Why do I constantly hear people refer to primates as if they are something separate and apart from us? Typical line heard in movies, TV, and on the street: “Honey, these kids are acting like primates!” I constantly find myself struggling to respond to people who ask, “You don’t really think we come from primates, do you?” My first thought is always that these people are a lot smarter than they seem and they are trying to hit me with a trick question. So what’s the deal with this confusion? We are primates. This is basic taxonomy here on planet Earth. Get over it. Humans belong to the Primate Order. No biggie. This is nothing more than a logical and convenient classification, without which we might occasionally confuse some members of our species with fungi or rocks. Yes, we are special and able to do many wonderful (and horrible) things, but we are still primates. Some of this is just ignorance, of course, but a lot of it comes from a weird sensitivity some people have to any suggested link with wild animals. But, trust me, the primate classification is not worth losing sleep over. It’s like lumping us in with all mammals and all vertebrates. Is that offensive, too? My advice to these taxonomy-phobic people is to relax and go take a good look in the mirror. Anyone who feels threatened by sharing our little corner of the biological neighborhood with a few monkeys has some self-esteem issues to work on. --Guy P. Harrison, marooned in the 21st century
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 20:24:13 +0000
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