>There has been quibble over the term "community" several times on this
>list, but as hard (even impossible) as it is to write a satisfactory
>abstract definition of "black community" or "gblt community," conscious
>members of those communities go on using the terms very effectively for
>their purposes, and I think questionins of those terms simply aren't in
>good faith.
And the use of those terms is always in good faith? They're frequently used to efface differences - of class, gender, temperament - among the named community. Just as with nationalism. "Community" is a great mush word, used to summon into existence a unity and connection that doesn't necessarily exist. It's no more precise than one of your bugaboos, "middle class."
Doug