David Milch Quotes

Male chimpanzees have an extraordinarily strong drive for dominance. They're constantly jockeying for position.

Baboons are poster children for psychosocial stress, living in troops with bruising and shifting dominance hierarchies among males and high rates of male aggression.

If you're a baboon on the Serengeti, and you're miserable, it's almost certainly because some other baboon has had the free time and energy to devote to making you miserable.

The panther is sleek. The panther is sneaky. The panther is covert. Meanwhile, the gorilla will show up and bang on his chest and make noises to warn you about what is about to happen if you continue to cross the line.

I feel like big men don't like it when they're getting fronted by smaller guys and they just staying real, real aggressive.

If a weaker baboon be attacked by a stronger baboon the weaker baboon will either (a) present his hrump fanny I believe is the word, gentlemen, heh heh for passive intercourse or (b) if he is a different type baboon more extrovert and well-adjusted, lead an attack on an even weaker baboon if he can find one.

Well, I have been in physical altercations, but they weren't really fights because I am too scared and Jewish. So anytime that it gets to a point where there is gonna be a fight, I immediately apologize.

Baboons take a bit of getting to know but, apparently, once you break the ice, so to speak, they are complex and interesting creatures with elaborate societies.

My dad always used to tell me that if they challenge you to an after-school fight, tell them you won't wait-you can kick their ass right now.

I describe in 'Chimpanzee Politics' how the alpha male needs broad support to reach the top spot. He needs some close allies and he needs many group members to be on his side.

Chimpanzees, typically, kiss and embrace after fights. They first make eye contact from a distance to see the mood of the others. Then they approach and kiss and embrace.

If a donkey bray at you, don't bray at him.

The only thing I learnt in high school is that people are very violent and territorial.

Savage bears keep at peace with one another.

… till France is ready, nothing will provoke her to quarrel with us; and that when she is ready, nothing will prevent it. Of course … she will not go to war for the sake of this country [Holland] and that if England was to threaten and to threaten seriously, France would shrink from the challenge.

Accidents will happen. We have formulated our policy on the assumption that some bluffing contest will eventually go wrong, resulting in dead soldiers. The focus has to be on minimizing damage.

I'm not a guy that ever got in a fight on the street and with the public and everybody.

I'm not a good talker, I'm a good fighter.

Primates are super smart and organized just enough to devote their free time to being miserable to each other and stressing each other out.

Honestly, I don't talk; I just like to fight. I'm not a good talker.

Unless someone physically tries to attack me, I don't care what anyone does.

If a male primate is mean to a female primate, her whole family will come after him. We don't have that sort of accountability in industrial societies.

For me, it was always survival. Learn where not to be at so you don't get shot. Learn where not to walk at so you don't get jumped. Learn who to stand up to, who not to stand up to. And then, when I got old enough to get a chip on my shoulder, I wanted to be the dog. I wanted to be the alpha.

I got into a lot of fights. Then I started knocking people out, and they stopped.

I usually fight a lot. 2015, I fought three times. I fought three of the best guys in the entire world.