Please respond to each of the following questions in separate posts of 4-6 sentences each. Then respond to two of your peers' comments, for a total of five comments overall.
It’s clear that a good many of you have varying ideas about race, its importance and relevance in your lives, and how we should proceed from results of a DNA test. Some of you thought that no matter this sort of test’s results, people decidedly should not change who they are, because DNA is only genetic material and does not dictate who we truly are.
Others believed that this test’s results should change who you are insofar as sensitizing people to what it might be like to be from another race, if only from a genetic perspective. Still others believed that the test was either a waste of time, or was a good way to generate discussions in college about race.
I'd like you to consider the following:
- Why must people think in terms of all or none? In other words—and thinking outside the box—could it be possible that genetic ancestry is just one piece of the puzzle that makes you, "You?"
- Might there be other pieces to this puzzle? What might these be?
- What do you think it means when Ms. Best says, "Maybe we haven't progressed as much as we thought we had." Do you agree or disagree? Explain.
66 comments:
Genetic ancestry is in fact one piece of the puzzle in life. Everyone needs background information, as in nationality and race but of course that's only part of you. Other parts consist of your perosnality and what you learn throughout the years of being yourself. Another part can also be inheritance from parents or grandparents. Overall, the things a person experience through life is what DNA can really mean.
Some of us may not know who we really are. Many of our ancestors are from diffrent countries with out your knowledge. Some of us know a little more than others about our ancestors. Older family members basically know from where the family name orginated. The family history, who was the first born etc.
As I said earlier, ancestry is only part of making up who you are. Traits passed down and tradition is another part of being yourself. Another part is experience, which is basically the basics. Learning from what's hot and cold, what to touch and not touch, what's wrong from right. Natural instincts that tell you who you are. Then of course, you have the boyfriend/girlfriend experience and problems with socialization.
I'm a strong believer in the idea that anything is possible until proven impossible. I also believe there are many things that make a person unique and help them evolve into the people they are. So to me it seems entirely possible that our ancesetry has some type of influence on who weve turned out to be today. Why couldn't some of their skills or abilities passed onto us simply because it was something so big in their life.
Possibly slightly off topic but I played a video game not to long ago that dealt with a similar topic. The game was called Assasins Creed and you basically played the part of a decendant of an assasin captured by a certain orginization. The reason for your capture being that they believed the ability to be an assasin was encoded into his DNA.
Joseph Belotti
i do believe that a person should look past there race because there race is opnly apart of who they are. a persons personality does also add to who they are. a person can be any race but it doesnt say who they are. people who just look at ones race need to stop being so steriotipical and learn to look deep into a person rather than there skin tone. a person race doesnt always tell who they are, becuse everyone was rasied differently and thats how you can tell how a person is, by there upbringing. When mr. best speaks about how we probably havent changed he is speaking about how people are judgemental about someones race, how specific races do only certian things or how they only act one way. when he says that i agree because it is true people only look at a persons skin tone and say oh no i wont associate myself with them because they are supposed to be like this, or they act like that. i think people need to become more open and trusting because most people are not what they expect to be untill you really get to know them
Dna and genetics both come a long way so far back towards ancestors that we probably never even heard of. Genetics is only one part of the human person because it all doesnt matter about what nationality you are it depends on the person. The things that we all know the way that we act, how it is that we think that is what creates "You".Even though im sure people would like to know thier backrounds it still doesnt change who you are.
People often think either you are Black or White, Hispanic, Indian etc... However that is always the way it works. Everyone of us has a different culture of some sort within of blood lines. Whether we know exactly what is a question the perhaps many of our older family members can help us answer. In my family there were Irish and Indians ancestors.
Ofcourse there are also many other pieces to the puzzle that make you. Many things effect who you are today. Everything from how you grew up, where you grew up, what you grew up watching, listening to, or playing all effect how youve turned out. I believe that each person takes a little piece of everything they really enjoy and put it into their character.
Music for instance has a huge influence on that because alot of genres arent just music they're lifestyles. Rock, Hip-hop, Punk, Pop, Metal, and alot more all have a very definitive look and sound to them that passes onto the people who listen to it through the artists who live this lifestyle and express themselves as such.
I believe that certain individuals can't think outside the box due to the fact they they are scared to accept something different somethin beyond their knowledge.If you thought you was from a certain race since your were born and all of a sudden,found out you're mixed it will puzzled you.You"ll be in a unfamiliar place which most people hate being in a uncomfortable situation, therefore they reject the idea.To be in uncharted waters for most people is something they hate and usually go back to familiar grounds.In other words,you don't want to think outside the box because you sacred to find out whats outside of it.
In the article, Ms. Best states that we haven't progressed as much because people are so occupied with what they want to be. I can agree with her for the reason is that some people really care about who they are, and what they should act like just because of there nationalitly. They either want to be more white, or more asian, or just more of there culture, and doesn't realize that it really doesnt matter in a "free country." You can be what ever you want, as long as your comfortable with what you become.
