No matter who you are, or where you're from, you need to feel a sense of belonging. Even the oxymoron's "Organization of Anarchists" and "group of "non-conformists", they have the common ground of needing to feel they belong. People are naturally drawn to anything they agree with, so when they meet peoplewith the same ideals, they want to join. Religion, politics, hobbies, ethnic pride and even what kind of music people like will create a community.
It's not a bad thing to want to belong. It gives us comfort and a feeling of support. However, sometimes we lose ourselves in this community and do things for the sake of staying in the community. Our opinions are changed and we form a bias. In a clear state of mind, we could be completely in disagreement of what the group believes, but wanting to belong, one will over look their better judgement. In David Berreby's essay, he writes a quote from Robert M. Sapolsky "...human nature: People need to belong, to feel a part of "us". Yet a sense of "us" brings with it a sense of "them". With that, he's saying being in a group you are a part of something, which then sets you apart from others. Especially a rival. If you're a part of a certain school, or religious belief, they become your enemies. It could be in all clean fun, however, it can also become dangerous.
In Washington state, there is a great rivalry between the "Cougs" and the "Huskies". Students from both colleges become die hard fans and supporters of their school's team, simply because they attend that college. Say they were switched and instead of being a Coug, you were a Huskie and vice versa. They would still be die hard supporters of whatever school they ended up in just because of the community in which they belong. "We identify with the groups in which we are accidentally placed." Berreby is saying that whereever we end up, that's where our loyalty is. We associate with the group we belong to and even if it's by chance, we will stay true to that community.
It's not a bad thing to want to belong. It gives us comfort and a feeling of support. However, sometimes we lose ourselves in this community and do things for the sake of staying in the community. Our opinions are changed and we form a bias. In a clear state of mind, we could be completely in disagreement of what the group believes, but wanting to belong, one will over look their better judgement. In David Berreby's essay, he writes a quote from Robert M. Sapolsky "...human nature: People need to belong, to feel a part of "us". Yet a sense of "us" brings with it a sense of "them". With that, he's saying being in a group you are a part of something, which then sets you apart from others. Especially a rival. If you're a part of a certain school, or religious belief, they become your enemies. It could be in all clean fun, however, it can also become dangerous.
In Washington state, there is a great rivalry between the "Cougs" and the "Huskies". Students from both colleges become die hard fans and supporters of their school's team, simply because they attend that college. Say they were switched and instead of being a Coug, you were a Huskie and vice versa. They would still be die hard supporters of whatever school they ended up in just because of the community in which they belong. "We identify with the groups in which we are accidentally placed." Berreby is saying that whereever we end up, that's where our loyalty is. We associate with the group we belong to and even if it's by chance, we will stay true to that community.
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