Friday, November 4, 2022
So long, and thanks for all the termites.*
This day in Herstory: On November 4, 1960, Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, at the Kasakela Chimpanzee Community in Tanzania, observed a chimpanzee that she had named David Greybeard using a grass stalk as a tool to extract termites from a termite hill. This was the first-ever recorded scientific observation of toolmaking in non-human animals. (more)
*So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
That was “the message left by the dolphins when they departed Planet Earth just before it was demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, as described in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” (wikipedia).
But I’m not a dolphin, I’m a primate, so when I read that on today’s date in 1960, the wonderful Jane Goodall observed chimps making a tool for extracting termites from a termite hill, I felt a chime of resonance. For when I started collecting and linking to articles for GC News in January 2022, I embarked on creating a tool to extract particular pieces from the overflowing heap of daily news - not unlike extracting termites from a termite hill. Since that time, this tool has extracted many termites - although, to be fair, most of the articles have been much more beauteous than the metaphor suggests. But also, many have pointed out a particularly insect-like quality of human behavior, the tendency to act according to the dictates of the hive-mind. All in all, “termites” isn’t entirely off the mark, as metaphors go.
So long, and thank you for all the termites.
The coming demolition of the planet? Probably not quite as immanent as the scenario Douglas Adams dreamed up in The Hitchhiker’s Guide, but it seems to bear a passing resemblance to the current state of “civilization,” as it looks from my strange outpost. So, like the dolphins, making their timely departure before the demolition occurred, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s time to note my due appreciation for the termites and hit the road.
There are many reasons for my decision. In the end, it simply comes down to, in the words of the great British songwriter, Leon Rosselson, “Only listen to the voice that lives inside you.”
Thank you to all who have subscribed to GC News. I’ve been glad that my work has been of value to so many of you. I truly appreciate you for reading it.
And many, many thanks to my co-editors, Elizabeth Hummel and Eliza Mann. Without their help, there would have been far fewer articles every day.
I wish you all the best, and peace.
Lee
I want to commend my dear friend and compadre Lee for the vision, editorial wisdom, and gargantuan effort night after night putting out GC News. It has also been a joy to work with Eliza Mann, our other contributing editor, who has brought her own insights and suggestions to GC News. I have been glad to be part of it, truly sad to see it go too. Although it's been a big commitment, it's also been fun and interesting. Not only is it an important cause to help stop these terrible harms of gender ideology through awareness of the news, but there have also been so many other connected issues to ponder and wrestle with in these articles. From the school board meetings voting on gender ideology to some of the smartest minds on the planet picking it all apart. What it means to be human, free speech, feminism, biology (can you say gametes?) child development, dualism, tribalism, and many other often timeless human ponderings. Keep it up everybody. We'll defeat this in the end, and maybe in the process we will learn how to be better people too.
I’m very sad. I read it every night. Thank you for all your work you did.