My conception of the is that some people only think of what they are because that's all they know, it's up to that person it they want to find out about their deep roots. Many people do not want to accept the fact that they have different culture within themselves.
There are two types of people in this world. People who are open-minded who think outside the box and expand there knowledge about culture, religion, customs, beliefs and various views. Close-minded people are people who do not broaden there horizon and view life with a specific set of eyes. People think in terms of all or none because of personal life experiences. Feelings about lacking certain characteristics about being a specific nationality. Genetic ancestry is just a piece of who you are. It does not reflect on you as a person. Gentics come a long way and not all are strong and make the same impact as others. In my opinion no one makes who you are but "you."
Andrea, to which of the posted questions are you addressing in your first post?
Ms Ferrante, I was answering question #1 mixed with a lil question #3.
I feel no one should change what they are just because of their D.N.A. success is not in your D.N.A. I feel success is in your personality,liabilaty. Some people may not want to "rep" who thier from,and where they come from. maybe they are embarasses about who they come from and refuse to "rep" what thier ancessor did in the past.
Antoinio Smith
My opinion is that gentetic ancestry has alot to do with the person we are today. Without out our ancestry we wouldnt be here today right? Not saying it has everything to do with who we are today but still has a part. Alot of people think their 100% of one thing and end up being mixed with four other mixes.
-Andres Mojica
There are many other things about you besides your race that make you the person who you are. It isnt all about a persons nationality and where there from.I think you make up who your are because you make your own decesions in life. There are other pieces to your puzzle,like who you are what you would like to be where your going. Everything about you is not and shouldnt be based on DNA.
I think Ms.Best means that maybe we haven't completely gotten over race as much as we thought. I strongly disagree with this. I don't believe people are biased about race as much as they used to be. Ofcourse it still happens but it definately is alot better then it used to be. Nowadays alot of people just hate you for who you are instead of how you look. Alot of people today are alot more mixed in their nationalities as well which makes basing opinions on what someone seems to be even more ignorant and alot of the time inaccurate.
Yes, I think genetic ancestry is just one piece of the puzzle that makes you, "You". That is why no one has a unique blood type because we're all linked together somehow. Some people have rare blood types, i suppose that is because of their mix. Genetic Ancestry determines your nationality and race and your personality adds up to it making you an unique individual.
I believe that there is more pieces in the puzzle than just race.We can't denied the fact that race is a huge factor and determined some features we poccess but there is more than meets the eye.Your genes your parent pass to you is equally as important.To add,you nationally and the way you simply behave are key factors.Basic on this examples there are way more things to factor in then simply race to determined who you really are.
I agree with carlos many people just know who they are and that's it, the fact if wanting to know if you have a different race within some questions will arise; will it make you a different person if you are a different race, will you be judge base on because your not 100% that cultural you thought you were; is there a big difference.
In response to klebers last comment. I disagree completely. My reason being is that I don't know anyone or am friends with anyone that bases aspects of their personality on what nationality they are. Alot of people I know were raised in this country without the customs of their homeland which leads to alot less of their personality being manipulated by it. I believe that America is slowly begining to form its own mixed culture.
I perosnally think theres more to the puzzle. Its ashame even today people judge you based on what they think you are such as nationality or skin tone. I dont think people should judge eachother based on that because you might be mixed with a race you didnt knew you were. People should look past this all this racial stuff.
-Andres
for the first question i agree with joey. many thing you do in life determine who you are and what your about that determines how you are now. even though your ancestrial heritaga might play role in the way you are but it doesnt mold you how are you are now you mold how you are now.
There is more to a person than just your race. Race revolves around culture, customs, religion and beliefs. Being more than one race simply allows you to understand different nationalities and inherit backround information. Aside from race there are other pieces to complete the puzzle. Your history on where you grew up and how you grew up definently plays a major roll. Your hobbies and intrests demonstrate character. The music you listen to also gives off a great look if you listen to a wide variety of music.
There are indeed other pieces to this puzzle. Personality, experiences, friends, family members, just to name a few. Personality is the most important ingredient because it is what separates you from the rest. As you grow older, you become more responsible and mature due to the good and bad experiences in your life. Your family and friends also help create this puzzle because they see what you fail to see in yourself so if they feel that you're going on the wrong path they let you know and help you change.
When Ms Best seys "maybe we havent progressed as much as we thought we had" ,i think she was talking about is about how people judge about race. I would have to disagree with her because of where we are from. Evryone takes diffrent traits and actions of people. Nationality are becoming preety much unpredictable now a days its getting harder and harder to judge about a person race.Not saying that its not being done. The world that we live in lets you be whoever you want to be
Like Ms. Best, "Why are we so caught up in race?
