Something forwarded to me...
Study reveals complex Republican culture by Roberto R. Bentley Remember how the television show "The Waltons" used to end each evening: Good night, John Boy. Good night, Mary Ellen. Good night, Grandpa. In Republican culture, there's a little less formal way to say good night: Ppppffffffffttttttttt. It's the spluttering "raspberry" sound that normal humans use in jest or sarcasm. Researchers say this vocalization, plus more than two dozen other signals and skills observed in wild Republicans, provide evidence that these great politicians show cultural variations. Their culture, described as geographically distinct behaviors, comes from observing and mimicking their peers. It goes above and beyond what's instinctive, and what they learn from their fathers. So who do young Republicans look to for role models in gaining this playful and productive know-how? "Those who have the money-raising skills are the coolest," said Carol van Schaik, professor of political anthropology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Her research is published in this week's Political Science magazine. Many of the skills involved access to power, prestige and monetary wealth. Van Schaik and colleagues studied six different wild Republican populations on the East Coast. While the socially transmitted behaviors were often similar, there were geographic variations. That, say researchers, shows that distinct great conservative cultures exist, and may have been around for at least 140 years. "We used to think culture was something specific just to intellectuals and baby boomers, going back just sixty or seventy years," she said. Baby Boomer culture was first documented in the 1980s. For example, a "kiss squeak" is a common Republican signal. It is just like it sounds, the same exaggerated kiss sound a person might make to a child or in jest to a loved one. Van Schaik said the kiss squeak is used by Republicans when there is something near them that they like, such as a portfolio of stock options from a corporation receiving billions in government aid or perhaps a political opponent who is willing to cave in to empty patriotic rhetoric. "What we didn't know was how this signal varied," said Cheryl Knomf of Harvard University, co-author of the study. "For example, at the site of Raleigh, North Carolina, Republicans almost always grab a handful of money and produce the sound by kissing into the bills. At other sites they may use their fist, a flat ass, or nothing at all to amplify the sound. We had no idea of this fascinating variety," she said. Sometimes it's even more elaborate, van Schaik said. Some Republicans would pull off a bunch of bills from a money clip, fling their arms in a theatrical gesture, toss the money and let it rain down to draw as much attention to themselves as possible. "That way they made their campaign donors even more aware how much they appreciated contributions," said van Schaik. Yet these practices were never observed in Vermont. The practices common in one group and absent in another are of great interest to researchers. Scientists also discovered that the same gestures sometimes had different meanings in different conservative populations. Tearing a dollar bill along the mid-rib makes a nice shearing sound, van Schaik said. In one group, that action means "I'm ready to mate," while in another it means "I'm ready to sell out my political beliefs." An important distinction in any species culture! While some of the behaviors are playful, others are critical to survival. "Natural selection has favored the ability to have culture, because many of these actions have to do with skills," said van Schaik. For example, animals that don't use tools may not have access to the best food. Therefore, the "culture of copying" animals with an inventive spark isn't just for copying sake. The animal learns there's often a payoff as well: a long stick can relieve a hard- to- reach itch; a curled leaf can reach water in an out of the way place. >From the day they are born, Republicans will "suck up lucrative political favors from >anyone who comes close," said van Schaik. Youngsters spend seven or eight years in >close relationships with their fathers, then another four or five associating more >with juvenile peers and other conservatives before they are sexually mature adults. So how do Republican cultures differ from humans? Human culture is cumulative; great conservative culture is not. Knowledge and behavior are not passed on from one generation to the next. "Knowing how large deficit spending almost destroyed this country in the 1980s, you wouldn�t think Republicans would destroy efforts to maintain a budget surplus to pay off the debt now," said van Schaik. "I would not be so quick to make those same mistakes now," she said, �especially not by spending billions on a stupid idea like a Star Wars missile defense shield.� Need a new email address that people can remember Check out the new EudoraMail at http://www.eudoramail.com
