Shorter McIlheran: "The left" is ultimately blameworthy for Barack Obama's depiction as a banana-eating cartoon monkey because "the left" spent eight years comparing George Bush to a chimpanzee.
McIlheran is correct to take offense with the latter comparison, as it unjustly maligns our noble cousins, the chimpanzees.
To be sure, Kingdom Metazoa suffers as a whole when any of them is compared to a politician. Or a newspaper columnist.
Elsewhere: Obama not a sufficiently typical American.
Our noble cousins -- exactly so, and thanks for providing the opportunity for an otherwise gratuitous link to primatologist Frans de Waal's observations about chimps and our perhaps closer-still cousins, the bonobos:
ReplyDeleteHow much bonobos differ from chimpanzees was highlighted by a recent experiment in which apes were presented with a platform that they could pull close by working together. When food was placed on the platform, the bonobos clearly outperformed the chimpanzees in getting a hold of it.
The presence of food normally induces rivalry, but the bonobos engaged in sexual contact, played together, and happily shared the food side by side. The chimpanzees, in contrast, were unable to overcome their competition.
On the other hand, now that I think about it, maybe we are closer to the chimps. More the pity.
Wise counsel, counselor.
ReplyDeleteAustralopithecus obnoxiĊsus.
ReplyDeleteAlso: Kanedaaa!.
Via.
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ReplyDeleteGnarlytbone get my vote as the cheddarsphere's best commenter.
ReplyDeleteThat was funny.
No, I am a five-star schmuck.
ReplyDeleteShame on me.