups, as in "us" vs "them", where "us" and "them" can be defined in a multitude of ways, e.g., skin color, religion, political party, citizenship, economic level, neighborhood, school, age, gender, sexual persuasion, or you name it. Packs-an example is the pack of youths sometimes seen in malls pushing their way en masse through the other shoppers. It seems most likely that humans must have developed the trait of organizing into groups and packs as a survival mechanism, as in hunting mastodons or defending against danger. Such human traits are therefore deeply ingrained and will not disappear anytime soon; if it is argued that they still serve the same purposes, then they will continue to persist indefinitely. In today's crowded world there are numerous delineations to form groups, as we know too well. This could create a situation where we are grouped with another person via one delineation and separated from that same person into two different groups via a different delineation. This situation tends to create tension between these two people, because one then wonders about the other "Are they with me or against me?" Is this human trait a problem in need of a solution or a trait we all have within us that we need to watch when it appears to make sure it does what we want it to rather than the other way around?