JustJess

I think you're making a big deal out of a simple thing. Many people, including myself, are just curious and interested in our various heritages. You have Jewish blood, and Portuguese blood. I have Irish, Russian, Lithuanian, French, and Native American blood... I like knowing these parts of my heritage. I like having that history. Your mother being Jewish is another piece of your history. "Jewish" describes both a religion and a heritage. Your mom being Jewish means that you are of Jewish descent, like I'm of Irish descent.

There are trends in phenotypes for many nationalities, and many ethnicities. Irish tend to have a lot of fair skin, and red hair, and freckles, and blue and green eyes. Not all Irish people, but it's so common that people tell me I "look" Irish. It doesn't offend me. Even though my particular phenotype happens to be from the French side of my family. Why do I care? It's just an interesting topic of discussion. So identifying your heritage informs their perception of your phenotype, and your familial history. We're all mutts here, so it's neat to see how we came to be.

And another thing: from a medical perspective (and Katyanna, your post is sort of wrong in this aspect)... there are damn sure certain medical trends in different ethnic groups. Jews have the gene for Tay-Sachs disease, so much so it's a common genetic test they get before having children. Black people tend to be the patients with sickle cell anemia. Hyperbilirubinemia is very common in male Asian infants. And you're trying to tell me being Jewish is not a ethnic group???

Well, frankly... you're just wrong. I understand that you don't identify with the religion (I don't identify with the Catholic, Jewish, or Mormon pieces of my family either). But to deny your genetic history seems silly to someone like me... I just love to have the information. It's not about boxing people in, but understanding how we all came to exist. It's pretty amazing, all the random connections that resulted in you and I. It's just appreciating our past and how it informs our present. That's all.

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My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.