Sometimes, I wonder. Do monkeys call each other the n-word? Not literally of course, I doubt many if any at all even know how to speak in the English language. They haven't even been shown to understand how to sign language in proper English of their own volition as far as I know. The question is if monkeys have a "sign" or sound in their monkey language that is the equivalent of the n-word (hard r, said with prejudice and hate) that white people say to blacks.
If monkeys do indeed, as I suspect, have their own version of the n-word, what does that mean in reference to our society? On one hand the argument can be made that this justifies the imprisonment and lack of human rights of monkeys, as they are hateful and bigoted and thus don't deserve human rights. On another hand monkeys saying the n-word can be shown analogous to men being interested in younger, fitter, "prettier", women with less partners than fatter, older, more sexually experienced women. When you think about it, that preference is essentially a man calling the "less desirable" fat old woman the n word.
The "monkey n-word" thought experiment becomes even more profound when one considers the following idea: what if the monkeys being called the n-word rose up and started attacking the racist monkeys, even stealing their food and perhaps even raping the n-word saying monkeys? Who would be in the right? Surely the n-word monkeys share some of the blame as they have been provoking the monkeys they were calling the n-word, but unless the monkeys being called the n-word were actually intellectually and physically inferior to the n-word saying monkeys, shouldn't they be held to the same standard of conduct? One might argue that the trauma of being called an n-word by a monkey is encoded into the very genetics of the victim monkeys.
The most interesting dynamic to consider here are the black people visiting zoos in modern day America. Having been slaves and been called the n-word by white slave owners, it seems quite hypocritical for blacks to visit zoos that enslave monkeys where those monkeys get called the n-word. When thought about in this manner, it becomes clear to the honest intellectual that nowadays, black people visiting zoos for enjoyment are the new whites slave owners, and monkeys are the new black people. Does that mean that the monkeys saying the n-word are taking back power from the blacks laughing at them for being silly animals in a zoo? That, dear reader, is a question for another time.
If monkeys do indeed, as I suspect, have their own version of the n-word, what does that mean in reference to our society? On one hand the argument can be made that this justifies the imprisonment and lack of human rights of monkeys, as they are hateful and bigoted and thus don't deserve human rights. On another hand monkeys saying the n-word can be shown analogous to men being interested in younger, fitter, "prettier", women with less partners than fatter, older, more sexually experienced women. When you think about it, that preference is essentially a man calling the "less desirable" fat old woman the n word.
The "monkey n-word" thought experiment becomes even more profound when one considers the following idea: what if the monkeys being called the n-word rose up and started attacking the racist monkeys, even stealing their food and perhaps even raping the n-word saying monkeys? Who would be in the right? Surely the n-word monkeys share some of the blame as they have been provoking the monkeys they were calling the n-word, but unless the monkeys being called the n-word were actually intellectually and physically inferior to the n-word saying monkeys, shouldn't they be held to the same standard of conduct? One might argue that the trauma of being called an n-word by a monkey is encoded into the very genetics of the victim monkeys.
The most interesting dynamic to consider here are the black people visiting zoos in modern day America. Having been slaves and been called the n-word by white slave owners, it seems quite hypocritical for blacks to visit zoos that enslave monkeys where those monkeys get called the n-word. When thought about in this manner, it becomes clear to the honest intellectual that nowadays, black people visiting zoos for enjoyment are the new whites slave owners, and monkeys are the new black people. Does that mean that the monkeys saying the n-word are taking back power from the blacks laughing at them for being silly animals in a zoo? That, dear reader, is a question for another time.
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