A new adjective: "identityish"
We have a self, and we call an excessive concern with that self "selfish." I would like to propose that we expand this to include our group identities and the corresponding excessive concern with them. I propose "identityish".
It fills a gap in the language. Right now, if someone seems to be arguing for themselves in a thoughtless, unfair way, we say they are being "selfish." But if they argue for their race, creed, or ethnicity in a way that seems thoughtless of other races, creeds, or ethnicities, we're forced to use "selfish" or "racist" or "bigoted." Usually, the latter two ("racist" or "bigoted" ) are too strong. And "selfish," while accurate, especially for those who delegate their concept of "self" largely to their location in the identity hypercube, is not clear. It lacks the implication of multiplicity...that one is not being "selfish" on their own behalf but is being "selfish" on behalf of a group of people.
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