I went to visit my dad yesterday for his birthday. I see a lot of my own negative qualities in my dad (laziness, lack of responsibility, unwillingness to accept, well, responsibility for my own actions). I love my dad, because he's my dad and that sort of love is 99% unconditional (the only condition, I think, is intentional abuse or neglect). I go and visit him, even though he's only visited me once in the past eight years (twice if you count law school graduation), because he's my dad and I know I'd regret it if I didn't. I actually feel bad for him that he's not a better father, because my sister and I are pretty cool kids to have. He was a strong presence in our lives when we were younger, though, so that's good. I suppose it's just the clarity of adulthood that makes things less rose-tinted. Go figure.

I also met my mom's boyfriend. I stopped in just to do so on the way home. I'm happy my mom has someone to spend time with, becuase she was very lonely for awhile. And loneliness sucks. When I was in high school, this guy she was dating moved in with us. He was weird and had a smelly ferret and reminded me a lot of my dad (the men my mom have seriously dated since then have been completely opposite of that). But he introduced my to blues music, so it wasn't all bad.

It's weird to be an adult with parents. Well, a quasi-adult. I'm still dependant on my mom. But I have the senses and sensibilites of an adult, if not the economic freedom. So it's weird to look at my parents and see their flaws and feel empathy and all of that stuff one adult does for another.

Well, you can never go back again. Until someone invents some sort of de-aging/time machine thing. Someone ought to get onto that.

Prospective employees with white skin are using the tests to apply as minority candidates, while some with black skin are citing their European ancestry in claiming inheritance rights.

One Christian is using the test to claim Jewish genetic ancestry and to demand Israeli citizenship, and Americans of every shade are staking a DNA claim to Indian scholarships, health services and casino money.

"This is not just somebody's desire to go find out whether their grandfather is Polish," said Troy Duster, a sociologist at New York University who has studied the social impact of the tests. "It's about access to money and power."
From a NY Times article

I think this leads to an interesting question: do programs meant to give money and opportunity to members of a certain ethnic group care more about your actual ethnicity, or about your experience?

The Northeastern chapter of the Black Law Students Association won't allow people to join unless they have the "African-American experience," regardless of a person's interest in forwarding the goals of the national BLSA chapter. They actually explicity stated African-American, which I think is sort of problematic. I'll never forget the day that my Professor, Alex, told me that she's not African-American. She's black, or she's Caribbean. Imagine my 18 year old, white brain trying to wrap itself around that.

"If someone appears to be white and then finds out they are not, they haven't experienced the kinds of things that affirmative action is supposed to remedy," said Lester Monts, senior vice provost for student affairs at the University of Michigan, which won the right to use race as a factor in admissions in a 2003 Supreme Court decision.

Still, Michigan, like most other universities, relies on how students choose to describe themselves on admissions applications when assigning racial preferences.

I, of course, describe myself as white. I actually considered "other" on my college applications because of my ethnic background. But I know that in the United States of America I'm a white person. Sixty years ago I wouldn't have been, I'd have been a Jewish person. Now my Jewishness isn't seen the same way. Have we American Jews suceeded in assimilation, at least a little? What's the difference between ethnicity and race? (Scholarships for Jews, as far as I remember, generally involve whether or not you're practicicing the Jewish religion... I don't think that's indicitave of my ancestry at all, but hey.)

Of course, DNA tests cut other ways also, as a descendant of a Scottish slaveholder is trying to get herself access to an ancestral castle.

My favorite story, though, is about Israel and its law of return.

Mr. [John] Haedrich, a nursing home director who was raised a Christian, found through a DNA ancestry test that he bears a genetic signature commonly found among Jews. He says his European ancestors may have hidden their faith for fear of persecution.

Rabbis, too, have disavowed the claim: "DNA, schmeeNA," Mr. Haedrich, 44, said the rabbi at a local synagogue in Los Angeles told him when he called to discuss it.

Undeterred, Mr. Haedrich has hired a lawyer to sue the Israeli government. As in America, he argues, DNA is widely accepted as evidence in forensics and paternity cases, so why not immigration?

"Because I was raised a gentile does not change the fact that I am," Mr. Haedrich wrote in a full-page advertisement in The Jerusalem Post, "a Jew by birth."

Considering the amount of Jews that converted due to fear of persecution (not that it helped much in Nazi Germany, but it happened quite a but in the 500 years preceeding that) I'd think the Israeli government, and rabbis may want to think a little harder on the issue before dismissing it.

I jokingly mentioned to Kelly that I'm thinking of applying for Israeli citizenship so that I can start up an Israeli curling team for the '10 Winter Olympics. It's a thought. Not that I can curl. Or want to ever step foot in the Middle East. But hey.

So just to conclude on point (who knew?), I have very mixed feelings on DNA. I think most people really don't understand it properly, and I don't imagine companies intending to capitalize on DNA tests are going to explain it. Nor do I think there's enough discourse on race and ethnicity in the general public for us to add DNA to the mix and call it a day. But as with most human innovation, I imagine it'll just become a part of our lives without any proper introduction (it has already, really). I think we're too smart for our own good.

Running in 85% humidity is sort of like doing sit ups in the steam room. Gross and dumb.