Is a focus on identity positive or negative for society, and why has identity become such big deal?

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**Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl**

Well what can I say, someone rolled a 72 and then a 39 on the corresponding table!

**Mario**

jasper76 wrote:I just recently heard a psychologist (healthy grain of salt here) talking about how we have evolved to be able to deal with about 250 different relationships with people (so basically a tribe). And then the internet hits. Strange and interesting social phenomena are inevitable. I wonder if the humans that grew up completely post-internet will be the most different kind of humans psychologically and socially that our species has ever generated.

That would be Dunbar's number. It usually varies between 100 and 250, depending on how you define stable social relationship. You can keep in contact with more people if they are just in your facebook feed than if you regularly talk on the phone with them, and even less if they are close family/friends who you share more with.

**Just Tony**

jasper76 wrote:
Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl wrote:
I don't really understand that US politics ban. Because it's only US politics apparently? My 100% politics thread about the French elections was allowed by the mods without any problem.
(That thread wasn't made to troll or anything, it was really for non-French people that wants to know about our elections and stuff, but it would be ridiculous to claim it was about politics…)

I can't say I understand it much either, but even a thread on the subject of the US Politics ban got locked in Nuts and Bolts, so the anti-US Politics members of the mod community are on high alert, and maybe it's not such a great idea to turn this thread into a "Why can't we discuss US Politics" thread.

Unless, of course, their express purpose is to get this thread locked. And to be frank, I wouldn't put it past some posters to do exactly that.

**Peregrine**

You hardly have to try to bring in politics. After all, just look at the OP's own words from this thread:

Perhaps my perspective is too influenced by the current political and social divisions within the US.

This was a US politics thread from the beginning, whatever attempts at disguising it the OP might have insisted on.

**LordofHats**

OP isn't opaque enough for anyone whose been around awhile to not know exactly what this is, and it only highlights that the problem in OT isn't the topics but certain users who seem addicted to their personal flame bait.

**jasper76**

Just Tony wrote:
jasper76 wrote:
Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl wrote:
I don't really understand that US politics ban. Because it's only US politics apparently? My 100% politics thread about the French elections was allowed by the mods without any problem.
(That thread wasn't made to troll or anything, it was really for non-French people that wants to know about our elections and stuff, but it would be ridiculous to claim it was about politics…)

I can't say I understand it much either, but even a thread on the subject of the US Politics ban got locked in Nuts and Bolts, so the anti-US Politics members of the mod community are on high alert, and maybe it's not such a great idea to turn this thread into a "Why can't we discuss US Politics" thread.

Unless, of course, their express purpose is to get this thread locked. And to be frank, I wouldn't put it past some posters to do exactly that.

Oh, I've noticed. The crystals balls keep coming out like clockwork after the sun goes down each night uncovering my "true intentions" and trying to drag this thread into politics. I've come to consider it a bizarre yet entertaining form of flattery.

Mods, give the people what they want. They are dying without their US Politics fix.

**Ahtman**

How identity and society coalesce is politics.

**jasper76**

Ahtman wrote:
How identity and society coalesce is politics.

Source please.

**Peregrine**

It hardly takes a crystal ball when you explicitly state that your thoughts here are about US politics.

**jasper76**

Peregrine wrote:
It hardly takes a crystal ball when you explicitly state that your thoughts here are about US politics.

I actually stated that the fact that I don't perceive that we are very unified as a species is probably influenced by the current state of US political and social division. But you can read and seem intelligent, so I have to assume that you already knew that.

**Alpharius**

This thread is definitely heading for a LOCK.

And IF (when?) that happens, I'll be reviewing this thread in detail - much as I don't want to.

And when that happens, I can almost guarantee that some people in this thread will lose the ability to post in the OT Forum for a long period of time.

**Steelmage99**

While tribalism has almost always existed, I too feel that an increased weight and focus has been placed on identity - especially with an increased focus on intersectionality.

**Manchu**

Alpharius wrote:
This thread is definitely heading for a LOCK

Prophecy fulfilled. There is a standing ban - of indefinite length - on having a US politics thread. Starting a proxy thread (like this one) or twisting a thread into a proxy may result in the staff suspending your ability to post in the OT forum for the duration. Thanks!