http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=2001246
I am definitely doing this.
I am definitely doing this.
Eradicate your racist notions.
- Thread starter Billy
- Start date
I saw a series on PBS with famous black people who traced their ancestry using this method. They were actually able to find out where they probably came from in Africa and whether they had white ancestry (and how much). What I found interesting is that most of them claimed to have Native American ancestry in their not so distant past but the genome thing proved they didn't have much if any. I believe it is done with mitochondrial dna though which just traces the mother's line.
So you are saying that humans are diverse, just not that diverse. What exactly do these people you know believe anyway? What factors are they using to separate people?
I think it is an interesting idea, will you be posting your results?
"African American Lives" There is another show on prime-time called "Who Do You Think You Are"
I love these series (however they could condense all the redundancy from one hour into 30 mins), only because I researched my genealogy for 10 years. I'll pick the hobby back up when I have more time (and motivation lol.)
The point I am making is that racial lines are ultimately irrelevant. Just because someone is white today doesn't mean their ancestors were. When I say diverse, I mean literally we have the DNA of BILLIONS of people inside of us, to go further, not just people but animals, plants etc. All life on Earth is related and comes from the same source. Its a paradox it seems, but we are both diverse on the individual level, but also exactly the same since life on earth is the story of 1 organism basically.
Most of the people I know, dont think about that. They stop at their great grandparents or whatever saying, Oh I am Italian! or I am European.. or I am black... but what difference does it make if thats where your family written records die off? Where do we come from before that? I know ultimately all human beings can be traced down to a group of 2000 individuals in Africa, but when you tell people that, it doesn't seem self evident unless you are a total nerd who loves anthropology... its much easier to pull up a DNA graph that shows where say just myself has ancestors with similar genetic markers I have inherited. Some might be in Asia, some in Africa, some in Europe, some in South America... it just goes to show how much more Data is stored within us than just the ones that show up and make my skin light, or my eyes hazel or my penis HUGE! <--- haha
I am very interested to show these results to my Mom 1st and foremost. I always try to explain to her about not putting too much stock into her ethnicity or saying shes French and all that because those things mean nothing when you get passed the cultural aspect and look into our bodies as they are, and not as we assume them to be.
I ran into some serious racism in North Eastern US. Despite stereotypes, people in the Midwest don't act like that. No one walks around saying "I'M ITALIAN" "I'M BLACK". "I'M FRENCH". People were raised different up there I guess.
I live in Connecticut, we epitomize "Yankee new englanders" and I will tell you point blank there is TONS of racism and even MORE class division here than anywhere else in the country I have been. The least racist and class divided place I have been was Southern California, Los Angeles to be exact.
Yeah, I remembered you lived up there. It's why I mentioned it because I thought people might not understand why you cared about racist notions because outside of the NE (and possibly the south, haven't spent enough time there. I just know the stereotypes) people don't act like they do up there. I was shocked by the behavior of people up there, and they have no clue how they sound to an outsider.
The most racism I ever faced was when I lived in Albq, New Mexico and a majority of it was from Hispanics/Mexican (whatever is politically correct) people.
[MENTION=1451]Billy[/MENTION] When I read your post above I first thought you said you wanted to show your mom your huge penis D:
[MENTION=1451]Billy[/MENTION] When I read your post above I first thought you said you wanted to show your mom your huge penis D:
Well she already knows, she did bathe and wash me as a child and give birth to me... I assume she knows me me almost as well as I do.
I just wrote a "poem" about the notion of hate just because you don't "know" someone or are afraid of their culture. Honestly, I don't care what your background, I will talk to ANYONE. I was probably about in 3rd grade before I realized there was more than one race, I just thought we were all different shades. The funniest thing of all is that my family is mostly Native American (Cherokee) and Irish BUT we also have Jewish, English, and some Dutch- so basically as mixed as everyone else now days. Well, we all know that Native Americans were sent packing on the Trail of Tears, ripped up during dinner and all and Irish were never looked at as "white" so when my family actually uses negative connotations about those of African descent, I kind of get a little upset. I looked at them one day and exclaimed that we are NOT white and our ancestors were indeed slaves as well so why in the world would we look down on anyone else?!? Yea, so they did not like it when I finally told them that I was not allowing their racism to dictate who I liked- romantically or otherwise and that they would have to get over it. lol.
