[marktangotango]

> In the mountain village where my uncle and father were born, a single deed could mark or stain your family’s reputation for generations, placing you in a hierarchy that, if only enforced by gossip or shame, might still decide the fate of your progeny. I am not sure that’s still true, but my father held on to that notion until his death, in part because it was taught to him by his father, who had learned it from his father. This is why they had to leave the ancestral village and move to the capital, my father would say. Though neither he nor his siblings had committed shameful acts, they longed to start over in a new place where the generational burden was less weighty.

I’ve often reflected on this reality that seems to have been lost for most of humanity. At least urban dwelling folks, although I’m sure it persists in a lot of rural areas. The desire, need, instinct to be in the “in group”, not excluded was a matter of life and death for all of humanities existence. Bullying, cliques, and tribes (political parties, sports fans, programming language zealots, ...) make more sense when viewed from that angle (imo) and not likely something we’ll easily overcome.