metonymy4u

One common feature of human and chimpanzee culture is that social power is always potentially up for grabs. This pattern is not observed in all animal cultures. Amongst Bonobos, for example, power is distributed in a much more rigid hierarchy governed by blood relations. The result is that everyone can relax a bit more. One result of living in human or chimp culture is that assaults are much more frequent. Any given individual, when presented with the opportunity to grab power over another can often barely resist the urge given the learning history of our species. What I have learned about myself recently through repeated exposure to these sorts of assaults is that I tend to respond to the signals of violence with the same thoughts and urges. Whether it is urges for violence towards myself or towards others, it has become clear to me that the learning history which shaped these responses is the same. Having grown up in a culture of violence during my developmental years, those neural connections are very solidly built. They represent my automatic response patterns, over which I have very little immediate control – like someone pulling their hand away from a hot stove before they are even aware of the pain. To change these automatic, emotional responses therefore requires a great input of energy to the system, because neurons are physical events and obey the laws of physics, one of which is inertia. I have to work very hard to change my own automatic responses which were shaped in a culture of violence. I also have to remind myself that these responses were created by forces beyond my control. I did not ask, during my growing up years, to be repeatedly exposed to violence and aggression. This situation is not of my own making. Therefore I have also learned that turning towards my experiences with compassion rather than shame and self-hatred is the more skillful approach.