> You know what would be fun? If we could see where all of our ancestors were from
That is the part I could never understand. Maybe I have jumped to too many conclusions in my past.
So, you send your DNA and your results say you are 25% Irish or whatever broad "Northwestern European" category you are lumped into.
Okay, cool. . . But that does really make you "Irish" like someone that was born and raised in Ireland? Someone who grew up immersed in the culture, history, languages, etc.? Go tell someone from Ireland that you took a DNA test and that you are part Irish. I guarantee they would not care, probably hear it all the time from Americans, and would not think of you as one of them.
Another aspect about ancestry that has always bothered me is that I feel like it's a socially acceptable version of Nationalism-lite/Racism-lite.
"I am proud to be of Italian descent!"
Why? Do you think Italians are better than other people? You didn't do anything to earn your heritage, and sure, Italians -- like all cultures -- have made wonderful contributions to humanity, but those contributions were more than likely due to their culture and resources vs. the DNA in their cells.
"Wow! I two of my grandparents from 5 generations ago were German"
Cool, except Germany was only established in 1867, so they probably were Germanic people, but not "German" like one thinks. After all, countries are just lines on a map.
Lastly, aren't all people with European ancestry related by at least one common ancestor if you go back like 500-1000 years? I think if you go back like 2000 years or something, everyone on Earth shares at least one common ancestor. So, regardless of what the DNA tests say about your ancestor 4x generations back or however far back they go, we're all related anyway, and maybe we should start acting like that towards one another.
Seriously, what's the appeal to these tests? I can understand health information slightly more, but couldn't a hospital do that for you?
That is the part I could never understand. Maybe I have jumped to too many conclusions in my past.
So, you send your DNA and your results say you are 25% Irish or whatever broad "Northwestern European" category you are lumped into.
Okay, cool. . . But that does really make you "Irish" like someone that was born and raised in Ireland? Someone who grew up immersed in the culture, history, languages, etc.? Go tell someone from Ireland that you took a DNA test and that you are part Irish. I guarantee they would not care, probably hear it all the time from Americans, and would not think of you as one of them.
Another aspect about ancestry that has always bothered me is that I feel like it's a socially acceptable version of Nationalism-lite/Racism-lite.
"I am proud to be of Italian descent!"
Why? Do you think Italians are better than other people? You didn't do anything to earn your heritage, and sure, Italians -- like all cultures -- have made wonderful contributions to humanity, but those contributions were more than likely due to their culture and resources vs. the DNA in their cells.
"Wow! I two of my grandparents from 5 generations ago were German"
Cool, except Germany was only established in 1867, so they probably were Germanic people, but not "German" like one thinks. After all, countries are just lines on a map.
Lastly, aren't all people with European ancestry related by at least one common ancestor if you go back like 500-1000 years? I think if you go back like 2000 years or something, everyone on Earth shares at least one common ancestor. So, regardless of what the DNA tests say about your ancestor 4x generations back or however far back they go, we're all related anyway, and maybe we should start acting like that towards one another.
Seriously, what's the appeal to these tests? I can understand health information slightly more, but couldn't a hospital do that for you?