How Do r and K-selected Leaders Handle the Migrant Crisis?

r-selected leaders capitulate.

Rarely do my liberal-minded international friends ring to offer congratulations on the leadership of my country. That was certainly not the case during the Greek crisis. But the picture seems to have changed in the space of a few weeks. Heartwarming, humanitarian, kind and warm are the words that are used to describe the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and her stance on refugees.

My international chums applaud her willingness to take up to 800,000 refugees and for being one of the few world leaders standing up for humanitarian values in the largest refugee crisis since the second world war. For them, she is “mother Merkel”.

The r-selected rabbit’s drive to see short term conflict avoidance is so strong that they actually ring each other when their leaders choose societal suicide, to share in the joy. Imagine your emotions being so affected with relief you had to express it in some fashion. That is an overly triggerable amygdala. It has three modes – overwhelming relief, freaked out, and when things are really bad, in self-imposed denial to preserve the organ from full-on meltdown. It is clearly adapted to resource excess – that is the only environment in which these morons wouldn’t be killed in about two seconds.

If you wanted to bring back the Nazis, this move is probably the single best way to set the stage. Add in a little economic collapse, and it will be unavoidable. But rabbits can’t see the benefits of sacrifice now to avoid certain apocalypse later. Their amygdala won’t allow it without going into meltdown mode.

K-selected leaders by contrast, don’t capitulate

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country is ‘too small’ to take in desperate Syrian refugees.

The leader of the right-wing Likud Party said Israel was ‘not indifferent’ to the migrant crisis but resolutely claimed his country must defend its borders.

Just like that, crisis averted. When someone does this, and just blithely ignores a rabbit demand, you’d think the rabbits would freak out. But if it is done stoically and resolutely enough, rabbits go silent for a moment. It is almost as if they have to mentally be sure they have properly stored the knowledge that you don’t fuck with that dude. Then they go on talking with others as if nothing happened, while keeping a wary eye on the scary guy who just ignored them and did what he wanted.

Clearly this is a mindset geared towards long term survival in a harsh environment, when you don’t take chances. It is also the only mindset which will remain when resources grow short. Say what you will, Netanyahu isn’t a rabbit.

Apocalypse cometh™