My Tribe

In the book we're reading at bedtime now (The Time Thief, the second in Linda Buckley-Archer's fabulous-so-far Gideon trilogy), there's a moment when the book's villainous Tar Man recognizes an element of kinship in a total stranger. He watches a young woman enter a space and sees in her careful scanning of the crowd the watchful plotting of a fellow thief.

I had a similar feeling of, "Hey, this guy's from my tribe!" feeling when I saw this video today (thanks, Ze!):




I once read a book (of course I can't remember what book, now, but please weigh in with a comment if this rings a bell) in which humankind had evolved towards elective affiliations, rather than ones automatically conferred through heredity or geography. I think about this sometimes. What tribes do I belong to without my say so, and which are mine because I've claimed my membership?

How about you?