Dance, Monkeys, Dance!

I love this clip. It's about what we are and how we see ourselves. I hope you enjoy and comment on it. My comment: I agree with it. I love it. It's simple and true.

I am not a monkey, I am a primate . So there!! Ppphhtt...


Do you seriously believe that nothing separates us from the other monkeys? I'll admit that not a whole lot does, other primates feel emotions, though to what level is certainly a mystery to me, if no one else. They feel anger, fear, but do they feel what we consider the higher emotions, such as love, or grief? I'd again say they do. So indeed, not a whole lot separates us. Only our level of intelligence, and regardless what we may often think, or in some cases act, we are much more intelligent than the ordinary run of the jungle primate. Not to the extent, perhaps, we might think, but nevertheless, we are much more intelligent.

In my view, it really is only our intelligence that separates us from the other primates.

Originally posted by seagull
I am not a monkey, I am a primate

. So there!! Ppphhtt...

My husband said, "Actually, we're apes, not monkeys..."

What a typically "monkey" thing to say!

Do you seriously believe that nothing separates us from the other monkeys?

No. Not "nothing". But what separates a tiny fish from a shark? Lots. But they're still fish.

In my view, it really is only our intelligence that separates us from the other primates.

And we tell ourselves that it's a difference of significance! That the fact that we're MORE intelligent than other "monkeys" means something significant!

We're so silly!

I question the validity of us being smarter than other Simians.

Sure we have spaceships, the Internet and nuclear power, but think about this,
we fight an incredible amount, half the time over silly things.

Now lets look at Bonobos, sure they have'nt developed cities or gone to the moon,
but they never go to war or fight with each other.
Now lets look at why, well they're just to immersed in the feeling of Post Coitem to
really do those things, since instead of fighting, they solve there differences
through having sex.

I say we follow the Bonobos example and have massive orgies in the streets,
I mean it's more pleasurable than fighting each other.

now I need to go listen to Amused to Death by Roger Waters.

Some Lyrics for you:

And the Germans killed the Jews
And the Jews killed the Arabs
And Arabs killed the hostages
And that is the news
And is it any wonder
That the monkey's confused


and

And when they found our shadows
Groups 'round the TV sets
They ran down every lead
They repeated every test
They checked out all the data in their lists
And then the alien anthropologists
Admitted they were still perplexed
But on eliminating every other reason
For our sad demise
They logged the only explanation left
This species has amused itself to death


we are primitive. we are primates. advanced apes. nothing more.

I don't know bh.
You could always use the 'man's inhumanity to man' argument to show how cruel we are to other beings with the same conscious level as us but you can also point to works of kindness which you and I have performed to others as examples of something that sets us apart. Yes , in the animal kingdom, there are examples of philanthropic behaviour but is it a conscious choice or instinctive?

However, I loved the film. It made some points very strongly. I will just stick to trying to be a decent human being, if I can, though.

From one monkey to another,thanks for this.
Great vid!

[edit on 01/24/07 by karl 12]

And that was produced and narrated by, you guessed it, another "monkey," who somehow managed to say nothing that hasn't been said before.

And, he's obviously never studied anthropology.

we think we're so great, we can tear down forests just to wipe our ol' monkey butts. we think we're so great, we'll go live on Mars and laugh at all the primitive monkeys living on earth in their fruit laden canopies while we struggle to breathe.