I Do belive some people are biased when it comes to race, Often people use race as way to play the victim. Race always becomes an issue when it deals with crime, drugs, even sports. Race has been a major issue for a very long time. Some may believe the type of music you listen too, makes you violent(such as hip-hop) rock may make you do drugs. You have to exmine a person from the inside out, not the other way around.
Ms.Best hit right on point with this statement.I believe that people as a society continue to fail when it comes to recongize race as equal.There's examples in our everyday lives that back up those statement such as we you see the news and hear a hate crime that occur. Is a there a solution of this nonsense? I dont believe so simply because we haven't found one in centuries.Something drastic has to occured for all races to combine as one..human beings and that my friends hasn't happen yet.
Kristen, you are making some fine points,I'd like to see you examine them in greater depth. Be sure you are responding to each question in a seperate post.
I think there are more pieces to the puzzle because there are ancestors that we don't even know about so we have to ask ourself do we really know who we are. I myself can say that I only know of my grandparent and I'm sure there are thousand pieces that can't not be put together becuase of unanswered question of you we are.
Genetic Ancestry can be one piece of the puzzle that makes someone who they are because of the ethnicity. Most races have there own beliefs and there own way of living. When a person knows there race, they know there enthnicity and they practice what was taught from generation to generation because its something that sybolizes there ethnicity.It can be a everyday rountine in a persons daily living.
There are other pieces to the puzzle because sometimes not all genetic ancestry can make someone who they are. Some people don't care what race they are. Some people do not follow what was taught in there race for generations. A person's race or genetic ancestry does not always dictate who they are.A person's personality, the way a person thinks, and attitude are what makes a person who they are.
I think what Ms. Best ment by her statement is that after all the history of the past with racial problems and people who tryed to make the world a better place by getting everyone to love each other no matter what skin there in, sometimes it feels as those achievements of people who died to stand up for what they believe in, people still are close-minded.
I do agree with the statement because people want to know what their race are for the wrong reasons. Most of the students taking the DNA test think it was cool to have different races in there DNA because they want to use that information when its convienient to them, not to learn about it just out curiosity.I think that it should not matter what a person's race is because it does not always determine who you are. Some people today are still dictating people by race and ethinicity even throughout all the people who tried to stand up for thier belief about race
I agreed that genetic ancestry is a piece of the puzzle, but I belive that there are others thing that make you the person who you are today. Like for example the way you were raised or your families tradition. The way you act, walk etc.. all this makes the real you. It dosent matter if your background is black,white or hispanic or if your great great grandfather was the president of the united states.
I believe that Ms. Best means that racisim is still around and that people have not matured enough to understand the reasons we have this wide diversity of race. When Ms. Best made this statement she herself realized that today's world does not appreciate the beauty of race and how much you can learn from it. Many people fail to realize that almost each race has something that originated from another country. Whether it be music or a specific kind of food. There is a family history that ties together. I agree that we still today have close-minded people who don't care to expand there horizon and appreciate diversity.As a graduate from Dickinson Highschool having the biggest highschool in Jersey City with the greatest amount of diversity i've come to appreciate race and have learned at least one thing of a different race. I strongly feel that if there were more open-minded people the world would definently be a better place.
As a whole we have not progressed as we should, for if we had there would not be racial insecurities of who we should vote for in the up-coming election. We should be more focused on the best qualified for the job. Instead many of us are focused on RACE!!!!! However, whatever happens, whoever wins, we all will be affected. Every race creed, color and reglion.
I agree with Ms. Best when she said that we haven't progressed as much as we thought we had because we are too concerned about race and people's backgrounds that we often forget that, that is only one part of us. When you first meet someone, the first question they ask is your nationality, but why is that? is it because they are interested in getting to know you? or because they just focus in nationality too much? I think that depends on the person but some people do base their decisions on one's nationality.
I agree entirely with Amanda comment.Am not excalty too sure it there's only two type of people in this world but it sure looks that way.There are ones who accept a different way of thinking perhaps liberal in some extended.In the other hand, you have individuals that have a lock in mentality of the world and there surroundings the way they see it and refuse to accept anything else.
I agree with kleber with Genetic Ancestry. Everyone needs some backround information, but it does not make a person who they are. Who you are comes from personality, how you were raised, and your overall beliefs and experiences.Nationality is just part of the puzzle of makes a person who they are.
Antonio, it is not clear what you are addressing in your post. It seems to be a very general statement about the topic rather than a response to the questions. Please re-think and re-post.
Andres, Be sure to addres the "Why" aspect of the question. Why are people prone to thinking along these lines? Explain.
I agree with Ms.Best, I believe that people in this system will continue to seperate themselves because of the skin color. In the world there are still cultures that still stick with one another and do not interact with different races. But there are some people in the world who are willingly wanting to associate themselves with other cultures but becasue of how they were raise do not allow them to associated with other that's call poor ignorance. We are facing a depression in the United States and races is one of the biggest problems that still occured.
