The crew is one of the hallmarks of the Basques. Every Basque has a crew or, at least, that is what is expected of a Basque born. It is no less, because we could say that the Group is the social unit of the Basque Country, the atom or basic component of our society. In this regard, Gaztea brought together in a section of his Zulora program four young people to discuss the crews, and his comments seem to me very useful for reflection. It is time, therefore, to extract from the equation and analyze from scratch this common factor of our society, without idealization.

The creation and adaptation of the crews is usually a truly traumatic event, since there are no Basques who do not know or experience any kind of altercation or motive of the time of formation of the crews. But why is it so traumatic? Well, after all, because the crew, in a faster or more violent way, means separation. The crews are, basically, an exercise of “putting limits”, making “us” as the “others” are distinguished. This limitation can lead to painful ruptures, for example, many of the disputes that occur in the ESO have their origin in this rupture, since a group has created a crew without any agreement, those of the same crew have become angry, a person has changed the crew, a debate has arisen between two crews or have cast a few boys from the Whatsapp group that composed all the students of the course without any reason.

In addition to explaining how its creation is, it is essential to understand the group as a socio-political institution. The crew reaches every corner of society, as all people in all cities and towns have one. The organization through these groups of friends also allows an organization of the Basque society around the crews, since on weekends, being with the crew, night dinners per crews, we have a day of crews. Hannah Arendt spoke in the middle of the 20th century about totalitarianism, and I think I would also talk about gangs in a totalitarian sense. And the totalitarian word is not an abuse, even if it looks like an abuse, because there's no way to avoid the gang system. And if you think that you, a Basque idiot, can walk without crews, you will have to suffer the consequences. Not having crews or not matching the social model of the crews is being excluded from Basque socialization. Is it not precisely those who run out of the crew or those who do not have crews who lose the system and the poor?

This form of organization generates, among other things, the relationship we form with our crew. As in any other relationship, the Crew requires commitment, but it is not possible to match the commitment demanded by the Crew with what other relations require; the rigidity of our system, more than the commitment, requires the loyalty of the Crew. The Crew may be one of the relationships that most need to be cared for, prioritizing over any other relationship. The Crew itself will also be the strongest engine of that demand, as every time it fails it will remember that its same crew owes loyalty to it. And don't think that the message that appears in the Whatsapp group asking where you are or with whom you've been is born of your restlessness, but of the blind fidelity that you owe. The crew has to do with the family, whatever happens, there is nothing that can break, no lack of friendship or confidence. It seems that in the Basque Country “it is easier to leave a toxic couple than to leave a crew,” one of the participants of the Zulora program spoke.

I am sure that more than one of you will be at ease with the crew that touched you or that you chose. The need for human beings for the group is undeniable to the extent that we are social beings and that of the crews can be a very interesting form of organization in these times when we are strongly driven towards individualism. Despite all its benefits and the way we organize ourselves, we cannot follow the grid model without further ado. Just as we started to question other relationship models, it's time to open the debate about grid models. Finally, a little message for my crew: young people, I love you a lot, but there are issues to talk about. I think we in the crew are going to have something to talk about the next time we meet.

Joanes Tovar