Well, I certainly received some interesting family news from my Uncle Wayne last evening. There has been a family DNA study going on and a particular Y DNA strain has been located and isolated. Apparently, it entered the family line 1500-2000 years ago! Wow! I like geneology, but I never expected to see anything documented from that far back!

OK, now here's the part that got me giggling hysterically while I felt a rush of validation. The gene is only found in men from North Africa. Most likely from Mauretania (from which the archaic expression for blacks -- "Moors" -- derived) and which is present day Morocco and parts of Algeria. Apparently, a large group of men were 'borrowed' from the Moroccan part of Mauretania by the Romans to work on -- among other things -- Hadrian's Wall in the UK. Since the known side of the family comes from somewhere along the English/Scottish border and this is where the wall was...well, you do the math. I was absolutely intoxicated by this news.

For me, it's been difficult to be so thoroughly white in the United States today. I have no Native American blood (as far as I know) and many, many bloodlines that flow through my veins have been traced back for hundreds of years without finding even a single instance of non-Caucasian membership. I always found that a little depressing. I mean...no exotic lines at all. Strictly European with no Spanish/Sicilian/Moorish ties. Until now.

I have harbored a theory for some time and it is this: As long as this planet has existed, you know people have intermingled and intermated since the Stone Age. My theory has been that you could take the "whitest" person imaginable -- always naming myself as an example -- and you could, through hard work and a lot of tracing, find a black or Asian ancestor. Well...using me as an example...it has now been proved! YAY!

I couldn 't help but think of some of my departed uncles and even my dad and what their reactions would have been to this bit of information. Some would be horrified. Even though this connection dates back at least 100 generations. Oddly enough, coming from a line of slave owners in the Connella bloodline, this isn't the line with the Y gene. It's another side entirely.

I have more than a few black Connella relatives who share my forebearers. But now, I can share with them the identification of being black! Can't I? Sort of?? If Pickle Princess Teresa Heinz (who's married now to John Kerry) can call herself African American because she was born on the continent of Africa, don't I have more of a claim to that title? I mean, at least I DO have a black ancestor from a few millennia ago.

Now let's see...phone book, phone book...Ah. Here it is: NAACP. I need to go make a call now...

I always like to say that there's nothing and no one that I hate, but that's not really true. There are one or two people on the planet who have sufficiently mistreated me or have acted in such a mean/evil/destructive manner than I cannot forgive them. Considering that I am someone who has forgiven each and every one of my own rapists (don't ask how many that's been!), even having one or two that I despise is disappointing to me.

However, there are also some things in this world I cannot tolerate. Hip hop, for instance. To me, that's just noise. Religious zealots are another. God save us from Jesus freaks and fanatics. I don't mean Christians in general. Or Muslims or Jews or Buddhists or any other faith. Faith is good. But people who go so overboard in their beliefs that they feel compelled to constantly lecture and criticize others are just working much too hard to conceal their own inadequacies.

However, political correctness is (to me) the worst sin of all. It is political correctness that allows some groups to try and ban The Pledge of Allegience because of the phrase "under God". It's what fuels a number of people into an excuse for feeling superior to others and to criticize. It's causing The History Channel to blur paintings and mosiacs on a show I have on right now called "Roman Vice" because said art may or may not actually depict sexual relations between two consenting adults. Shocking! And that's with the disclaimer every commercial break that the show is for 'mature audiences' only and deals with explicit descriptions and depictions of sex. Where is the logic in that? If you have a disclaimer (and I don't see a whole lot of children opting to watch The History Channel of their own accord), parents can send the kids out of the room. Why deprive those of use who are  spawn-free from seeing these ancient pieces of art? To be "politically correct", of course.

Political correctness is often synonymous with "family values". As a rule, I can't stand people who push "family values" in your face. Or mine. Branson Missouri, for instance, takes great pride in their family appeal and family values. Yet, politically if nothing else, Bransonites appear to often use this term to perform guerilla warfare in order to press their strict religous beliefs. Family values are frequently cited as a pretext to perform prejudicial or biased actions. Spare me.

Also, I really disdain people who harp on other people's correctness regarding statements or thoughts of those people outside their own races. Ugh. I always like to say that I'm free of prejudice because I make fun of people of ALL races! Is that a crime? No. Nor are ethnic jokes, in my book. Some of the funniest jokes around deal with blacks, Poles, the Irish, the Italians, blondes, etc. Once you get past the ridiculous notion of: "Oh, you shouldn't make fun of (fill in the blank)...it's not right," you should be able to enjoy life more fully.

I actually tend to ignore the very meaning of "race". To judge people on their exterior is stupid. Those who judge other people for judging people on their exteriors is just as stupid. More stupid, come to think of it. Stupidity is the sole yardstick for my scorn. By stupid, I do not mean ignorant. Indeed, it's usually those who are well-educated and should know better who really make me sneer.

We should all make fun of everything. Not one single thing on this planet is perfect and therefore everyone and everything is up for grabs in the "making fun of" arena. Including ourselves. Why is it that those who do the most judging never see anything within themselves that is judgement-worthy? If "physician, heal thyself" is true, then perhaps one should also state: "Judge, convict thyself"!