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More so than almost anything else, I believe that hoomins think they are privileged to be here and that somehow they think (or maybe they just don't think at all) that they have the right to use everything around them as if it was a resource that was intended for just them to use at the expense of everything not human (or even at the expense of other humans). Wresting power from this self-proclaimed privileged group will not be easy but is probably the single most important issue in front of us (although we instead focus on "the economy", marriage laws, and what movie will win an Oscar this year). It (the end of privilege) will probably either come welling up from within or else through its own extinction accelerated by its own actions. We can only hope for the former. Or maybe not.
"Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Rehinhold Neibuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals." -MLK, Jr. in his letter from the Birmingham jail
Although I'm a hyprocrit (I participate with my larger group of hoomins and buy cars and ice cream and such), I am one of what is probably an incredibly tiny number of unassociated individuals who are at least aware that the larger group is the enemy. I, at least when it is convenient for me, choose to fight for the rest of the planet by making choices at the polls, in stores, at the bus stop, in conversations, etc. on this topic first and foremost. I am not a member of any political party or religious group. And I don't chat with like-minded individuals at weekly meetings at the library or online.
So, am I a member of a subgroup? If so, how are status relationships defined among this subgroup? What is the division of labor? How does the subgroup function?
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