I was watching 60 Minutes last night, and they had an interesting segment that I think relates at least tangentially to our discussions here.

I don't have a link unfortunately, but those looking for more information could probably find it easily.
Spoiler
Show
The segment was a report about tests of infant morality. They studied hundreds of infants, ages 3 months to five months, to see if they had any predispositions to morality or immorality (basically, "good" or "bad").

The first experiment was to see if infants could recognize nice and mean behavior, and which they preferred. They showed infants a puppet show where one stuffed animal (a tiger) was trying to open a box, while two other stuffed animals (dogs), identical save for the color of the shirt they wore, watched. First, one of the dogs helped the tiger open the box. Then, the scene replayed, but the other dog slammed the box shut while the tiger tried to open it. When the infants were offered both dogs to play with, over 80% of them chose the helpful/"nice" dog over the "mean" dog.

So, chalk one up for the good of humanity! Our natural instinct, at least so far, appears that we prefer those who treat others kindly!

The next experiment was very similar, but started differently. In it, the tiger was playing ball with two bunnies. One bunny played, passing the ball like it was suppose to, but the other kept the ball, then ran away. Then, the first experiment repeated, except it was the mean bunny that was trying to open the box. The result was that, once again over 80%, the infants preferred the "mean" dog, the one who slams the box shut, when the person trying to open it was mean themselves.

That's another point! A basic form of justice, where we feel mean people should be punished!

But it's not all good news. The last experiment is the one that's most relevant here: first, they offered the infant a choice between two snacks: Cheerios, and graham crackers. Then, they showed two cats, one eating Cheerios, and the other graham crackers. Then, the first experiment again, with the cat who prefered the snack the infant didn't trying to open the box. The result (this time I believe it was 87%) was that the children prefered the "mean" dog, hinting that they wanted the person who was different from them punished.

So, that could hint that bigotry, the dislike of those who are different or "other," is as much a part of our core as generosity and justice.


Also, YAY for Laura! Coming out is always tough, but it's so nice when it goes well! Also, please videotape the reaction your other friend has when and if he finds out. I'm sure many of us here would giggle hysterically when we see that!

In other news, my sister will be coming home from college in a few days, and so I'm going to talk to her about what's going on. Hopefully she'll take it well...


~Phoenix~