Hugging monkeys

[shavastak]

Some years ago, a famous psychology experiment was done in which a young monkey was given two surrogate parents to choose from: one, a wire form with a bottle of milk in it, and the other, a fuzzy-covered wire form with no bottle. The young monkeys consistently chose the fuzzy-covered wire form, indicating the importance of comfort.

The same kind of phenomenon is taking place in New Orleans as the city rebuilds. Let me explain.

This morning there was a report on NPR about bars and strip clubs opening in New Orleans. Most of these places don't have running water or electricity yet, and they certainly don't have food - the people in the report were eating MREs. And drinking beer.

Don't decry this! Don't call them stupid or denigrate them. They are being human. I would argue that this behavior isn't just natural, it's right. It is not an indication of the weakness of the human spirit; it is an indication of the importance of comfort and enjoyment in the health of humans. There is something about each of us that recognizes that comfort and enjoyment are at least as important as food, water, and shelter - if not *more* important. It is not neglecting health to consider comfort and fun first - it is the right order to go about things, especially in this day and age where Americans typically have more stored food than their bodies know what to do with.

You may immediately bring up starving people in Africa. Of *course* they need food, and they need it desperately, but I would argue they'd be even *better* off if we gave them food, water, and books. Or movies. Or a hackeysack (they may not have the energy for football). What I'm trying to say is that the *traditional* basics (food, water, shelter, clothing) are missing a couple of very vital components.

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Edit: It might be worthwhile at this time to point out something I neglected to mention. According to the report on NPR, most of the people patronizing the strip clubs are rescue, police, and fire personnel. I may be optomistic, but it is my hope that most of them are just trying to wind down after long, tough days. The strip club owner spoke with great respect for his patrons, describing them as very hard workers.

FYI, my impression was that the bars are used by everybody.

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Edit #2: I did not intend this post to advocate the use of beer and titties as means of promoting human health. In the same way, I would not advocate giving monkeys cloth-covered wire as a means of promoting their health. Both are examples of a false, or at least less-than-ideal, source of comfort and/or fun. But I still think that providing for comfort and fun is at least as important as providing for food and water.

The subject of love was brought up, also. I think I would put love above all the others, not because I am a romantic, but because humans need to be loved to be healthy; lack of food will kill you faster, but lack of love is much much harder to recover from. Also, going to a titty bar does not in any way fulfill the need for love. Sex is not love; I would consider it to be in the 'fun' category. Watching sexy women bounce is even less like love, and even more like just fun.

Comments

[mcmiller.livejournal.com]

http://www.envisionsoftware.com/articles/Maslows_Needs_Hierarchy.html

Comfort, to my mind, would be social or esteem. That puts it a) in the middle or b) one step from the top with physiological needs like food, water, clothing and shelter coming first.

Seeking comfort when physiological needs are not yet met is self-destructive and short sighted.

Love, on the other hand, is what gives people the will to live and the desire to seek the essentials in the first place.

Beer is not love.
Strip clubs are not love.
Drugs, alcohol, hostess cupcakes, tobacco, pornography... not love. In my mind, they are thinly veiled forms of self abuse.

These aren't two ends of a spectrum, these things are "luxuries" (if killing yourself through self abuse is a luxury - I will caveat that most of these things are only self destructive when overdone and I would argue that they are overdone by definition in New Orleans at this point) not necessities. They may serve a psychological need but without your body to live in, what good is mental health? Those kids you are talking about need the will to live. Anyone who needs beer and strip clubs to find the basic desire to live has more issues than Good Housekeeping.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

I disagree. Seeking comfort can give people the impetus to work to meet their physical needs. It's a momentary relief from serious, debilitating physical and emotional stress, and it is absolutely essential to a person's well-being. Also, keep in mind that comfort can be a very physical thing, not necessarily on the level of social or esteem. When my daughter is crying, she doesn't want me to affirm her as a person; she wants me to cuddle her, stroke her hair, hug her.

Yes, I'm saying Maslow was wrong. :)

[mcmiller.livejournal.com]

Once again, I don't disagree that REAL comfort can motivate. But beer and titties (of strangers) is the illusion, not the real thing.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

True. The reason illusions are so sought-after is because they have at least some of the effects of the real thing. If transient comfort is enough to motivate them until they can find the real thing, who are we to tell them they shouldn't?

[nakedknight.livejournal.com]

Transient comfort led me to be sickly, depressed, and 120 pounds overweight. I may have the zealousness of a recent convert, but no (prescription) drug I took and no food I ate and no time that I slacked off ever gave me the energy to really change. The impetus to change comes from inside, always. No one and no thing can give it to you.