By their connections with one another ye shall know their community

From Connected by Nicholas Christakis.

A network community can be defined as a group of people who are much more connected to one another than they are to other groups of connected people found in other parts of the network. The communities are defined by structural connections, not necessarily by any particular shared traits.

A wonderful and important distinction. I wish there were more focus on this.

The critical theory/postmodernist ideologies manically dump people into categories based on traits. Race, gender, income, class, religion, geographical location, etc. They then refer to these trait categories as communities.

Despite the fact that they are not communities as we understand them.

And despite the fact that most people self-identify 1) by other traits than that desiccated and miserably constrained shortlist, and 2) based on context.

What are some other common "identities"?

Where did you go to school?

What is your degree in?

Do you have children?

What are your hobbies?

Are you married?

Where were you born?

What is your profession?

Etc. ad infinitum

How does context play into this?

If I go to a conference in the US, I likely will identify by my state or region rather than my nationality. If the conference is overseas, I will identify by nationality.

If I am in a professional setting and I have a distinguished degree, I will identify with that. If I am in a social setting where that might come off as bragging, I might deemphasize that educational pedigree.

If I am out hiking and am talking with a stranger, I may identify as an avid birdwatcher but if I am at a cultural event I may identify with my appreciation of music.

Each person's identity is a product of their interests, context and objectives and rarely relate to the victimhood categories. Those are artificially imposed and are chaotic and uninformative. A black and a white blue-collar dad at a scout meeting at their Baptist church are likely to have a much stronger affinity with one another than either might have with a PhD in Financial Decision Theory or a radical political advocate of their own race.

We are seeing more and more of this inherent contradiction among radical progressives. Divisions between third-wave "believe the women" feminists and second wave women who are also wives and mothers of sons. Between Lesbians and Transgender. Between on-campus speech suppressors and off-campus free speech fundamentalists.

As Whitman said, each of us are large and contain multitudes and we don't fit into the Stalinesque limited choice of critical theory identities.

Besides being incoherent, such an ideological belief system is divisive and unproductive.

Christakis has it right - "The communities are defined by structural connections, not necessarily by any particular shared traits." By their connections with one another ye shall know their community.

Focus on real connections in real communities and you discover joy, wonder and a celebration of real diversity. People are wonderful and it is wonderful how they find one another. Especially when you stop trying to shoehorn them into artificial categories and pretending those are communities.