If humans could not “kiss and make up,” 100 percent of marriages would end in divorce (“If monkeys can kiss and make up, why can’t humans?” Jan. 24).
William Raspberry disappoints and surprises me. Here he is, an African-American writer of some repute, making broad and unsubstantiated generalizations about groups and species. Why, just more than a year ago, an ersatz (Caucasian) scientist made open comparisons of violence among non-human primates and inner-city criminals.
The racist implications of his statements embarrassed the entire scientific community. Being an integral part of the “good old boy” network, he was allowed to continue spending taxpayer monies on such nonsense. . .which we now find parroted by an influential member of the black community.
Rhesus monkeys are not inherently “. . .violent and quick to confrontation. . .” as reported by Raspberry. Most rhesus monkeys in America today are captive-bred in the United States and are as docile a group of monkeys as one can find. But, what if they were violent? Do we have to watch monkeys to determine human characteristics?
Raspberry is saying what has been better said for decades about both human and non-human primates-monkey see; monkey do. We at the National Anti-Vivisection Society also are observing behavior, the behavior of those who would legitimize such research and spend millions of dollars watching monkeys while humans languish in their own cages of poverty and need.
