Ugly battle continues

I teach my History of Africa class (precolonial) that humanity developed in Africa, so we are all Africans. I tell them that the difference between me and an eskimo (inuit) is less, genetics-wise, than the distance between some east and west Africans; and yet, that Africanness makes as much sense genetically as Europeaness and Asianness: not very much, but a bit. They all nod their heads.

Then I tell them we all developed in Africa FROM AN ANIMAL THAT LOOKS VERY MUCH LIKE A RAT.

In the National Geographic devoted to current thinking about evolution, a terrific series showing how genetics has challenged biologists' view of the "tree of life," they showed a reconstruction of this being.

It is called "Earth Mother" or something in Latin. It is colored orangish, which is wishful thinking. The snout is a tiny bit shrewish. This is the "Placental Mammal" ancestor. It LOOKS JUST LIKE A RAT.

IT IS A RAT.

A rat is unchanged from that time, tens of millions of years ago. It has existed in some form in that exact shape and size for millions of years. It has adapted of late in its city form to surviving off human detritus.

I killed another light grey, almost white-bellied big fella today. I'd like to film the next "catch," and put it on Youtube. Maybe I will.