A
Anonymous
Guest
After reading about the cases of the mutant chimp "Oliver", who some scientists thought was a human/chimp hybrid, and the Russian "Wild woman" Zana, who might have been a Neanderthal and who had children by human men (her grandchildren are apparently still alive), I have become intrigued (and to some extent horrified) by the concept of possible hybridisation between apes and humans. This seems to raise questions about the exact definition of a human being - if an ape/human hybrid was created, would it have human rights? How many "human" rights do apes deserve, bearing in mind their apparent closeness to humans?
Also, when such a possibility is discussed, it seems to me that the discussion often veers close to racist stereotypes and "Social Darwinist" or fascist-influenced views of human evoluition, ie. that some "races" of humans are closer to apes than others, and therefore "less human". Apes in fiction are often used as such a veiled racist stereotype and to portray a symbolic representation of the "inhuman" non-white races - watch "King Kong" and think of the ape as representing the black American population, and at once you see the racist subtext of that movie. "Jungle Book", "Tarzan" and "Planet of the Apes" have similar symbolism.
So - anyone have any theories/information regarding this very disturbing article which turned up in my Google search of "ape human hybrid"? The site it comes from seems to have a very clear racist/ white supremacist agenda...
http://www.jrbooksonline.com/bassou.htm
My initial thought is that the individual in the photo (if it is not photoshopped) is human but suffers from a cranial deformity. Also it reminds me of a fairly recent Breaking News story on here about a mentally disabled Nigerian boy who was abandoned and claimed to be "raised by chimps". I hope the whole thing is just made up, but that doesnt stop it being sick racist propaganda.
Some other stuff that comes to mind on the general subject - "De Loys Ape" was "discovered" (or invented if you think it is a hoax) by an expedition sponsered by a man called Montandon who was trying to prove his racist theory of human evolution, that each human "race" evolved from a separate species of ape, so therefore they should not interbreed.
The fictional books "Star Beast" and "Shadow Hunter" by Will Baker deal with a future world in which humans persecute a new "race" (viewed in a very positive light, the message is anti-racist and somewhat Green/Gaia) descended from human/ape hybrids.
I also once read a book called "Borderline" about the discovery of a living missing link in (I think) New Guinea called "tropis" and an attempt to hybridise one with a human to try to create an exact legal definition of a human being - anyone know the author?
Also more info on "Zana" would be very useful, as would scientific info on whether human/ape hybridisation is in fact possible.
edited to add link to "boy raised by chimps" strory: http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,4136216%5E1702,00.html
Also, when such a possibility is discussed, it seems to me that the discussion often veers close to racist stereotypes and "Social Darwinist" or fascist-influenced views of human evoluition, ie. that some "races" of humans are closer to apes than others, and therefore "less human". Apes in fiction are often used as such a veiled racist stereotype and to portray a symbolic representation of the "inhuman" non-white races - watch "King Kong" and think of the ape as representing the black American population, and at once you see the racist subtext of that movie. "Jungle Book", "Tarzan" and "Planet of the Apes" have similar symbolism.
So - anyone have any theories/information regarding this very disturbing article which turned up in my Google search of "ape human hybrid"? The site it comes from seems to have a very clear racist/ white supremacist agenda...
http://www.jrbooksonline.com/bassou.htm
My initial thought is that the individual in the photo (if it is not photoshopped) is human but suffers from a cranial deformity. Also it reminds me of a fairly recent Breaking News story on here about a mentally disabled Nigerian boy who was abandoned and claimed to be "raised by chimps". I hope the whole thing is just made up, but that doesnt stop it being sick racist propaganda.
Some other stuff that comes to mind on the general subject - "De Loys Ape" was "discovered" (or invented if you think it is a hoax) by an expedition sponsered by a man called Montandon who was trying to prove his racist theory of human evolution, that each human "race" evolved from a separate species of ape, so therefore they should not interbreed.
The fictional books "Star Beast" and "Shadow Hunter" by Will Baker deal with a future world in which humans persecute a new "race" (viewed in a very positive light, the message is anti-racist and somewhat Green/Gaia) descended from human/ape hybrids.
I also once read a book called "Borderline" about the discovery of a living missing link in (I think) New Guinea called "tropis" and an attempt to hybridise one with a human to try to create an exact legal definition of a human being - anyone know the author?
Also more info on "Zana" would be very useful, as would scientific info on whether human/ape hybridisation is in fact possible.
edited to add link to "boy raised by chimps" strory: http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,4136216%5E1702,00.html