Ask Anything on Yik Yak | Why do people anchor so much of their personal identity in ancestry? It often seems like an attempt to borrow an identity from the past rather than building one in the present.

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Ask Anything 1d

Why do people anchor so much of their personal identity in ancestry? It often seems like an attempt to borrow an identity from the past rather than building one in the present.

Anonymous 1d

Cause it’s cool to have context for your existence

Anonymous 1d

To clarify, I totally get valuing direct family history and your stuff like grandparents' stories. My question is about macro-ancestry and race. Why do people tie their identity to massive, distant genetic groups they have no real relationship with?

Anonymous 1d

They can either get a sense of power/superiority or a sense of belonging. I think the intention is what matters

Anonymous 1d

Fr, I only like saying mine bc there’s so much dogging on Eastern Europe, Slav squat for life

Anonymous 1d

NGL as someone with black slave ancestry with little to no way of tracing it back, knowing what countries they were from, or even having any desire to connect to it, I’ve always been keenly jealous of Americans who can relate to a diaspora and fit in.

Anonymous 1d

Bc people like that don’t have anything else.

Anonymous 1d

Your perception is based on your own experience in American culture which is very different from most others because we’re all immigrants. My family is from Mexico where familial and ancestral bonds are a huge part of our culture and upbringing. Families are much closer in both proximity and in relationships, and storytelling is an integral part of our communities. Just because you don’t understand doesn’t mean you judgment is valid.

Anonymous

OP 1d

Stuff like your* Jesus

Anonymous

OP 1d

i know this isn’t really what you mean, but it’s probably bc i share a name with my great great grandmother who emigrated from norway lol

Anonymous

#3 1d

lol yuh

Anonymous

#2 1d

i also love sharing the story of how she came here bc it’s actually really cool and very independent woman of her :)

Anonymous

#4 1d

this is the best answer tbh

Anonymous

#4 1d

Also my ancestors were pretty awesome all things considered

Anonymous

#4 1d

ayyy same! even though they were white asf they were never slave owners, just landlords lol

Anonymous

#4 1d

I don’t mean direct ancestors you can trace familial heritage to, I actually think that stuff is really cool. I was more so talking about it in relation to a broader macro-ancestry race kind of thing. I tried to clarify better in a reply I wish I could pin it.

Anonymous

OP 1d

Even then I don’t think you can truly say that people have no real relationship to their race or ethnicity.

Anonymous

OP 1d

We’re a very social species, and that extends through time as well. The ancient myths, traditions, and mannerisms of a culture, just like the stories we hear from our parents and grandparents, give life to our understanding of the people and the world around us, ancestry is just a reliable way to tap into that cultural history

Anonymous

OP 1d

To quote the esteemed philosopher Kamala Harris, “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you”

Anonymous

#6 1d

You just gotta make the history that people trace back to

Anonymous

#4 1d

WAIT YOURE FUNNY

Anonymous

#4 1d

I definitely wouldn’t argue that there’s no relationship at all, there absolutely is. Just that making something, like whiteness for example (this applies to any race I think that’s just the most prevalent example of it being used negatively), be a source of pride and identity has the potential to be very bad. Someone below said something I agree with tho, that the intention is the main driving factor.

-1

Anonymous

#7 1d

Totally agree. I think power dynamics might actually play an even bigger role however. The “majority” race, whatever that may be in any given country, is likely to have more of a superiority identity about their race than the “minority” population. In that power dynamic too it would be impossible to oppress the oppressor so to speak, so even if the minority thought that their race was superior, that belief couldn’t affect the material conditions of others.

Anonymous

#9 1d

I tried to clarify better in a comment, it should be close to the top. I wasn’t really talking about familial ancestry, more broadly about race/ethnicity. My original post was too broad.

Anonymous

#3 1d

Yeah that’s exactly what I don’t mean lol, that’s super cool you’re able to trace back to that. I got to see my great grandpas records at Ellis island when he immigrated from Greece as well!