Sisterhood at Harvard

In a well-known incident, sociobiologist Edward Wilson was attacked by a group known as InCAR (or CAR) at an AAAS conference. They still brag about it, almost 40 years later.

Recently, I learned about another attack on Wilson, which failed.

Apparently, one of Wilson's opponents, Richard Lewontin, had the offices at the floor immediately above Wilson's at Harvard. For reasons unknown, this particular office also had a curious mascot: a real, live spiny anteater named Franny (or Frannie). At one point, Lewontin's students took Franny downstairs and released her at Wilson's floor, apparently hoping that the hedgehog-like creature would create havoc. Wilson is a myrmecologist, and presumably kept a lot of ants in his laboratories. And spiny anteaters, well, eat ants. Instead, the uncooperative Echidna just crept into a corner and fell asleep!

Ooookay...

Although I'm an opponent of sociobiology, I admit that I don't like these attacks on Wilson, who seems like a nice guy when discussing, say, biodiversity, ants or homosexuality. However, feminist Franny sounds cool! Must be the most original womyn's lib activist of the 1970's.

All hail to Franny the Spiny Anteater! ;-)