The Problem with Fitting In

One of the goals that many people struggle to obtain in life is finding a group that they fit into. In David Berreby's article "It Takes a Tribe" he gives insight to the problems that arise for those who do reach it. When a person finds people to associate with, they also find their enemies, and I could not agree with him more. When finding a group to spend time with, who share the same interests and likes, they also share their ideas on who they don't like and who to be against. This is what alludes to the ideas of stereotypes because we group our enemies into groups and judge them based on the things that we don't have in common with them, otherwise they would be part of our group. In continuing to find like groups to associate with, we continue to find people that we do not choose to associate with. As Berreby points out, it creates the idea of "us versus "them" and only continues to separate people rather than bring them together, which is ironic because the original idea is to be a part of a group not against one.