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Another Sad Commentary

Below I am going to quote excerpts from an article published by the Reuters News Agency that while obviously meant as a humerous "tongue-in-cheek" article, is really, in my opinion an article that is a rather sad commentary on the state of the world.

From Reuters:

Zoo wants chimp to kick smoking habit
Officials tell visitors to stop throwing him cigarettes


JOHANNESBURG - A South African zoo is trying to persuade its star chimpanzee to kick a bad smoking habit.

Charlie, a grown male chimp and the Bloemfontein Zoo, has been picking up cigarettes thrown to him by visitors and smoking them — a habit he probably picked up by observing humans, zoo officials told the SAPA news agency on Thursday.

"Baby chimps pick up habits by mimicking adults and we think he started mimicking smokers at his enclosure which probably led to smokers throwing him cigarettes," spokesman Daryl Barnes told SAPA.

Barnes said Charlie was already showing the signs of a true nicotine addict.

"He even acts like a naughty schoolboy by hiding the cigarette when staff approach the area," Barnes said, adding that the zoo was determined to help him quit.

Barnes said the most important thing was that people stop providing Charlie with cigarettes or any other treats, noting the chimp already had three bad teeth because of all the cans of sweet soft drinks that people throw at him.

Charlie is not the only smoking chimpanzee. A zoo in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou reported last year that one of its chimps had taken up smoking and was desperately cadging cigarette butts off visitors.

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Now, why is this so sad? Perhaps it is because it is an anti-smoking article, perhaps it is because it is an article again suggesting that human conduct and human activities are "bad", perhaps it is because it is meant to be "tongue-in-cheek" but is certainly heartfelt in its negative portrayal of humans and human intereaction with animals.

I think that if Charlie has picked up the tobacco hobby, it is a strong indication that he enjoys said hobby and should be allowed to continue. His covert activity in this regard exemplifies the negative attitude that most self-righteous sorts have about others who do not meet their own standards. A case in point I feel is that if Charlie is actually choosing to indulge in tobacco, then he most pointedly ENJOYS indulging in tobacco. Leave him alone to lead life as he feels appropriate.

When will we as a nation and as a world begin to truly realize and live by the notion that people should be able to engage in activities and behaviors that they enjoy as freely as they wish as long as they do not in doing so, impinge on the rights of others to enjoy their lives freely as well? That seems such a simple model.

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