The Inclusion-Exclusion Principle

Humans are social creatures. One of our primary wants is the need to connect with other humans, be accepted and share our thoughts and feelings with each other. There are lots of animals that are not loners. Wolves for example, always move around in packs. So do elephants and primates(monkeys, chimpanzees). Even small little ant is not alone. In fact many of them have pretty complex structures.

However none is as complex as the human structure. Humans are part of many groups at any given time. Family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances etc.  Now being the complex beings that we are, we divide these into numerous categories and sub-categories. Relatives get divided into close and distant. Friends into good, bad, just know, BFF and so on.

So what is it that makes us include some and exclude some from our circles. Basic human nature is to blame. We like to be around people that make us feel comfortable. If more people in a group (any group- family/friend) feel threatened or inferior to one particular individual they tend to gang up and exclude that one individual. And this is common across any social structure. Even in primates, if the head(dominant individual) of the pack doesnt like a particular individual, he/she drives that individual out of the group and since the head is doing that, the group follows suit. However, humans are not that kind. They will play games. They dont want the unwanted and unliked individual to "feel bad". Hence they will taunt, or get together and not invite, etc.

The root of all this is insecurities within the group. Maybe because of the way they have behaved in the past or experienced things in the past. Sadly this behavior cannot be changed. Hence, we have so many groups, based on ethnicity, religion, region, language, caste. Basically, anything to classify or label each other. Acceptance of each other comes only with maturity and that is rare. Just because someone is young doesnt make them immature and just because someone is older doesnt make them mature.
Humans are complex no doubt. But science and nature have shown us that simplicity is the best. Simplify your lives and relationships. Tolerance and acceptance of each other is paramount to a happy and carefree existence that we all crave for. It is achievable. Just Simplify...