This morning I learned that there is a "controversy" because the actor Ben Affleck, who was one of the stars whose family genealogy was explored on the Louis Henry Gates Jr. show WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? asked that it not be revealed that some ancestor of his owned slaves. Apparently when private e-mails were hacked in a recent Hollywood scandal, and these e-mails were publicized, it was discovered that he had asked for this consideration and it was given.
YOU KNOW WHAT?
I completely agree with what LOUIS HENRY GATES Jr. explained, especially because I have been watching the previous seasons on DVD and my criticism was that there was perhaps too much emphasis on the whole slave - slave owners thing. Affleck would have been just one more, and well, the rest of his family was more interesting, providing, over all, a more interesting show and series.
I think ANYONE whose personal family history is going to be revealed to the world in these shows SHOULD have a say about what goes on the air.
I wonder how it is that anyone with such fame and the according WEALTH needs to have their genealogy done for free in exchange for their personal family heritage - any of it - and their reactions to it - as entertainment! Sometimes I've winced watching.
Professional genealogists are expensive but affordable to the well-to-do and the wealthy and being able to trust your genealogist is important. As is that the genealogist keep to professional behavior which is to report to the person paying for our services. We are not spies. We are not scam artists. We are not reporting into tabloids. And now we should also have the client sign that they are not using the information for illegal purposes - such as stalking.
Doing it on your own is a middle class - working class endeavor - which is why the subscription databases which are free at so many Family History Centers and Public Libraries - are so appealing. These databases have opened genealogy up to the masses.
So, famous people who can afford PRIVACY allow their fame to attract an audience.
I would sure like to see what the contracts signed for the show look like!
The shame is not in Affleck being sensitive. Other guests with slave owner ancestry appeared to be appropriately mortified, and we are not responsible for what our ancestors did or didn't do anyway. These days we agree slavery was and is wrong. DID YOU KNOW THAT MORE WOMEN AND GIRLS ARE SEX TRAFFICKED right now than the entire population of Africans brought to the America's unwillingly? Apparently it is still OK for the female to be the ultimate slave because this would not be happening if men were not buying.
The shame is that e-mail is increasingly useless due to hackers. It used to be that it saved you a phone bill long distance, but now, these hackers also feel it isn't enough to personally read your life and get to know you so they can set up an Identity Theft, but they want the WORLD to know your business, in an attempt to show off. Why are not more of them in prison instead of hackers conventions?
An e-mail that I use in conjunction to this blog has been hacked three times. Each time it was caught and I changed the passwords. However, it felt to me like someone - perhaps a genealogy database company - was trying to screw things up for me. I never ever use the e-mails associated with this blog for anything personal!
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