# Am I paarinoid about these DNA tests or are my concerns justified?



## redhawk (May 7, 2014)

I keep seeing these commercials for "23 and me" and for the "Ancestry DNA" to find out more about your ethnic heritage and they seem kind of interesting but I am somewhat concerned. It seems that they send you a kit and you give them a sample of your DNA and that is where my concern is...I think it would be chancy to have my DNA "out there" where someone (including the government) would have access to that information. Is this a realistic concern or should I get a tin foil hat?


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## Ragnarök (Aug 4, 2014)

They already know more about you than you think.


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## Ragnarök (Aug 4, 2014)

Go through a private genealogist to find out your heritage is my advice. My uncle did this and the result was not very specific. It said he was Northern European


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

Why would you pay somebody to study and file your DNA (which will eventually be hacked by the government if it is not already)? Does it change the way you live your life if you find out you are part Indonesian instead of full Swiss (or whatever)?


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## hag (May 19, 2016)

The only time the tin foil hat should ever be taken off is when you are about to share your dna the old fashioned way


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

I started to ...... but have chosen to refrain. This time.


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## rstanek (Nov 9, 2012)

Have you ever been to the doctor and had blood drawn for any reason,? They already have it.....


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## Targetshooter (Dec 4, 2015)

I was going to do it , but after thinking about it , no way , I know where my roots are from .


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

I don't give two shits about paying someone to analyze my DNA to determine my supposed ancestry. Just one of many scams directed at lost souls.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

If you've ever been in the hospital, they already have it, or at least access to it. Obamacare saw to that.

I did that test just out of curiosity and was surprised by the results.


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

If you're white, you almost by default have 4-6 different ethnicities part of your DNA due to constant historic invasions in Europe. I wouldn't even bother.
BTW, they've already had your DNA for years


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

US Army has been taking and storing deployed soldiers DNA for a long time. Before that and even now they also take and store blood samples. They have plenty of my DNA.
We use to joke when they first started it . Some congressman's kid or mistress needs a kidney private smith just disappears.


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## csi-tech (Apr 13, 2013)

I bought my wife the kit for Christmas. My ancestry is well documented. Irish, French, German (with scumbag Nazis) and Norwegian. I am sure she has a great deal of Irish in her but there is something much more.........sinister lurking behind those blue eyes.


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## mickbear (Aug 26, 2015)

check into it , read about it and you might be surprised at the true accuracy of the results. To give you an example, if you go back just 8 generations, you have 256 grand parents! that a lot of DNA to be spread around.


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## redhawk (May 7, 2014)

I appreciate everybody's insights and thoughts about this. According to family history I am of Irish, Dutch and German heritage...I think that I'll just stick with that and not pursue it any further...JM2C


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## Sonya (Oct 20, 2016)

If you want to do it, then do it. I wouldn't worry about it much. Heck submit it under a false name, those for profit companies won't care. If the government is tracking it what are they going to do with it? And do you really believe they would be organized enough to use the massive amount of data effectively?

Having your DNA entered into the criminal database would be somewhat worrying but some organizations (like Ancestry) keep the data proprietary. Plus as far as criminal dna searches go, they can also use relatives to narrow things down if they are actually that motivated to do so, which rarely happens.

Families that have been in the states for generations may have mixed blood so it could be interesting for them. Both sides of my family came directly from Europe (Swiss/Swedish) so other than a rumored Laplander way back when, I have no reason to suspect there is vibrant diversity in the woodpile.


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

What the heck ..... everyone cant be full blooded Caucasian huh? It worked out all right for this American Hero.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Wasserman_Schultz


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

The government already knows what they have to know about you. ( You being on this site puts you on at least one list. ) If they want something further I am sure they can get it. As @Inor said, would finding out your exact heritage change who you are now? I would keep my money and my DNA. I know what I know about my family from my parents and my grandparents, beyond that it really doesn't matter.


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## 7515 (Aug 31, 2014)

You're not "tin foil hat" with your concerns over these paid DNA tests. 
I feel the same way about them.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

It's not just DNA that will ID you today. Biometrics is getting very sophisticated. All those cameras you see everywhere (for traffic control, HA) can pick you out of a crowd with facial recognition software in real time. I had my annual physical yesterday. You check in by touchscreen now; did they record my fingerprint? Who knows? Your auto license plate and photos of the occupants is read by police scanners and toll booths wherever you drive and goes into a database. It goes on and on.

P.S. Re-entering the US from Canada once, I pulled up to the checkpoint and was greeted by name!


