R.I.P. Koko

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Alefroth
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R.I.P. Koko

Post by Alefroth »

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/21/62216027 ... munication

What an amazing animal she was. Thanks for all you taught us.
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Re: R.I.P. Koko

Post by Daehawk »

Thats sad. She was almost as old as me. I remember stories of her throughout my life. her sign language, her having pets, her meeting people like Robin Williams. Daehawk sad now. RIP.
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Re: R.I.P. Koko

Post by Moliere »

Image

This is the closest I could find to RIP.
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Re: R.I.P. Koko

Post by Moliere »

The Real Meaning of Koko’s Purported Nipple Fetish
As celebrities are sometimes wont to do, Koko had developed a few antisocial tendencies. By the time she was in her 20s, for example, Koko had begun to show signs of nipple fetish. In 2005, Kendra Keller and Nancy Alperin, who had been employed by the Gorilla Foundation the previous year, took Patterson to court because, they alleged, “Patterson instructed Keller and Alperin to engage in the sexual act of removing their clothing to expose their breasts to Koko, in particular, their nipples.” The lawsuit alleged that in response to signing from Koko, Patterson pressured Keller and Alperin to flash the ape. “Oh, yes, Koko, Nancy has nipples. Nancy can show you her nipples,” Patterson reportedly said on one occasion. And on another: “Koko, you see my nipples all the time. You are probably bored with my nipples. You need to see new nipples. I will turn my back so Kendra can show you her nipples.”

The suit was settled out of court a few months later, sparing the court system the indignity of figuring out how to administer an oath to a gorilla. But the story is nevertheless crucial to understanding the arc of the scientific field of animal linguistics and Koko’s place within it.
...
Yet it’s not at all clear that she really meant “nipple” when she used the sign, in which she gestured to her own nipple. Koko’s signings tended to be incredibly malleable. According to Patterson and her colleagues, “nice” could be interpreted as meaning “rice.” “Foot” could be interpreted as “man.” “Lip” as “woman.” “Bean” as “cookies.” Or “shoes.” Or “artichokes.” Or a “toy tiger.” Or “Jell-O.” When all else fails, an out-of-context word could be interpreted as an insult. (“Bird,” “nut,” “toilet,” and “devil” were supposedly favorites.) Or interpreted as boredom. Or as bizarre gorilla humor. Even when transcribed by a sympathetic stenographer, Koko’s signing seemed to be littered with non sequiturs, even gibberish. Instead of seeing Koko’s inconsistencies as a sign that the gorilla hadn’t truly acquired language, advocates had to go through more and more intricate—and bizarre—intellectual backflips to try to project a meaning upon them.

And while it’s not as warm and fuzzy a story as some of the other ones you’ll hear about Koko, the tale of her purported nipple fetish is the one that truly speaks to her lasting legacy. If we don’t believe that she ordered her handlers to undress, then we have to question the fundamental basis of her fame: her language. In other words, we have to confront the fact that when we were gazing into her dark brown eyes, we weren’t seeing her; we were seeing ourselves.
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Re: R.I.P. Koko

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Altho nobody can see it I said goodbye in sign.
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Z-Corn
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Re: R.I.P. Koko

Post by Z-Corn »

Jesus, it was hard enough to find out about Chris Hardwick but now we gotta hear about Koko being abusive to women too?
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Re: R.I.P. Koko

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Z-Corn wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 8:26 am Jesus, it was hard enough to find out about Chris Hardwick but now we gotta hear about Koko being abusive to women too?
You completely missed the point I think.

Francine Patterson was taken to court, not Koko. The last line summarizes it up well:
In other words, we have to confront the fact that when we were gazing into her dark brown eyes, we weren’t seeing her; we were seeing ourselves.
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Re: R.I.P. Koko

Post by killbot737 »

Sad. I remember her thing with the kittens.

It's not even winter! Did she run out of snakes to eat?
There is no hug button. Sad!
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Z-Corn
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Re: R.I.P. Koko

Post by Z-Corn »

LawBeefaroni wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 8:38 am
Z-Corn wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 8:26 am Jesus, it was hard enough to find out about Chris Hardwick but now we gotta hear about Koko being abusive to women too?
You completely missed the point I think.
You completely missed my joke I think.
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Re: R.I.P. Koko

Post by Lassr »

:(
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Moliere
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Re: R.I.P. Koko

Post by Moliere »

killbot737 wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 11:16 am Sad. I remember her thing with the kittens.
46-Year-Old Spinster Dies Surrounded By Cats

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Re: R.I.P. Koko

Post by Alefroth »

:lol:
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