catwinchester:

pizzaback:

something that really bothers me when people discuss natural selection is when people ask questions along the lines of, “why aren’t all turtles extinct if they’re so slow and dumb” and “if neanderthals are superior to gorillas, then why are neanderthals extinct?”.

Like these are such misled questions that you’d have to answer completely different, unasked questions to actually help the person understand, but it also belies a really unfortunate fact about the history of evolutionary science and how natural selection was once, and for a really long time, studied as if evolution is a battle between superiors and inferiors. and this framework was developed for the purpose of economic and sociopolitical gain, and to justify bigotry toward marginalized peoples, and this framework still permeates how people teach and learn about natural selection. it worries me a lot!

Eugenics, created by Darwin’s cousin if I’m not mistaken.

What most of these idiots fail to realise is that survival of the fittest doesn’t mean the strongest or the most physically fit.

It means survival of the species best adapted for its environment. It’s fit as in fit for purpose. 

But of course, creatures can occupy the same space yet be very different because they have evolved to take advantage of different areas of the ecosystem. 

At its most basic imagine an island where creatures evolve to take advantage of either air, land, and sea. They’re not even in competition with each other most of the time so it’s not about who is the strongest of these animals, they would all be disadvantaged if out into in the other’s habitats, yet each has evolved to be the fittest to occupy their particular niche. 

And no, not all disabled animals die in the wild either. Many pack animals, such as dogs and monkeys, will keep injured and disabled members as part of the group, assigning them roles fitted to their abilities. 

So in short, evolution of not an excuse for bigotry. Ever. 

And if you think that, it just shows your ignorance and since that means you’re dumb, we’re allowed kill you in the name of keeping the species strong, right?