I think the coolest part about this is finding out what percentage Neanderthal or Denosovian one is because those are (supposedly) different species, not just different nationalities or races. I also think too much of a focus on nationality and race is ridiculous. As far as the actual genealogy goes, once you go back enough generations, the number of ancestors each living person today has is essentially the entire population of the world. (It's mathematical & has to do with exponents.) But $199 for that report? sheesh. Maybe I'll wait. It's actually nice to live in an area with many different races/types of people; that's what fixes this problem.
I've wanted to do this for a while, [MENTION=1451]Billy[/MENTION] - I saw that same kit (or one similar) a few years ago but money has always been tight. We have a really, really weird genetic make up in our family and I'd love to see it all displayed. And, of course, I want to see if the claims are true. Heh. It would be hilarious if I had some Nordic background. I'd love to claim that as a genetic ratio.
Racism isn't about biology, it is about concepts and fundamental emotions.
Getting people to think about biology - or just to think - is a doorway to growing/adding/changing concepts. However, biology shouldn't be (mis)used to imply something which isn't real.
Different races are different. It would be as much a mistake to minimise/underplay/overlook these differences, as it would be to judge those differences to be inferior/undesirable/retrograde.
Under different criteria different races will better/worse in certain respects. Anyone who has watched Olympic running(short,middle.long distance), cycling, weight lifting, swimming, etc. will see that. However, what we have in common: human nature lets us boast of diverse great things: African races for running, Caucasian races for swimming, etc. (in sport) and the same in an almost infinite range of areas beside sports.
For individuals who are focused on only one aspect of life they will value people in terms of their ability in that one aspect. However, for those who have a genuine love of what it is to be human - they can boast of the engineering feats of Germans, the running feats of Africans, etc. as being something great about being human.
I guess by extension, if you look beyond our human species - we can boast of the beauties of life, as we share it with other plants and animals: or perhaps more fundamentally, the fact that we exist - in common with the rest of things.
Getting people to think about biology - or just to think - is a doorway to growing/adding/changing concepts. However, biology shouldn't be (mis)used to imply something which isn't real.
Different races are different. It would be as much a mistake to minimise/underplay/overlook these differences, as it would be to judge those differences to be inferior/undesirable/retrograde.
Under different criteria different races will better/worse in certain respects. Anyone who has watched Olympic running(short,middle.long distance), cycling, weight lifting, swimming, etc. will see that. However, what we have in common: human nature lets us boast of diverse great things: African races for running, Caucasian races for swimming, etc. (in sport) and the same in an almost infinite range of areas beside sports.
For individuals who are focused on only one aspect of life they will value people in terms of their ability in that one aspect. However, for those who have a genuine love of what it is to be human - they can boast of the engineering feats of Germans, the running feats of Africans, etc. as being something great about being human.
I guess by extension, if you look beyond our human species - we can boast of the beauties of life, as we share it with other plants and animals: or perhaps more fundamentally, the fact that we exist - in common with the rest of things.
No, no, [MENTION=862]Flavus Aquila[/MENTION]. I disagree with this statement, because with the way you've worded it, it's untrue and unfair:
It really comes down to biology: There are gifted people in every area, regardless of genetics. However, if people keep propagating in the same gene pool there will be advantages and disadvantages in the same way that you can genetically breed certain animals or plants for certain qualities. But it's not race, it's biology. That's the difference. Please note, there are gifted African Americans in swimming and there are gifted Caucasians in running and race has nothing to do with it. Genetic breeding might, I'll agree with that. The disadvantage to genetic inbreeding, however, is an almost certain increase in genetic specific diseases and physical defects.
I will say there was once a despot from the 1940s who similarly thought about race and genetics, but that's the furthest I'm taking that statement.
It really comes down to biology: There are gifted people in every area, regardless of genetics. However, if people keep propagating in the same gene pool there will be advantages and disadvantages in the same way that you can genetically breed certain animals or plants for certain qualities. But it's not race, it's biology. That's the difference. Please note, there are gifted African Americans in swimming and there are gifted Caucasians in running and race has nothing to do with it. Genetic breeding might, I'll agree with that. The disadvantage to genetic inbreeding, however, is an almost certain increase in genetic specific diseases and physical defects.
I will say there was once a despot from the 1940s who similarly thought about race and genetics, but that's the furthest I'm taking that statement.
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