Garth Rattray | Simianisation is malicious, racist dehumanisation

It is terrible that the most powerful and influential office on the planet posted images of former American president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle (who are both Afro-Americans) as apes. Coming from such a high and official institution makes the offensive post palatable to those with susceptible and retrograde minds.

At first, the post was defended by the office, and it took increasing protests before it was taken down. No apology was forthcoming and the posting of the [apparent] heterodoxy was blamed on the faux pas of a subordinate within that organisation. The post was especially offensive and opprobrious since it was posted in Black History Month and was perceived as an attempt to dehumanise people of African origin.

The posted images and the recalcitrance to unreservedly apologise and condemn the obvious racist impression that they portray, has led weak-minded bigots to accept the warped concept that people of African origin are genetically inferior to Caucasians. Those with such entrenched beliefs also extend that inferiority gap to such a degree that they almost liken people with African genes to apes, or monkeys – lower primates.

Such reasoning is flawed in every conceivable way. Since President and Mrs Obama are [obviously] human beings, those who believe in creationism must certainly know that since they were created as human beings, they can’t be apes. Those who believe in evolutionism must also realise that having evolved from apes, President and Mrs Obama cannot remain as apes and be human beings at the same time. Those who believe in evolutionism but hold that it is guided by the Creator must also know that once guided to evolve past the ape stage, there is no going back. Therefore, President and Mrs Obama could never exist in two states – as apes and as human beings.

For those naïve to any semblance of common sense and clarity of thought, it should be pointed out that all humans, regardless of race, are equally [biologically] related to apes. We are primates, and as such, we share a common genetic ancestor with chimpanzees and bonobos. And, perhaps most importantly, all human beings share a common African heritage.

It, therefore, stands to reason that since people of African heritage are no closer to non-human primates (including apes) than any other race of humans, any suggestion, inference, or subliminal hint to the contrary is blatantly unscientific, baseless, ill-conceived, invalid, inflammatory, and racist. Then again, perhaps the post was someone’s feeble, insensitive, crass, and ignorant attempt at some sort of sick humour.

COMMON ANCESTOR

Every single human shares a common ancestor with the apes. Our DNA is pretty similar. The DNA difference between humans of all races and apes is only about 1.2 per cent. Humans also have different gene expressions (the way that our genes turn on and off) to apes. We humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes while apes have 24. Additionally, over time, humans have accumulated different gene mutations.

The obvious differences between humans and apes include our bipedalism - we consistently walk on two legs. Whereas President and Mrs Obama weigh 79.4Kg and 70.3Kg, respectively, apes can weigh anything from 135Kg to 220Kg. The brain development and cognition of humans are far superior to that of apes. President Obama’s IQ has been estimated to be around 145. That puts him in the high-scoring category of US presidents. Mrs Obama’s IQ is estimated to be among the top 14 per cent of the population of the world. Meanwhile, the IQ of apes was found to be between that of a two-year-old and a five-year-old human child. Humans also have the advantage of language and speech.

President Obama is 64 years old, and Mrs. Obama is 62 years old. Apes live for 35 to 40 years on average. While the Obamas are fit and strong for their age, apes are four to 10 times stronger than humans. Furthermore, the facial features and body structure of apes are different from that of human beings. To conceive depicting the Obamas as apes is ludicrous and inane. The posting of that image exposes warped and sordid minds marinating somewhere within that office.

WAKE UP

The racists among us need to wake up to the fact that the concept of human ‘races’ is more a social construct than it is a biological one. The DNA of human ‘races’ is 99 to 99.9 per cent identical. There is no specific gene that defines or separates ‘race’. Most genetic variations are within human populations, not between them. The only observable differences between various populations on the planet are the adaptations – like hair distribution and quality, skin pigmentation (dictated by exposure to ultraviolet radiation), facial differences according to [environmental] temperatures, altitude, and glare.

Human populations also vary genetically according to diet, disease resistance, and the physical characteristics for suitability to their particular environment. Despite the differences in the appearance of “Caucasians” and “Negroes”, there is no set of genes that define the two populations.

Since multiple gene mutations and eons of environmental factors influence variations in bone structure, skull shape, nose, lip size and shape, the shape of the eyes, cheeks and jawline, skin thickness, hair distribution, fat distribution, muscle structure, and [lastly] skin pigmentation, we are not really that different. Our appearance and cultures may vary, but our biology is exactly the same.

Depicting president and Mrs Obama as apes is deeply founded in unabashed racist ideations. It is a throwback to the unspeakable horrors of slavery and to segregationist yearning.

Garth Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice, and author of ‘The Long and Short of Thick and Thin’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.