After spending decades studying chimpanzee conduct, Jane Goodall became an expert on the hostile behavior of leading males. In a freshly unveiled interview recorded shortly before her death, the famous primatologist shared her unconventional solution for dealing with particular figures she viewed as displaying similar characteristics: launching them on a permanent journey into space.
This notable viewpoint into Goodall's mindset emerges from the Netflix documentary "Final Words", which was recorded in March and maintained confidential until after her latest demise at 91 years old.
"There are people I'm not fond of, and I would like to put them on a SpaceX vessel and launch them to the planet he's convinced he's going to discover," commented Goodall during her conversation with Brad Falchuk.
When inquired whether the tech billionaire, famous for his questionable behavior and political alliances, would be among them, Goodall replied with certainty.
"Certainly, without doubt. He would be the host. Envision the people I would place on that spacecraft. Together with Musk would be Donald Trump and some of Trump's dedicated followers," she announced.
"Furthermore I would include Vladimir Putin among them, and I would put China's leader. Without question I would add the Israeli leader among the passengers and his administration. Place them all on that vessel and dispatch them."
This was not the first time that Goodall, a supporter of conservation efforts, had voiced concerns about the political figure in particular.
In a 2022 interview, she had noted that he exhibited "comparable kind of behavior as a dominant primate exhibits when battling for dominance with another. They stand tall, they parade, they present themselves as much larger and combative than they may actually be in order to daunt their opponents."
During her last recorded conversation, Goodall further explained her comprehension of leadership types.
"We get, notably, two categories of dominant individual. One does it solely through combat, and since they're powerful and they battle, they don't remain very long. The second type succeeds by using their brains, like a younger individual will only challenge a higher ranking one if his companion, frequently a sibling, is alongside him. And as we've seen, they last much, much longer," she clarified.
The renowned scientist also studied the "politicization" of actions, and what her comprehensive research had revealed to her about aggressive behaviors shown by people and chimpanzees when faced with something they perceived as hostile, despite the fact that no danger truly existed.
"Primates see a stranger from a neighboring community, and they become highly agitated, and the hair stands out, and they stretch and touch another, and they display visages of rage and terror, and it transmits, and the remaining members adopt that emotion that one member has had, and they all become hostile," she described.
"It transmits easily," she noted. "Various exhibitions that grow violent, it permeates the group. They all want to become and join in and become aggressive. They're guarding their domain or fighting for dominance."
When inquired if she believed the same dynamics occurred in humans, Goodall responded: "Probably, sometimes yes. But I truly believe that most people are ethical."
"My main objective is nurturing this new generation of empathetic people, roots and shoots. But do we have time? It's unclear. It's a really grim time."
Goodall, born in London five years before the beginning of the the global conflict, likened the fight against the difficulties of current political landscape to England opposing German forces, and the "determined resistance" displayed by Winston Churchill.
"That doesn't mean you avoid having moments of depression, but subsequently you recover and declare, 'Alright, I refuse to let them win'," she commented.
"It's similar to the leader in the war, his iconic words, we shall combat them on the beaches, we shall battle them along the roads and metropolitan centers, afterward he commented to an associate and reportedly stated, 'and we shall combat them using the fragments of broken bottles as that's the only thing we truly have'."
In her last message, Goodall provided inspiring thoughts for those combating political oppression and the climate emergency.
"At present, when Earth is challenging, there still is hope. Preserve faith. If you lose hope, you grow unresponsive and remain inactive," she counseled.
"And if you want to preserve the remaining beauty in this world – when you wish to preserve Earth for the future generations, your descendants, later generations – then consider the choices you implement every day. Because, replicated a million, multiple occasions, minor decisions will create substantial improvement."