This morning on the Today Show, which I usually avoid because I don’t really understand the point of the show, was the woman from Connecticut who was attacked by a chimp and lost most of her face and both of her hands. This is a tragic story, and I googled this to learn some more. Apparently the attacked woman has been appearing on many shows lately, and at first I thought this was pure sensationalism, but I now think it’s a good thing.
I don’t believe in keeping wild animals in captivity. Dogs and cats, yes. They have been domesticated. There is no way my dog could live in the wild. She wouldn’t even survive a night in the backyard. But wild animals, no. I don’t go to zoos, have I mentioned that before? It was hard when my children were little. Everyone wanted to go to the zoo on playdates, but I don’t do zoos. The zoo in Washington DC makes me cry. Lions and tigers and bears (and elephants and walruses, etc) don’t belong in Washington DC. I have been to the Animal Kingdom in Disneyworld, and I’m somewhat conflicted about that. The animals seemed to have a lot of room to roam around, and were somewhat free and safe.
I don’t know about everyone else, but I had no idea that chimpanzees could be 200 pounds. After doing a bit of research I see that most don’t get bigger than 150 pounds. Perhaps living in captivity and eating human food has led to obesity of pet chimps, making them even more dangerous.
I don’t understand why someone would want to have a chimpanzee as a pet. Sure they look cute on tv. Sometimes they are dressed up and make that funny monkey noise and eat bananas. But they should not be pets.
Coincidentally, or not, Dr. Jane Goodall was on the Daily Show last Thursday. I have been a fan of hers since I worked at the National Geographic Society back in the 80’s. I admire her work, and now that I see her on TV I admire her even more because she doesn’t seem to think aging is an obstacle to her in any way. She did a chimp greeting ritual with Jon Stewart that was quite funny. But the aging thing is another story.
Dr. Goodall says in the wild chimps don’t bite off other creatures’ faces (not that they don’t get aggressive, she is not saying that). They don’t belong in peoples’ homes. I so admire Dr. Goodall, I would love to be like her. To be involved in important work that other people find educational and useful, to be respected, to work towards a peaceful co-existence between animals, people and the earth, to motivate people for change, and to be moderate, gentle, and graceful. I’m going to go to Amazon right now and buy her book to put on my kindle.
I saw that, too, this morning. It was so hard to watch. I couldn’t even believe she was alive. It is like hippos, too–when I was in Africa, they told us never to go near the hippos b/c they are one of the most dangerous animals. People had gotten killed where I was trying to touch them b/c they looked so “cute and cuddly.”
PS Lint brushes are amazing. I have a sad addiction to them.
I also saw this poor woman on tv. I was shocked. I never knew that chimps could get so aggressive. I agree, animals belong in the wild in their natural habitat.
Agree with you on the chimps (and animals) thing. Although I think if the zoo is really large (as in more of a mini-reserve) then it’s OK. But hard to justify putting chimps in a big city zoo.
You have kindle? Cool. (Although the name makes me think of kindling. Guess you wouldn’t want to burn these books to keep warm.)
Back on the 16th, yu wrote about Jane Goodall and your admiration of her as contribiting individual and the difference she has made. Do you find any comfort in knowing that she is an INFJ?
So there must be something in her personality, which is not so far off from who you are with an equivalent personality.
Pete – yes, I have a kindle. I love it, it’s so convenient to be able to carry around lots and lots of books in a small package. And it’s so easy to buy new books – you just do a search and click the link and in a few seconds it’s downloaded via satellite. So convenient.
1out1% – I didn’t know Dr. Goodall was an INFJ, no wonder I feel drawn to her! I wish I knew some INFJ’s in real life. Do you know any?
Hey, just realised that I was an ENFJ on the MB when I did it years ago and that E might have shifted to an I since I’m a bit of a recluse at the moment. So perhaps I’m now an INFJ too. And, in my humble opinion, INFJs are very cool people indeed!
Pete – I’m glad to have you join our little group. I heard a joke once about having an INFJ convention – no one would come.
And I don’t think you can change from I to E. Your behavior can change due to circumstance, but if you’re an introvert then you’re an introvert through and through. Hopefully you’ll be back to an E very soon, I think you’ll be happier there.
Well, Pete,
I thought I could arbitrarily change my personality from an I to an E, what I have done is > my B/P, and shot my anxiety through the roof. So, for me it didn’t work. But that does not say that it is as complex to go from an E to an I. The dip stick is how much time does your spirit require to recover from one environment to the other?
“I” personalities are to varying degrees fine in group settings. Some factors may be the sz of the group, the extent of time you are together with the group, and how “on” you and others expect you to be in the energy of the group. Understanding how each of those parameters weigh on your inner spirit gives you some understanding of how much an “I” you may be.
Now with that resolve, one next figures out the ratio between how much time one can handle being “on” (within a group setting) vs how much time the spirit requires one to be “off” (alone in his/her own space) to recover, before s/he can return to the/a group; and what the level of energy one can now contribute within the group.
For an “E” to function as an “I” all this is inverted to how long one can find contentment in being alone, without stimulation (TV, IPod, IM, Internet, etc). without feeling they can’t last another moment without external stimulation.
Hope that helps.
Thanks, that does help. I do need a lot of recovery time so perhaps I’m an I after all. (I did the MB when I was about 20 so have changed quite a bit in the intervening 19 years.)