Joining as a full fledged member might be difficult and time consuming, but it can be done. And in the short run you can still gain many benefits by interacting

Joining as a full fledged member might be difficult and time consuming, but it can be done. And in the short run you can still gain many benefits by interacting as an outsider. I'm not Indian and in India I'll rarely be mistaken for an Indian (though it has happened in the US a few times). I haven't 'joined' this group. But looking at my whatsapp right now, 4 of my 5 most recently contacted people are Indian. Via trade (I work for an Indian company) and 1-on-1 relationships I gain most of the benefits of group membership. There is nothing tying you to whatever you think of as your group except your own choices. If you can provide value to individuals in other groups they will provide value to you in return. I understand that this concept of 'group interests' and group-centric politics is pretty popular among the alt right these days. But this idea ignores basic game theory. It is simply not in my interest to help what you think is my group to succeed.