--- In SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com, "Take a wild, friggin guess"
<a_change_of_plans_at_...> wrote:
> You know how, in our world, there are unexplained sightings of
such
> creatures as the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, etcetera? And lots of
> folks believe those may be surviving dinosaurs or early humans,
> right? Well, it'd kinda be the same way in the trio's world.
There
> are rumors of human sightings, as well as other primates. (You did
> notice there were no primates in their world, right? Since humans
are
> believed to be distant descendants of primates, it would stand to
> reason that many of those critters would've been killed off, just
as
> the humans were, while the other sentient species were evolving and
> laying claim to territories).
>
> Scientists in their world wouldn't have a precise picture of a
> human, since all they would have to go on for evidence would be
early
> cave paintings and such. Due to that speculation, it's possible
that
> the human species could be viewed as we view monsters or aliens;
there
> would even possibly be conventions or fandoms around such things.
>
> Now ask yourself this: if we, as a species, happened upon a
> few "alien" creatures (or "alien" to our eyes), which do you
> realistically think our species would do? Would we embrace this
new
> species and learn to live alongside them, or would we capture,
> dissect, or otherwise wipe them off the planet? I'm talking
> realistically here; since we, as a species, cannot even get along
with
> others of our own kind simply because they appear different, what
> chances would a sentient species, however dissimilar, possibly
stand?
>
> This would likely be the view of sentient anthro species as
well.
> But, again, not necessarily. It could be our drive to be the
dominant
> species is uniquely human, and therefore, would not be a part of an
> anthro species' upbringing or nature. But I wouldn't be surprised
if
> their society would, at least initially, treat a new race as alien
and
> hostile. After all, that's what we do, and that's all we know,
> right? ;)
>
> --JMH
Humans are actually naturally xenophobic, yet that is not set in
stone because the rate of xenophobia is lower amongst people who were
born and raised in mixed neighbourhoods.
But more to the point, xenophobia is not a uniquely human thing. Just
look at other species of animals, especially the carnivores. They
compete with other predators who prey on the same prey that they do.
Lions and hyenas are natural enemies.
Then there's dogs and cats. Although it is possible for them to get
along, this can only be done if there's an intervention of sorts.
That is, have the puppy and kitten introduced before they are several
weeks old, especially the kitten. This also applies to having them
socialized with other species too because it's actually possible to
have a pet cat who won't prey on birds or rodents. My younger
sister's friend's cat won't prey on birds, yet he does prey on flying
insects.
My older sister also told me about a woman she knew who had a Chinese
Shar Pei dog who HATED Poodles, but not other breeds of dogs.
So even if any such species were raised to sapience, xenophobia will
still exist on their part.
-Brandon Payne
Received on Sat Sep 20 2008 - 06:09:10 CDT