The Contented Monkey vs The Unhappy Human

[The Rev]

This kind of ties into the "what do you own?" thread in that unless the circumstances for primate contentment are met, there is no basis for human happiness to even begin because under deprivation the monkey brain is always locked into gear on some level.

It struck me the same.

[Disco Pickle]

this cuts me in the contented and apathetic part of me that for some reason revels in throwing my hands up and saying "fuck it, what can I do about it?"

Excellent post Rev.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

This is a really insightful piece.   

I have to second Jasper as having my situation flipped around, though.

Also, it probably has something to do with optimism and having improving prospects. The thrill of the hunt, perhaps.

[Aucoq]

I am a rather satisfied primate, as those things go.  I have decent economic security, a modicum of power at work and in daily life, my kids have turned out well, and I get regular sex.  By these standards, I am a contented primate, indeed.

But I'm not contented, much less particularly happy.  There is a good reason for this, and the reason is that I am not just a primate, I'm a biped; a human being.  As such, I have a vast amount of additional needs.  I need individual liberty, for one...And while I can still say and do pretty much what I please, this is because I am blessed with White American Privilege™.  Not RIGHTS, but privilege, and one that I keep on the sufferance of The Machine™.

The Machine™ allows this privilege, because it keeps White middle class America cooperating with The Machine's™ agenda.  The privilege could be revoked at any moment.  I didn't seize it, it was given to me...And what they give, they can take away.

So, rather than being a free man, I am in fact a pampered pet.  This is unacceptable.  Eugene Debs and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and HL Mencken had a few things to say about this, all of which boil down to "If ONE person is denied his civil rights without due process of law then I am not free."

The tools by which they control us are subtle, in a way.  It's all about messages.  For example, the police used to carry a pistol and a big hickory stick.  The message they gave was "I am here to preserve order, and I do so with a gun or a beating."  Sounds crude, but it was effective, and due to the all-or-nothing nature of their response to violence, it was – in most cases – used sparingly.

But that message has changed.  The police now carry "non-lethal" weapons, such as pepper spray and tasers.  Since they are (nominally) non-lethal, the police are far more inclined to use them, in many cases in situations that don't require force at all.  The message here is "I am here to keep you in line in all ways, and if you can't handle that, I'll shock the piss out of you and haul you in."

It's these subtle messages that are most effective.  The TSA, for example, has taken airport security from metal detectors (message:  Everyone's getting checked for guns) to strip searches and the pervert machine (message:  We're treating you like a criminal.  Get used to it.).

And I'm just not satisfied with this half-ass "freedom" they offer me.  It's not enough.  Even if it weren't privilege, I'm also not happy in a culture in which only some are free to holler what they like and stick one finger on each hand up (or two on each hand, for you English types).

In short, I am a contented primate, and an unhappy human.  I rather suspect this dichotomy is not unique, and in fact I would suggest that most people feel this way, the stress of which can lead to all sorts of bizarre behavior...But not the "I AM free, not merely indulged" sort.  This has been trained out of most people.  So, instead, they choose the easy route, and overindulge the already satisfied primate in themselves, turning every aspect of those monkey needs into outright gluttony.

This is one reason the country is so fucking fat.

And they have messages for that, too.  The Biggest Loser, the "reality show" that demonstrates people losing their morbid obesity, seems at first to be an uplifting message...Until you realize that they are surrounded by personal trainers, etc.  The REAL message, the one that locks into your hindbrain, is "They were able to lose weight because these experts did it for them.  You have no chance, fatty."

This indulgence is also the reason for the teabagger asshats.  They want a challenge, but they wish to face that challenge with the tribe at their side.  However many dozens of monkeys, screeching at the camera...A day at the zoo, and The Machine™ wins again.

Now, elevating your human side above that of the primate IS difficult and dangerous.  Just look what they did to Doktor Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, and Gandhi.  But on the other hand, look at Mohammed Ali, who said "No", and was crushed.  They took everything from him...And he still said "No", and gave a blistering reason why:
""I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong... They never called me nigger."
They wrecked his career, in the short run.  Today, he is viewed as an icon of one man resisting the ENTIRE MACHINE™, with no regrets, simply by saying "No", and accepting the consequences.

Fact:  It is impossible to oppress a person that acts that way.  He can certainly be killed, but never oppressed.  Papa Hemmingway had a thing or two to say about that.  He was the best example of a human being of his day, and probably of the entire 20th century...He's at least in the running.

Now, I am obviously not saying that you have to run out and get bankrupted and blackballed from your profession to be free.  What I AM saying is that you must be prepared to face that, should The Machine™ ever turn its gaze on you.  Not that you then need surrender yourself to The Machine™ as Ali did...Unless you have a point to make, as he did.  No, scoot and let them fume.  Kick 'em in the nads while they aren't watching.  You know the deal.

Because, when you boil it all down, isn't the very idea of liberty that part of us that says "NO",  that part that says nothing you can take from me is worse than my giving you my self-determination?  Patrick Henry said "Give me liberty, or give me death!",  and he hit the nail right on the head.  I say, "This is my will...OR KILL ME", which is essentially what he said. 

And I hope it's what you say, or would say, should the situation ever arise.

Okay for now,
Dok

Fucking beautiful, man.