primate rights

"Monkeys shouldn"t be considered persons because they can be taught to do "human-like" things." The most fundamental learning for humans is being taught human-like things. People are taught how to read, write, communicate, etc. Such things do not just happen. Monkeys are much like feral children, if left in the wild for too long people will revert and become more animalistic, because it is their nature to survive. Society is taught and learned, people are taught that when they go against the rules in that society they are punished. People conform and act accordingly. Apes, as it seems, can be taught similarly. Starting at a young age, going through years of learning, they can be taught many of the same things as people. This is a matter of the mind. Seen with feral children, after a certain point even people cannot be taught things that a small child is expected to learn. They can never learn to read, write, or act in society, because their brain growth is stunted to be at about a toddler"s brain, even if that person is middle-aged. But feral people are still considered people, just animalistic or feral. What you did not include about Tommy was that he was a movie monkey. He would appear in movies that required the role of a monkey and play a part with cues from a director, and be behaved around people. Just like an actor. Also something that you did not include was that Tommy"s owner was forcing Tommy to work in movies so that he could keep the money. You state that a mid-level court ruled that Tommy is not considered a person because he cannot be held accountable for his actions or submit to societal responsibilities, or in other words, go to jail or pay taxes, basically. But Tommy, specifically, would have the ability to pay taxes if he were paid in the first place, but his owner was paid instead. And the problem of going to jail or prison, would be that they would not be able to read a monkey their rights because they don"t have any. If they first got rights, then they would be able to be considered persons, because they can be held accountable for their actions. I don"t really see the point of you using an example of a human child being raised by monkeys. It is irrelevant as it shows that they even have the capability of raising a child, keeping them alive for multiple years, and teaching that child how to survive on their own, (which is what a parent does). If you are referring to great apes being taught sign language as "tricks" then perhaps you do not fully understand sign language. Koko can respond to questions by signing, the human signing the questions does not give Koko clues as to what she should answer. It is a clear example of apes having complex thought. And to your racist comment, it should be an obvious link between persecuted groups trying to obtain rights and this debate. So, clearly I"m not the one being racist here by saying that civil rights has relevance to this case. You cannot discount the fact that human rights are ever-changing and including more people who were once not thought of as people. Also, monkeys can adapt, they do just as much as humans, that"s why there are many different species of monkeys/apes/etc. The movie is clearly irrelevant as it is not fact but fiction designed for ratings. Though you are missing the parts where he was locked up in a cage and genetically tested on and treated less than nicely from some of the other scientists. Caesar gave the gene to other monkeys to increase their intelligence too. He was unhappy with the way that he and the other primates were being treated. And I"m not sure why you think that leading a revolution is not human like behavior, because with human history, it has happened countless times and for the same reasons; being treated heinously and believing they are better off without that current form of government. It is not right to say that Caesar didn"t have the "human-like ability" to be able to control his wrongful actions. It seems as though you"ve never heard of crime. Many humans have used the argument that they were unable to control themselves when they were committing a crime. The stunning similarities and scientifically proven genetic proximity between humans and other primates is why they should have most of the same rights that humans have.