I agree it's odd, and yet still shared that sense of disappointment in the lack of surprises in my 23andMe report. I also don't think it's entirely irrational.

The most interesting result is the least expected result that doesn't include bad news. Outside relatively small circles, the vast majority of white people will lose none of their privilege or social position if they find out their ancestry includes something unexpected. It's clearly pretty widespread too, because all of the 23andMe advertising includes people ostensibly of European descent who find out they've got unexpected ancestry.

Perhaps it's a matter of where you come from?

In US, varied ancestry is a norm if I'm not mistaken, so having a "pure" heritage makes you unique. In many countries it's the opposite - the default is "pure" heritage, and having varied background is what makes you stand out.

Also, from the health perspective, varied ancestry is better if I'm not mistaken. Kind of like pure breed animals being less healthy in general, compared to mixtures.

I'm 99.5% European (86% Eastern European), and 0.5% East Asian/Native American. I hoped for more varied ancestry when I received the results.

in some circles it is considered "cool" to be admixed or foreign. there's also a fair amount of virtue signaling attached to that as well.

What you are seeing is simply a reflection of what is socially acceptable.

So you're saying whites have the privilege of wishing they had "interesting" DNA history, but others don't have that privilege, even with all they have in say East Asia. I think it's more with social cues and pressures.

What? This isn't about privilege, this is about fashion, and white guilt is increasingly in.

And of course, it's not the white guilt that's in fashion. It's the black pride that's in fashion, as it always has been.

What? I don't get any of either those assertions. People should be comfortable with who they are. I don't think pride is necessary, but also unnecessary and probably detrimental is to feel uncomfortable with yourself, be that anything, in this case ancestry.

How can you not understand black pride? The story of the Negro that survived the racist horrors of white oppression, the voice of the enslaved person that became La Marseillaise sung at the Haitian revolution, that became jazz, that became hip hop. The impossible resistance against the whitewashing and cultral genocide, the freedom and liberty earned by wielding the spirit of the Enlightenment channeled through the black experience. Black identity is more American than America. Freedom from taxation against the freedom to exist. There is no comparison. It's worthy of pride.

There's dignity in guilt, and it's essential for growth. You really don't seem to understand the human condition.

perhaps you were a bit too ready to bask in some romanticism to really speak to what they were saying.

No, that's not what happened here.