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Definitions Natural Behaviour of Chimpanzees and of Humans 1.) ‘(The) systematic, protracted, deliberate and cooperative killings of every male in a neighbouring community, plus genocidal and frequent cannibalistic murder of many of their offspring, followed by the usurpation of the males’ mates and annexation of part or all of the losers’ territory, matches or exceeds the worst that humans do when they wage war. Wild chimps reveal the natural contexts of territoriality, war, male cooperation, solidarity and sharing, nepotism, sexism, xenophobia, infanticide, murder, cannibalism, polygyny, and mating competition between kin groups of males – behaviors that have evolved through sexual selection. Also significant is the fact that none of these apes learned these violent behaviours by watching TV or by being victims of socio-economic handicaps – poor schools, broken homes, bad fathers, illegal drugs, easy weapons, or any other sociological condition. Nor were these apes spurred to war by any political, religious, or economic ideology or by the rhetoric of an insane demagogue. They also were not seeking an ‘identity’ or buckling under peer pressure. Instead, they were obeying instincts, coded in the male psyche, dictating they they must win against other males. p176, The Dark Side of Man, Michael P. Ghiglieri, Helix Books, 1999 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.) One of the examples of instinctual passions in operation in human animals– ‘Only a dozen miles away from our tiny encampment at Ngogo, in the center of Kibale Forest, blood was flowing. Amin had ordered his army of West Nile rogues, illiterates, and sadists to eliminate all Langi and Acholi occupying all official positions, from postal clerks and schoolteachers to district commissioners. His gangs of armed thugs were breaking into schoolrooms, offices, businesses, private homes, and even bush huts to drag off innocent Langi people. Once these people were outside, the thugs hacked off their heads, with pangas (machetes). Thousands of Acholi were simply machine-gunned en masse. A dozen miles from our enclave in the jungle, entire rooms full of living Achli and Langi prisoners were wrapped together with wire, doused with kerosene, and set ablaze.’ Chapter One, Born to Be Bad?, The Dark Side of Man. Michael Ghiglieri. 1999 Perseus Books
Freedom from the Human Condition – Happy and Harmless © The Actual Freedom Trust
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