I listen to the evening news while cooking dinner. Reports of a cyclist hit by a car stop me in my tracks. I find myself hanging on every word trying to identify, is this a cyclist or someone on a bike? Without thought I try to identify if this was someone who was aware of the laws and following them. Yes, I try to identify if it is someone in "my group" or not. I am struck harder if someone I consider a cyclist has been injured. It's not that I care less for the other person it's just that it feels more like it could have been me. I can relate to this person and their level of risk more.
At my work, we are in the process of creating small groups of people with related interests. We have groups who like to work out before daylight in the morning. We have a tri-athlete group. We have a group of seniors, people who like to cook, a book club, a group of attorneys who drink wine and ride bikes......The goal is not to exclude people but to create a sense of family, community. We are pack animals. We like to belong. We enjoy being around people who have something in common with us. We enjoy meeting people with shared interest. Why must we feel that creating communities is excluding someone who doesnt share our interests? I belong to so many different communities. I rarely blend these groups together. I enjoy hanging with my cyclists friends on some occasions and my foodie friends on others. If you are not part of this group it just means we don't share this interest.
Don't let your emotions get in the way of healthy debate. Isn't the idea here to get together a bunch of people from different places with different ideas. Isn't it more interesting if we disagree, argue and debate? One group you can exclude me from is the one where everyone agrees with everything I say.
Just my 2 cents.