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

A Watchman said:


> What the heck ..... everyone cant be full blooded Caucasian huh? It worked out all right for this American Hero.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Wasserman_Schultz


And that example, right there ^^^, is why the South Florida of my youth went to hell. A born and bred New York liberal who moved down and brought her socialistic ideas with her.
Palm Beach County and Broward County have been overwhelmed with this ideology.
My wife and I were able to make our escape in 1995.
Florida's motto used to be "The Sunshine State", now it is "The Only State Where The Further South You Go, The More North You Get".


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## RedLion (Sep 23, 2015)

Ragnarök said:


> Go through a private genealogist to find out your heritage is my advice. My uncle did this and the result was not very specific. It said he was Northern European


If OP would post some pics of himself, I can tell him his genealogy or at least give him a good ballpark answer.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

RedLion said:


> If OP would post some pics of himself, I can tell him his genealogy or at least give him a good ballpark answer.


How do you do that?


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

I know for a fact that both sides of my family came from Scotland in the mid 1700's.:vs_peace:
(If DNA test showed any Irish in there, Mom would spin in her grave :vs_shocked


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## RedLion (Sep 23, 2015)

sideKahr said:


> How do you do that?


I am just good like that. :tango_face_wink:


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## MisterMills357 (Apr 15, 2015)

I was DNA-ed after the calamity at Fort Bragg, when an F-16 collided with a C-130. It was an atrocity of dead bodies, they could not tell which part belonged to who. 
I was in an NG Airborne Battalion, so I was tested and it was filed away; my info has been government hands for a long time. 
It is getting harder to avoid in general life too, it may become mandatory. I don't have a good answer on that one; like a lot of things in life now, the noose has tightened.

PS, you have a valid concern, once the info is recorded, it is subject to all sorts of abuse, and it is permanently stored.
http://www.history.army.mil/books/Green-Ramp/POPE1.HTM


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## azrancher (Dec 14, 2014)

csi-tech said:


> I am sure she has a great deal of Irish in her but there is something much more.........sinister lurking behind those blue eyes.


I agree, those eyes should be green and she should be a redhead. That way you know she is hot.

*Rancher*


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## Ragnarök (Aug 4, 2014)

RedLion said:


> If OP would post some pics of himself, I can tell him his genealogy or at least give him a good ballpark answer.


Deep set eyes a strong brow and a little more hairy than average...Neanderthal.


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## RedLion (Sep 23, 2015)

Ragnarök said:


> Deep set eyes a strong brow and a little more hairy than average...Neanderthal.


Maybe. Certainly sounds Iranian.....:tango_face_wink:


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

There's no way I'd send my DNA to some company. My own digging gave whatever answers I felt I wanted.

As Inor said, it had no bearing on my life. I just had a little time on my hands, a few years ago, so I dug a little.


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## Ragnarök (Aug 4, 2014)

Sorry I came across this and couldn't resist.


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

sideKahr said:


> It's not just DNA that will ID you today. Biometrics is getting very sophisticated. All those cameras you see everywhere (for traffic control, HA) can pick you out of a crowd with facial recognition software in real time. I had my annual physical yesterday. You check in by touchscreen now; did they record my fingerprint? Who knows? Your auto license plate and photos of the occupants is read by police scanners and toll booths wherever you drive and goes into a database. It goes on and on.
> 
> P.S. Re-entering the US from Canada once, I pulled up to the checkpoint and was greeted by name!


If only you knew .... what they know.


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## Jp4GA (Jan 21, 2016)

Not going to send my DNA or money to anyone for anything. I know doctors already have it but there is no need for a private company to have the information and sell it or have it stolen. I don't really care what my background is, all I need to know is who I am today.


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## 6811 (Jan 2, 2013)

redhawk said:


> I keep seeing these commercials for "23 and me" and for the "Ancestry DNA" to find out more about your ethnic heritage and they seem kind of interesting but I am somewhat concerned. It seems that they send you a kit and you give them a sample of your DNA and that is where my concern is...I think it would be chancy to have my DNA "out there" where someone (including the government) would have access to that information. Is this a realistic concern or should I get a tin foil hat?


Tin foil hat? Yep, you are paranoid and you need to lay off from that caffeinated cofee. That's exactly what the government would label you. Not that it is true, they will just try to sucker you into proving you are not paranoid and take that test.

Remember the old library card files. Where the government monitors what books you read... Now, people's DNA will be available for the taking, you think they will let that pass. I think not... Or do I need to wear a tin foil hat myself?


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