# Human beings are worth more than Gorillas **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 1, 2016, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203 "2016-06-01T01:34:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/61 "2016-06-01T21:50:00Z")
In the long run, we are all equally useless. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/62 "2016-06-01T22:33:58Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Perhaps some feel that way. But others (such as myself) may disfavor the way the human species despoils our planet and our fellow inhabitants, for our short-term comfort or convenience, or even just sport. We are capable of so much more than any other species, yet in many ways hold ourselves to a lower standard, not exercising our capabilities responsibly. All of that post, but especially this. If we acted as much a steward of the planet, like we know we should and can, it’d be far easier to claim the moral high ground in terms of ethical and intrinsic worth. As it is, the answer is nothing better than ‘might makes right.’ And isn’t that how nature works anyway? So yeah, I guess I have to reverse my previous position. As a purely natural approach to the question, owing to our use of tools humans have become unequaled in might and thus are the crown jewel of evolution. Because we CAN rule, we SHOULD rule. Empathy and generosity are cudgels wielded by the weak. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/63 "2016-06-01T23:41:03Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Perfect screen name/post combo. Regardless of the reason a poster picks a username, using it as an insult is still a violation of the rules. This is a Warning to avoid such actions in the future. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/64 "2016-06-02T00:34:35Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > And I agree that the parents should be billed. If they can’t afford it, they should be forced to put on gorilla suits and sub for the gorilla until a new one is found. I like the way you think. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/65 "2016-06-02T02:49:34Z")
> [@](#): > > If an adult human were endangering the kid and there was no likely way to stop that adult he would have been shot also. In this case the species of the animal shot was irrelevant, and it has nothing to do with their comparative worth. Now this is a good point, unlike most of the rest of the inane comments. If you think about it, though, there are very few gorillas left. The loss of a single healthy adult male gorilla is a devastating blow. The loss of a small child in a world teeming with people? Not really much of a problem. The loss of a healthy young adult vigorously contributing to society is a bit of a problem. The loss of a troubled teenager who has been committing crimes since he was 11 isn’t much of a problem. The loss of a healthy adult bull with prize qualities of an extremely rare breed is a problem. It doesn’t have anything to do with sentience or species; it’s all about rarity and value. Unfortunately, humans are not rare and human children are not valuable except to their parents even when viewed through a human-centric lens. I’m sure your Disney-esque sensibilities will be offended by these statements. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/66 "2016-06-02T03:08:53Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > That’s a matter of law as well, the Law of the Jungle. . . . Instead of shooting the gorilla, they should have invoked a water truce. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/67 "2016-06-02T04:56:57Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > It doesn’t have anything to do with sentience or species; it’s all about rarity and value. Unfortunately, humans are not rare and human children are not valuable except to their parents even when viewed through a human-centric lens. I’m sure your Disney-esque sensibilities will be offended by these statements. Oh, bullshit! :rolleyes: I’m glad we have the BBQ Pit, where I can feel free to say what I truly think about your comments here. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/68 "2016-06-02T06:05:51Z")
Every single idiot that says the zoo shouldn’t have shot the gorilla because its life is worth more than that of a kid stupid enough to climb in a zoo exhibit would completely change their kinds if it was them or their kid. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/69 "2016-06-02T10:20:32Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Every single idiot that says the zoo shouldn’t have shot the gorilla because its life is worth more than that of a kid stupid enough to climb in a zoo exhibit would completely change their kinds if it was them or their kid. It’s Shirley Jackson’s _The Lottery_ in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/70 "2016-06-02T20:38:32Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > I’m sure your Disney-esque sensibilities will be offended by these statements. Thou hath offended mine honour. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/71 "2016-06-02T23:43:45Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Perfect screen name/post combo. I meant this in the spirit of criticizing his post, but I can see how it can be construed as a personal attack on him. I withdraw my comment and apologize. And this goes for the comment in the other thread as well, wherever it is. ---
**Author:** ![ShinyAeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@ShinyAeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShinyAeon)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/72 "2016-06-03T04:39:06Z")
I find this whole debate a little silly. We value children because we are biologically programmed to love and protect them. Unless we are sociopaths, we instinctively do. Every person on this thread or the original one who claims that the gorilla should be valued above the child is fooling him or herself. If you had had been there and seen this happen in real time, you’d have felt that clench of terrified dread in your stomach when you saw a little boy was in danger. Sure, you can sit there and be cynical now, safely on the other side of the computer screen, and talk big about how humans are a dime a dozen…but in real life, millions of years of mammal evolution would have screamed at you to save that child. Even if you loved the gorilla and longed to save it, too, you could not (barring any sociopathy) be indifferent to the child. It’s like Ebenezer Scrooge going on that the poor should hurry up and die to “decrease the surplus population.” Easy enough to quip, but when “the poor” gained a child’s name and face (Tiny Tim’s), and he saw what was actually at stake, Scrooge realized how contemptible his words had been. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/73 "2016-06-03T04:48:31Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I meant this in the spirit of criticizing his post, but I can see how it can be construed as a personal attack on him. I withdraw my comment and apologize. > > And this goes for the comment in the other thread as well, wherever it is. Her. **spamforbrains** is a woman. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/74 "2016-06-03T04:53:49Z")
> [@ShinyAeon](#): > > I find this whole debate a little silly. We value children because we are biologically programmed to love and protect them. Unless we are sociopaths, we instinctively do. > > Every person on this thread or the original one who claims that the gorilla should be valued above the child is fooling him or herself. If you had had been there and seen this happen in real time, you’d have felt that clench of terrified dread in your stomach when you saw a little boy was in danger. Sure, you can sit there and be cynical now, safely on the other side of the computer screen, and talk big about how humans are a dime a dozen…but in real life, millions of years of mammal evolution would have screamed at you to save that child. Even if you loved the gorilla and longed to save it, too, you could not (barring any sociopathy) be indifferent to the child… I’m honestly not convinced that you’re right. If it had been a big cat threatening a child, I completely agree. Even though I love cats, it’s more an abstract appreciation of their beauty - no empathy, they are stone killers. But I feel an immense amount of empathy (perhaps misplaced anthropomorphization?) with other great apes - chimps not so much, they are assholes, but gorillas and orangutans. They are not predators of humans. I’m not saying that I would have made a different decision about taking the shot, and I know this is not exactly your point - but I think at a gut level I would feel almost as devastated to be responsible in some way for the necessary death of a gorilla as for the accidental death of a child. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffes_Can_t_Dance)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/75 "2016-06-03T06:02:18Z")
If an adult human was a physical threat to killing a baby gorilla residing in the same zoo, they’d be shot too. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/76 "2016-06-03T11:51:18Z")
> [@Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](#): > > If an adult human was a physical threat to killing a baby gorilla residing in the same zoo, they’d be shot too. I very much doubt it, actually. We do generally value humans over gorillas. Because _we’re_ humans ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/77 "2016-06-03T14:58:59Z")
Anyone in a species who values their own species less than another species is a danger to their own species and said species would be best without them. If you are a human and make an argument that another member of another species is worth more, or you claim that their life should be chosen above the life of others in you species, then your species should kill YOU, and hopefully before you’ve mated or before you continue to do so. . ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203/78 "2016-06-12T00:49:55Z")
I suggest humans and gorillas settle this question of who’s worth more with a nice round of arm wrestling. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-beings-are-worth-more-than-gorillas/756203.md?page=3)