Ancestry: The TV Show Who Do You Think You Are

Often times a person lives their life based on how their own family would see it. Whether it disappoints or makes their family proud, it is inevitable; a person’s family will forever remain an important factor in their life, actions and the consequences that come with it. In “The Idea of Ancestry”, the author Etheridge Knight writes a poem where it is obvious that he is guilty of his actions and the shame and hurt it brings to his loved ones. Knight is haunted by the faces of his loved ones in his cell, and it is symbolic of the guilt he feels as he sits in prison and contemplates on his bad choices and addiction to heroin.

Privacy is also another big issue surrounding the plans for a database. Chairman of the New South Wales privacy council says that the prospect of a genetic database is a “cavalier disregard for people’s privacy”

In the story “No Snapshots in the Attic: A Granddaughter’s Search for a Cherokee Past” by Connie May Fowler is about a granddaughter who is determined to find out her heritage. She was unable to find any pictures or documentation of her family, from back then. She was searching for answers from unreliable sources. For example, her grandmother, that seemed ashamed of her culture. All she had to go on were stories that were told to her form her mother, and even that was not enough. She, then, stumbles upon her grandmother’s incomplete birth certificate, which was practically useless to her. Missing from the birth certificate were her great-grandparents’ names and her grandma’s social security number, which was a major part to her research. The

“These digital records and documents, combined with our proprietary online search technologies and tools, enable our subscribers to research their family history, build their family trees, upload their own records and make meaningful discoveries about the lives of their ancestors.” (Form 10-K 2016). It would appear that the purpose of the Ancestry.com service is to put the subscriber on a self-learning path to discovering more about their heritage, it wants people to be: “We are studying our mother tongues. We are dancing to folk tunes. We are climbing our family trees.” (Kabada 175). The less common but emerging method of utilizing Ancestry.com involves a subscriber receiving a DNA testing kit and sending back their data. Ancestry.com would then run the subscribers genetic information through their massive ever-growing database, and generate a report for the subscribe allowing them to trace their genetic lineage through history. “Ancestry.com sold approximately one million DNA kits for the year ended December 31, 2015, an increase of over 93% in comparison to the year ended December 31, 2014.” (Form 10-K 2016).

There are also three major companies that offer DNA testing for genealogy and claim to show the percentage of Native American Ancestry. They are FamilyTreeDNA, Ancestry.com, and 23andMe. National Geographic does a test for deep ancestry, not for genealogy, but they have a partnership with FamilyTreeDNA where you can transfer your raw data and get a genealogical analysis.

Familial searching is a violation of privacy. Just as how the famous stop-and-frisk was deemed unconstitutional this should be also. From knowing how some law enforcement officers have been corrupt in the past it is hard to believe that with such power of having access to others DNA they are not going to be as corrupt and convict people for crimes they didn’t do, most specifically being people of color. Just as how the stop-and-frisk targeted people of color this too will be just the same. This will cause police officers to have an even worst reputation that they do today, and it will cause distrust and rebel in communities. Just because a family member is a criminal does not mean that the entire family needs to be dragged into that mess,

Opponents argue that familial DNA searches invades their constitutional right of privacy under the Fourth Amendment. In addition, to being subjected to same equal burdens that convicted offenders would endure. For instance, people whose only fault is having the misfortune of being biologically related to the convicted offender. The innocent suspect would be burdened with a criminal investigation which can disrupt their lifestyles, such as disrupting their work and family relationships. Frederick Bieber, an authority on familial DNA searches and a medical geneticist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston argues that, “There’s no conflict between developing an investigative lead and protecting the privacy and dignity of individuals” (Ed. Louise I, 1). Basically, law enforcement must consider the interests of the innocent family members when they are investigating crimes.

I’m amazed at how many Americans don’t know their own family heritage any further back than their grandparents. For many years, I was one of them. I would casually tell people, “My family never really talked much about our family tree, because we were afraid we’d find horse thieves hanging from the branches.” But, bad or good, I always wondered about my roots.

My lineage is complicated and blended with multiple different cultures and origins. On my maternal side, the surname from my grandfather it O’Toole which derives from Ireland and my grandmother Wells, which comes from Great Britain. Replicated on my paternal side, I have both roots from Ireland and England. Although these two countries are a powerful force in my lineage, my ancestors also have come from Pakistan, Germany, and most recently Eastern Canada. The matrilineage of my family is much easier to track and I feel as if that side of my ancestry has more history than the others may hold.

The first things I think of are that I am a white, female with European ancestry, I have a house, I have no life threatening conditions and I have safe food and water. But, after reading the article by Peggy McIntosh there were a lot of things that are unearned in my life that I didn’t think about being thankful for. There are vast privileges other than the basics that I need to appreciate more. First I came from a wealthy city of Boulder Colorado, which presented me with top tier education in the country and a healthy lifestyle. I also am privileged to have a sister, whom is my best friend and we are free to do any activities together without judgment of society because we are both white females and we don’t have fear about people isolating

This would be effective because we now have the technology for it, such as ancestry programs that can directly lead us back to someone’s home country. For example, have a person who was of English

Since I have always had such a fascination with genealogy, I thought it an honorable undertaking to research our ancestry. I wish someone had done it fifty years ago so that I might have access to more information on our direct line of ancestors, other than the word of mouth passed down through the generations that I’ve had to rely on and what little I have found digging through dusty courthouse records.”

If you’re a DNA match, my research to pin-point common ancestors to predicted cousins level is hard to trace further past 3rd cousins (only on my father's side able to trace this far back). My mother's side is very limited to 2nd cousins only. I hope in the future, I can find her side past my 2nd great-grandmother.

If the genetic information is only accessible to the individual then there is a decreased chance of such discrimination occurring because the information is disclosed to who the individual wishes to. Genetic information can raise questions about personal responsibility, personal choice versus genetic determinism, and concepts of health and disease. Personal factors, family values, and community and cultural beliefs can mould the reactions to these issues. For example the response to the genetic information and suggestion from physicians after the test will be drastically different in a society where traditions and religion determine life choices, such as India, than to a more individually liberal society like the USA. Even in a progressive society that has had specific ethnic groups for multiple generations disparities with medical technology are common. A study conducted, using the national representative data, in the USA with the sample that consisted of 1724 men and women of non-Hispanic whites, Latinos, and African American background. Results exposed significant differences by racial/ethnic groups in knowledge and concerns about the potential misuse of genetic testing. Significantly higher levels of mistrust in a physician and the medical system was a common thread within minorities. The genetic tests can be a way of ridding anxiety attached to the assumed inheritance of genetic disease due to family background whilst for others the genetic test reveals their reality. The results can have a great deal of a psychological impact upon the individual. The possibility of developing a genetic disease alone can create anxiety within some. The psychological impact from the results revealed is another issue that society is concerned about. A

I started a family, researching into genealogy last year. I found distant cousins through trees and Ancestry DNA. Jaguanana reached out to me on Ancestry our DNA predicted us 1st-2nd cousins by