Trump’s Behavior Similar To Male Chimpanzee, Says Jane Goodall

[RandySF]

Donald Trump’s antics remind famed anthropologist Jane Goodall of the primates she spent decades studying in the wild.

“In many ways the performances of Donald Trump remind me of male chimpanzees and their dominance rituals,” Goodall told The Atlantic. “In order to impress rivals, males seeking to rise in the dominance hierarchy perform spectacular displays: stamping, slapping the ground, dragging branches, throwing rocks.”

Goodall added, “the more vigorous and imaginative the display, the faster the individual is likely to rise in the hierarchy, and the longer he is likely to maintain that position.”

To date, we’ve not seen Trump drag branches or throw rocks, although anything is possible. Instead of physical displays, the Republican presidential nominee has stuck to verbal ones ― bragging about his penis, launching personal attacks and resorting to racist and sexist insults.

Trump is set to debate his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, on Sept. 26. When it happens, Goodall told The Atlantic she’ll be thinking of “Mike,” a chimpanzee she studied that displayed dominance by kicking kerosene cans, creating a racket that sent would-be challengers fleeing.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-chimpanzee-behavior_us_57ddb84fe4b04a1497b4e512?section=&

[scscholar]

1. This is somewhat racist...

so it bothers me.

[RandySF]

2. How?

Trump is white.

[Beartracks]

3. His simian behavior SHOULD bother you.

Its just chest-thumping, shouting, and poo-flinging.

And making the comparison to chimpanzees is not racist. Not even if Trump was black. Goodall is uniquely qualified to recognize the behavioral similarities.

===============

[karmaqueen]

4. Insulting to the Chimps!

But not racist...

[KamaAina]

7. Did I miss something? Is Trump black?

[yardwork]

8. What?! I can't even imagine why you would think that.

[stevenleser]

10. Not funny and your point is a bad one.

Comparing African Americans to chimps is part of the racist history of derogatory statements white people made about people of African origin.

You trying to say it is just as bad to imply chimp-like qualities about a white person is wrong-headed.

Calling a non-Jewish person miserly is also not equivalent to saying that about a Jewish person.

We can go on with behaviors and physical traits that are part of prejudiced statements about any discriminated against group.

[JHB]

12. In what way is it "somewhat racist"?

There is definite racist baggage when it is used against someone who is nonwhite, thanks to a century or more of "subhuman" characterizations and simian comparisons. That baggage just doesn't exist for someone with Trump's background.

I recall, from perhaps 25-30 years ago, Goodall comparing the behavior of some of the chimps she was studying to politics. She noted one chimp, who had been of low status until he nabbed some empty metal fuel cans from Goodall's researchers' camp and banged them around to create an unholy racket. The extra noise let him rise to top-tier status. Goodall likened him to Pat Robertson, taking advantage of a new media to make his 1988 bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

[tinrobot]

5. Chimps throw crap all over the place.... so, yeah.

[KamaAina]

6. The chimp, not the chump!

[EL34x4]

9. So what became of Mike the chimp?

Did he establish dominance or did the other chimps drive him away?

This primate is curious.

[Hortensis]

11. "Trump's problem is not so much what he's done, but how he's done it.

I decided at the start that I wanted to profile him by describing his deals — not his lifestyle or his personality. After getting to know him, I realized that his deals are his life. He once told me: "I won't make a deal just to make a profit. It has to have flair." Another Manhattan developer said it differently: "Trump won't do a deal unless there's something extra — a kind of moral larceny — in it. He's not satisfied with a profit. He has to take something more. Otherwise, there's no thrill." ...

Intimidation of the media was nothing new for Trump at that point, Barrett said. “At the same time, in the course of the same interviews — and this was all on tape — he advertised that he had already sued and broken one journalist,” Barrett said.

Wayne Barrett: Donald Trump Tried To Bribe Me With An Apartment, The veteran journalist takes a look back at the Trump of the 1970s.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wayne-barrett-donald-trump-bribe_us_560eaabae4b0dd85030bb2d5

Needless to say, the various peculiar realities of The Donald's personality disorder are hard for normal people to understand, but voters really need to.

[DesertRat]

13. How is this racist?