Random thought/ question for the day:

Question: Why do humans have this almost innate need to be around people similar to themselves, but yet still have this desire to be seen as an individual?

In my sociology class we have been learning about racism and discrimination and prejudice. Among those is the attraction we have to people who are most like us. For instance: In a doctors office waiting room, have you ever found yourself surveying the patrons and deciding to sit closest to the one that you feel resembles you best? It could be because they were dressed the same as you, or that they were the only other white male in the waiting room while all the other patients were either women or children. Or how about selecting a woman pushing a stroller as the candidate for asking the time, instead of the other ten strangers, because you felt a stronger connection with her? We do this all the time in our everyday life. Is it a safety thing, or a security measure we inherently take to protect ourselves?

Does the burly man in a suit and tie make a better choice for light hearted conversation in a crowded doctors office? Or is this a way that our brains can filter and make sense of our surroundings. Did the mother pushing the stroller really scream, "I have a watch, anyone needing to know the time should ask me"? Or did you single her out because in some weird way you could relate to her better. Would it make a difference if you were already with a group of friends?

What about the need to be an individual? Teenagers in high school have plenty in common with the rest of the student body. They all go to the same school, many will have the same teachers, if not be in the same classes. They will eat at the same cafeteria, and many will have grown up in the same neighborhoods. Yet as teenagers, much like adults, we feel the need to divide.
I watched this on my wrestling team ten years ago. Even though we all were on the same sports team, going through the same grueling exercises, there was division. Those who had money and those who didn't, those who played football in the fall and those who ran cross country. In some cases these invisible social lines could be breached. However even with all we had in common, we still had to segregate and divide. Is this part of human nature? Are we so ingrained with family values that we cannot have a circle of friends larger than the number in our family growing up? What about the need we have to congregate toward those with common identities?
Obviously where we can be choosy, when the numbers permit, we take advantage of that. We start to single ourselves and others out as potential candidates for relationships. If we are faced with an abundance of similar people our minds immediately start filtering out and ranking those who will be MOST similar to us. The funny part is that when faced with a deficit, our own standard is shamelessly lowered and we revert to those who share at least something in common with us.

We have no problem saying "I am not this, therefor I am that..." but is this anyway to establish an identity?

An American in Berlin will have no problem feeling a sense of connection with another traveler from America, even though back on American soil the two probably wouldn't sit at the same table for lunch, or say hi to one another in the elevator. Yet thousands of miles away in some foreign land, two people who would pass by each other daily, now become best friends.

In the end I think it comes down to the fact that yes we want to be around people with similar values and beliefs. However we do not wish to be seen as a number. We desire to keep our individuality, and yet at the same time be apart of a group and around people like us. There in is the paradox. For at what extent do we sacrifice individuality for the acceptance of a group, but yet stay counted as a human being and not as a number/ statistic?