The Monkey Syndrome

[Valerie]

Hey, if those were great American monkeys I bet one of them would have sacrificed himself by throwing his body onto the source of the spraying water so the other monkeys could have their bananas in peace!

 

[Foxfyre]

The OP's experiment explains why so many contemporary conservatives under the age of forty think Ronald Reagan was a great president.

Why would you say that? Ronald Reagan presided with a predominantly Democratic Congress and most of the monkeys stayed put. I believe the most monkeys that had been changed at the same time occurred two years into the Clinton presidency and that produced some very good results.

I am looking with fresh eyes at Herman Cain's candidacy for President as he has not yet been a monkey. That may in fact start appearing to be a very good thing.

 

[007]

Hey, if those were great American monkeys I bet one of them would have sacrificed himself by throwing his body onto the source of the spraying water so the other monkeys could have their bananas in peace!

Now there's some rugged, selfless, gutsy American attitude right there folks...

 

[RadiomanATL]

Hey, if those were great American monkeys I bet one of them would have sacrificed himself by throwing his body onto the source of the spraying water so the other monkeys could have their bananas in peace!

Hell yeah.


Gimme my banana.

 

[RadiomanATL]

Gimme my banana dammit.

 

[Valerie]

Hey, if those were great American monkeys I bet one of them would have sacrificed himself by throwing his body onto the source of the spraying water so the other monkeys could have their bananas in peace!

Hell yeah.


Gimme my banana.

 

[RadiomanATL]

Finally.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

Sounds like fun...


Where can I get some monkeys?

Please contact Bass V2.0.. he always refers to people as "monkey". He probably has a basement full of them.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

I used to watch the Monkees on TV when I was eleven......I thought it was funny
Now, they just look stupid

Think about it

Hey hey we're the monkeys... and people say we monkey around...

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

What the hell hapenned to "Johnny Quest"?

 

[Ravi]

 

[Valerie]

Hey, hoser... Take off, eh?

 

[RadiomanATL]

I needed a shower anyway.

 

[Foxfyre]

Among Presidents who had never held public office prior to becoming POTUS included Washington, Taylor, Grant, Taft, Hoover, and Eisenhower. So it is certainly not unprecedented.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

How did spraying the other monkeys prevent the first one from getting the banana?

I think that the fact that one monkey gets a banana, and the rest get soaked accounts for the violence of the response. It is not enough that the others get wet, but that the one gets the goodies all the rest missed out on.

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

Gimme my banana dammit.

What happens when no monkeys are ever replaced , entitlement monkeys .

 

[xsited1]

Bad monkeys need to be spanked.

 

[Foxfyre]

How did spraying the other monkeys prevent the first one from getting the banana?

I think that the fact that one monkey gets a banana, and the rest get soaked accounts for the violence of the response. It is not enough that the others get wet, but that the one gets the goodies all the rest missed out on.

It is possible that some class envy was involved, but I did not get that from the story. The thrust of the story for me is that the collective mindset is that eveybody is required to think, act, and conduct themselves the same or be punished by the collective.

Anyone who thinks or acts outside the box will have the crap beat out of them.

If you need modern illustration, look what happens if somebody dares violate the collective P.C. code. They are crucified by the media and a host of people fighting to get in front of a camera to denounce the errant 'monkey'. There will be demands for the person to resign, to be fired, to be boycotted. Nobody is interested in exploring context or intent of the remark. It will not be allowed. The collective will administer punishment to anybody who thinks outside the box.

Or look at anybody who dares suggest that certain programs are cut or certain laws are repealed or an entitlement be restructured to eliminate the deficit and balance the budget. The collective will beat the crap out of that person as such thinking is not to be allowed at all, much less explored or analyzed for what possibilities it might contain.

The monkeys don't even care that they have never experienced what they fear or don't know what the risks might be. They would rather do without the banana than allow anybody to try because it has always been that way.

 

[RadiomanATL]

Gimme my banana dammit.

What happens when no monkeys are ever replaced , entitlement monkeys .

Does that mean I get a government subsidized banana?

 

[MaggieMae]

Start with a cage containing five monkeys.

Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string from the ceiling.

Place a set of stairs under the banana.

Before long a monkey will go up the stairs and reach for the banana.

As soon as he touches the stairs, all the other monkeys are sprayed with icy cold water which is quite unpleasant for monkeys.

When a second monkey make an attempt to reach the banana, again all the other monkeys are sprayed with icy cold water. A third monkey going for the stairs is prevented from doing so by the others.

From that point on no monkey dares attempt to reach the banana.

The cold water is put away and one monkey is removed from the cage and replaced with a new one.

The new monkey sees the banana and attempts to climb the stairs. To his shock, all of the other monkeys beat the crap out of him. After a second attempt followed by the same punishment, he no longer attempts to climb the stairs.

A second of the original monkeys is removed and replaced with a new one. The newscomer goes for the stairs and is atttacked with the previous newcomer enthusiastically taking part in the discilinary action.

One by one replace the third, fourth, and fifth monkeys in the same manner until
there are no monkeys left in the cage who have ever been doused with icy cold water. But any newcomer who attempts to climb the stairs to reach the banana will be attacked by all the others.

Why? Because in their minds it has always been that way.

MORAL OF STORY:

Every now and then, most or all of the monkeys should be replaced at the same time.

If the "moral" includes no more cold water at all, I agree. If not, the same thing will happen.