The Latin word ‘communitas’ refers to an unstructured community in
which people are equal, or to the very spirit of
community. The perfect example of this is the Appalachian
Trail. We have talked about the AT a lot in class and discussed how close you
can become with strangers. People you have never met before can transform into
the closest friends you’ve ever had. Trail Angels will set up places to feed
thru hikers, not even knowing who they are; trusting them and letting them into
this family that is the Appalachian Trail. Communitas represents more than just
a group of people that have the same affiliation or belief. It’s based around
trust and family. Most would think that you have to be related by blood to
qualify as a family. A family is more about a group of people having a certain
link that brings them all together and makes them a singular entity. A total
whole, these individuals act out if something happens to one of them. A great
example of non-genetic family is a fraternity. Fraternities are a group of guys
who got together and decided they were brothers. Anything that happens to them
affects the rest of the family. They can always rely on each other to have each
other’s backs. They function as if they were actually related by blood, which
is all that matter when it comes to being classified as a family.
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