From Today's Recording:
Here are some of the points I didn't raise in today's forum. It was my first time back on the air in a while and I like Farai's format, so I wasn't going for the controversy as I do more often on Michel's show.
DNA
I remain rather skeptical about the utility of DNA testing to get folks in touch with their 'true' heritage.
Skip Gates complained that his testing lab didn't tell him about his results that put some European lineage in his actual background. Is it because we know that African Americans who do this really just want to hookup with Africa? Let's not forget Toni Morrison's Jazz. We're responsible for all of our families. That in and of itself is a scary prospect, but it's even scarier when you realize you have real Europeans in your family tree. Can we dismiss them so casually? There's your provocative question of the day. What if you actually do have white trash cousins?
Missing
As far as I can tell, this is a species of story that evokes my perverse question: What kind of whitefolks are we comparing ourselves to today. There might be some good that comes of it considering how many people go missing in the US. According to CourtTV, about 2300 folks are reported missing every day. That's more than can be handled by its own cable channel. Are we a society of dropouts? When it comes to children, this is a well of misery that seems to have no bottom. If our attention to that misery, starting with the racial comparison, can beget some good, then I'm all for it. But generally speaking, I like my black vs white comparisons done by Richard Pryor.
Vaccinated
It's tough all over, and the fact of the matter is that you simply can't get your kids in school unless and until you show those vaccination records. My back has been up against this wall personally and it ain't comfy. I don't see why a judge has to threaten jail, unless parents have been massively intransigent or someone has declared a public emergency. Just having kids miss school ought to be enough. I'm old enough to remember when the public health inspector would come to the neighborhood and declare a house under quarantine. It happened to my house when the lot of us came down with the measles. That would have been a more judicious use of power in my view.
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