Tribalism is a word I never had any use for 'till recently. Nonetheless, I believe it's becoming more and more relevant to present day western society. Tribalism is a word that's rooted in survival. That makes it quite different from other words that pertain to groups / grouping together. A tribe is a unit that you depend on for sustenance. Hence, it's overall exceedingly important to maintain / support / identify with without substantial loss occurring.
I have no idea why our society has become tribal. Especially amongst Christians. But, it most certainly has. Perhaps social media is to blame. If I were to take an explanatory stab at it, I'd start there.
If America was like Uganda or Haiti, I could understand this tribalistic outlook, but that's not the case. America is nothing like Uganda or Haiti. Yet, many folks behave as if we are. And this is a really, really weird development that's taking our society into uncharted territory.
-------------------------
The primary (mothership) Samson Society face-to-face group I attended (beginning in August '14) here within the Jackson Metro eventually spawned an internalized tribe of Samson guys. These men weren't just BFFs. No, it went beyond that.
Tribalism, of any ilk (here in America), within Samson Society or otherwise is nauseating to me. And the reason for this is how retarded / lame it looks from the outside in. Not to mention how it builds a difficult / intimidating-to-breach perimeter around said internalized group whilst instigating invisible rank.
I suppose you could feign me envious as an outsider of said tribe (gang?), but I assure you that this isn't the case.
-------------------------
What's even weirder about all of this is how we Samson guys are supposed to be loners. Guys who find solace within isolation by default.
I don't know. I don't know what to think about this.
As an aside, our MTGA ("Make Thursdays Great Again") virtual Samson Society group is showing signs of "tribing up" similarly. Interestingly enough, this sub-group uses social media ("Marco Polo") specifically to communicate "round-the-clock" internally.
This is my critique: I feel as if this tendency to be tribal puts too much unnecessary / wasteful emphasis on the group within the group. Particularly outside of the bounds of regularly scheduled programming (Samson meetings).
I'm not convinced that recovery really happens within connected-at-the-hip groups of guys because I haven't seen it firsthand.
To Rob, recovery happens inside you yourself and alongside other SINGULAR Samson men. Oftentimes, speaking personally, numerous INDIVIDUAL Samson men. Over a lengthy period of time. As friendships come and go. Ebb and flow. Over the course of many, many years.
Maybe the tribalistic approach (Marco Polo, etc.) is an attempt to accelerate / turbocharge that one-on-one walk nontraditionally.
I just don't know how you intimately rub shoulders with so many guys simultaneously and clearly hear God's voice therein. To me, it's like an orgy, and therefore, too many body parts to keep up with.
Yuck. No thanks. Tribalism feels too much like American politics. Or...brainwashing. Versus thinking / analyzing one's recovery critically and with great intention.
