Damn, I used to think Lancelot Link was cool.  Makes you wonder, though, if the chimps comment to each other how cute and ape-like humans seem.

Sounds pretty human to me...we just do it with bombs and landmines instead.

Yeah, Shana, I agree.  On my better days I like to think we evolved quite well. On my worst days I think that the next Extinction-Level-Event is long overdue; that the cockroaches should inherit the earth.

Yep.  Nature is Not Necessarily Nice.  Cultural restrictions and augmentations of human nature are a double-edged sword- on the one hand, we have lower murder rates than chimps; on the other, as shana points out, we’ve got bombs and landmines, not to mention the capability to render the Earth unliveable for anything but grass and cockroaches.

To be fair, it should be pointed out that the other great apes are pretty peaceable.  I had a memorable experience once with an orangutan- a friend of mine who worked at the SF Zoo let us in after hours, and I had my fingernails cleaned thoroughly but gently by an orang who could have easily taken my hand off at the wrist.

Man, oh, man.
Kinda puts where animals see us in the grand scheme of things in perspective, eh? The only animals that see us as more evolved, higher up, is US.
No-registration-required link to story

“We know that one of the most reliable predictors of increased male aggression is the presence of sexually receptive females,” said Jeffrey French, a psychobiologist who studies primate behavior at the University of Nebraska, Omaha.

Yes they sound exactly like human males to me hehehe!!!

Will there really be grass left after the bomb? - Hmmm comfy

Uh, Serai, I agree, except that your “hehehe” is unwarranted.  Human males are primates too, for good and ill.

your “hehehe� is unwarranted.

My amusement is from the fact that it is so true, and yet our society tries so hard to tell us that it isn’t so. For all our pretence at being civilised, when you boil it down those in ‘authority’ really only keep power by aggression or the threat of it.

Ah.  In that case, Serai, your “hehehe” is warranted.  It’s good to be able to maintain a sense of humor about what ails us.

It’s good to be able to maintain a sense of humor about what ails us.

I concur, with a caveat lest “a sense of humor” evolve into “acceptance”.

I concur, with a caveat lest “a sense of humor� evolve into “acceptance�.

Male aggressiveness is hardwired, so there’s no question of accepting it or not, barring chemical or surgical intervention.  Male aggression is another matter.

Fair enough, although I can think of a chemical intervention towards aggressiveness that I wouldn’t mind seeing more of; it’s administration looks a lot like what you’re doing in your avatar, zilch.

Just kidding kids

I’m with you there, Ulfrekr.  You’re not the first one to allude to what we’re alluding to, but as I’ve pointed out before, the volume of air in the piece of kelp I’m holding places severe constraints on its alluded usage (allusage?). 

I really liked your orangutan story, zilch.  I like it in general that other primates groom each other.  More humans should do that.

Yes, shana, I found it very moving that this orangutan, who didn’t even know me, who was jailed for life for the crime of being wanted to entertain other primates, would go to the trouble.

That same evening at the zoo, I also wanted to play with the chimps, but my zookeeper friend Lisa told me that if they liked me they might not let me out.  Once she was detained for several hours by a chimp who gently but firmly held her by the wrist before finally being lured away by the promise of a banana.  I guess we were both lucky.

I like it in general that other primates groom each other.  More humans should do that.

Every time I try, I get slapped…

Well, not every time........

KPG:  get a job as a hair stylist or other spa technician.  That’s how we sublimate our grooming urges these days.