I agree with andrea on the last post about the election.Evryone is so hooked on what race evryone is their not going to look on who is helping the situations and whats the best decesion for everyone. Even though everyone is going to be effected by the decesion,it doesnt matter because everyone is focused about race all the time. I would say people are insequre about race.
Joey, Do you think that Ms. Best is including herself in the "we" portion of her statement about progress?
I agree with Evelyn with not many people don't want to accept there culture. In the article, it states Mr. Harrison found out he was white, but wouldn't want his new information to be acknowledge. Many people are in fact this way, of not embracing there traits and roots. I'm not saying they have to cause i really don't embrace mine. I'm just saying that people are pretty skeptical about embracing something different.
Evelyn, Why do you think people tend to seperate/classify themselves this way? How does it impact one's indentity?
i agree with amandas comment when she says going to dickinson opened her eyes to alot of different races and she took the time to learn about there culuture rather than judging them on spot,she says she is greatful and that shows she is a person who doesnt judge yet she looks deeper into a person because that persons she does meet can inturn become someone important to her.
I agree with amartinez opinion about Ms. Best's statement. People still today judge people by race so racism still continues on. People should be comfortable with who they are not focus so much on their race or skin color.People should except themselves and others for who they are and try to become better people because being a curtain race does not make anyone any better or worse then someone else. It is a good thing to take pride in ur race and learn more about your culture but not use that to make judgement or to judge others based on there race.
I do think she is including herself in this because shes seems to be saying it in a personaly way. But I also think its pretty obvious why people in this country would want to know what they are made up of more then in other countries. This is because this country is a melting pot where many people from all different nationalities congrigate. This leads to alot of interatial relationships. Looking at your ancestry also gives you a little bit more of an answer to the question that almost everyone asks themselves. "Who am I really? Why am I where I am?"
I agree with joey's comment.
I like the part where he said "I believe that each person takes a little piece of everything they really enjoy and put it into their character." That is what life is all about, learning from experiences and using them to create "you." Music is indeed a big part of the process to creating us. We usually dress according to what's on our playlist.
Kristen, In your post, it seems like you are making a distinction between upbringing and race. Is it possible that poeple who sterotype others the way you describe are using race as a way to indentify those whose upbringing they find objectionable?
so i technically have to agree with everyone, everyone makes some excellent points on how a persons genateics do not actully say who they are.everyone seems to agree that you do have to look deeper into a person so actulyl judge them,just dont look at there race.
Carlos, please re-read the question and re-think your response to it. It does not addess the part that asks for your interpertation of Ms. Best's statement.
I think it's classified base on their up bringing. There are several ways it can impact the identity for example when we discuss in class about different situation when get into and how because of our skin color we might be able to get over, or are likely to a job etc. this can show one way of hoe race is indentified.
I agree with Kelber last comment.Mr white found out that he was white yet fail to acknowledge it.Was he ashamed of the results?Perhaps,it was the disbelief that he found out that he is from another race.I believe it's a little from both.Is he suppose to feel and think a different way since he is white now???Does everything he knows about race should be throwed out the window???Should he find out more about his past??
Genetic ancestory is just a piece of the puzzle. You make you, just because you may have a little Italian in family mixed with French, but you look other, I dont think you should act like you may be better than your co-worker who is Polish. You define You, as soon as people realize and except this, the better the world will be for children to grow up in with out letting the race card be a major factor in their lives.
I agree with Kleber's third comment. People think that because they are from a certain race they should act like most people from that race act. Only because you are from India does not mean you have to wear those gowns they wear. They do it because that's what they grew up doing and that's what they're are comfortable with. Like Carlos said, maybe some people are sacred to be someone else because of what others might say. For example, when a white boys talks "ghetto" some people might find that funny because in their opinion it does not look right on them, but they don't know where he came from, perhaps his dad/mom is black or he was born in a "ghetto" neighborhood. I guess what I'm trying to say is that as long as you're comfortable with who you are, it really doesn't matter what others think.
I don't believe it's possible for someone not to judge others. Simply because if you see someone your going to have some type of idea about them. Some thought is definately going to cross your mind as soon as you see them or as soon as they speak. The only way to not judge would be to be blind, deaf, and dumb. It's not as if judging is a bad thing but criticism tends to be a double edged sword. Criticism helps people to improve themselves in alot of ways if used in a positive way. Unfortunately there are a good amount of people who do not understand or care to do this.
i have to agree with kristen for people being judgemental on everyone and everything. I have encountered dozens of people who fight against one another because of racial differences. It's like Americans don't even adjust to their life style. They call themselves from what there blood signifies. (as in nationality) I guess I can safely say that I am an American.
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