karass – A group of people linked in a cosmically significant manner, even when superficial links are not evident.
granfalloon, a "false karass." That is, it is a group of people who affect a shared identity or purpose, but whose mutual association is actually meaningless.
"the Communist Party, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the General Electric Company —and any nation, anytime, anywhere."
"a proud and meaningless association of human beings."
If you wish to examine a granfalloon, just remove the skin of a toy balloon. — Bokonon
"My God," she said, "are you a Hoosier?"
I admitted I was.
"I'm a Hoosier, too," she crowed. "Nobody has to be ashamed of being a Hoosier."
"I'm not," I said. "I never knew anybody who was." – Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle
I thought this was interesting, from a gay perspective. In the old days, being a member of the homosexual "community" was something to be ashamed of. In fact, every granfalloon strongly disapproved of it. I mean, if you were gay, you were practically a member of a secret society, which had its own arcane rituals and symbols.
However, that all changed with "gay pride". Now, we have no reason to be ashamed at all. And now suddenly, gayness is the latest granfalloon. It's the club everyone wants into, and so of course, I want out. Popularity = Death, to paraphrase. I mean, when you see the corporate media using gayness as a political weapon, you know it's time to bail.
Perhaps gayness has served its cosmic purpose as a karass, and now it's time to move on. But on to what? There is not much left that is both so intrinsically rewarding and forbidden. Heroin?
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