Dear Megan, Happy Birthday, I Love You.



Today is Meg's birthday. I surprised her with a trip to the Dallas Zoo. We spent all day at the zoological park, and it was really amazing. We spent about 30 minutes sitting with a pair of Lowland Gorillas and marveling at their humanity. As you well know, we're two of the most jaded people in America but being two feet away from primates that are so evolutionarily close to us, yet still so alien was an overwhelming experience. They almost fall into what is referred to as the "uncanny valley" in AI. Gorillas are SO human that they blur the lines of what should be considered personhood.

After the zoo we stopped by the store to pick up some food and I was talking to a fellow employee about how emotionally destroyed the experience with the ape had left me. Her response, not surprisingly was, "Well, they're just monkeys, they're not people." Of course I couldn't let that go.

"Do you think that mentally handicapped people are human?" Of course she does.
"What's the difference?" Silence. Nothing. No response.

If you're going to consider people who can't speak, or can't reason, or can't drive cars or hold jobs human, then so are higher primates. Hello, KOKO? She fucking learned sign language. She's smarter than some of the people I've worked with in the past.
- posted by Mason @ 10:49 PM