@izzythepush,
izzythepush wrote:
It's not remotely 'clannish' to exclude certain people from mainstream society, it is, as Max has pointed out, bigotry.
The Scots, where the term clan originated, are actually very friendly and welcoming, and I say that as an Englishman.
The origin of a word is extraneous to the point. Plus, you could be talking as a Brit, from a once less than very diverse society. Here in the U.S., clannishness (today more eloquently called "ethnocentricity") is the driving force behind what others might call bigotry. So, excluding other groups from this or that (i.e., clubs, etc.) is really driven by clannishness.
Here in the states, there is all manner of clannishness, based on religion, ethnic group, race, or whatever. I believe it is just based on the sum total of similar experiences for oneself, and even for one's family and anyone else.
So, many people might refer to those clannish (pick a group), rather than say, "Those bigoted (pick a group)." "Bigot" is just an inflammatory word that is divisive in our multi-cultural society. It takes more than one generation to assimilate into the fabric of U.S. society, oftentimes.
And, many do believe that many of another religion exhibit a degree of clannishness, since many social functions are sponsored by religious institutions. That's not bigotry. It's just clannishness, due to a less than cosmopolitan mindset of many, in my opinion.
And, here in the U.S., as a private citizen, I can practice a degree of clannishness by having little to do with those with foreign accents. Foreign born folk might have too much emotional baggage to really attempt to find a common ground. I prefer people that at least came here young enough to have gone to grade school in the U.S.; otherwise, they might be just pretending to be patriotic Americans, in my opinion. To have grown up in the U.S. is to have a different outlook on the world, unless of course one was brain washed by certain clannish mindsets, reflecting a religion, or whatever.
