Amerika

Baby screams. Onlookers glower. Mom gives in — even when she’s a monkey.

Rhesus macaque mothers are about twice as likely to let a howling infant have its way during very public tantrums than during more private moments, says Stuart Semple of Roehampton University in London.

Research has found that nonhuman primates pay attention to eavesdropping bystanders, “but this is the first demonstration that communication between mother and infant is affected by an audience,” Maestripieri says.

Science News

That’s passive aggression: leverage the expectations of other people to manipulate others. It takes a low IQ to do it, obviously, or an unformed brain, since human kids do the same thing, and not all of them are stupid.

“Don’t rock the boat” is the principle that makes passive aggression work. If you don’t live up to social standards, even if you’re being manipulated, it’s inconvenient for the other monkeys. So they take it out on you because you are the one who can make the problem go away.

Even if it’s a screaming brat, or a manipulative parasite of a human being, that’s attacking you — they’re portraying themselves as the victims. “Mommy, I want that toy!” and “This doesn’t represent my rights! I’m gonna sue!” are on a philosophical level the same wolfish bleat.

More passive aggression:

Swedish men are less intelligent, lonelier and fatter than their female counterparts, a new study claims. Boys have fallen way behind in school, and there are more women than men studying some traditionally male university subjects.

“In twenty years men’s dominance will be broken and women will have more power in society. There will be more female CEO’s and the wage gap will favour women,” researcher Ingemar Gens told magazine Att:ention.

The Local

How did “we want equality” become this jubilation, revenge and hatred?

What bad psychology and mental sickness this is. These people are motivated by hatred.

But, that’s passive aggression for you. Claim you’re the victim, and use that to justify cruelty and revenge.

But, as you well know, there’s secondary consequences. It makes society alienated from itself. And things start to fall apart as trust dissolves.

Here’s another one:

European countries that have offered to help the Obama administration close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, by resettling detainees have begun raising questions about the security risks and requirements if they accept prisoners described by the Bush administration as “the worst of the worst,” according to diplomats and other officials on both sides of the Atlantic.

IHT

European powers used Guantanamo as a way to get back at the Bush administration. Why: they want Europe to be #1, so they oppose strong leaders (it was also a trend that all the monkeys thought was important).

That was passive aggression.

Now, they’re reconsidering, because they’re realizing that their symbolic act of accepting these prisoners was a stupid idea.

1% of the voters will notice, at most, and those will forget within the obligatory two week period (paycheck to paycheck mentality). So it’s moot, I’m sure.

Tags: passive aggression