Thursday, July 29, 2004

Clan Mentality

There are 3 genotypes in my family: Bush, Lerner and Kasden. All with their personality quirks and physical attributes. All originally Russian, each seems to carry its own problems and benefits.
My grandmother, a Bush by birth Lerner by habit, has striking cheekbones and a tall thin frame. She has a tendency, like many Lerners, to quietly protest whatever she disagrees with and simply enough is passive-aggressive. Believing that money is infinite, she will buy what she feels in good quality (though it may not be) at whatever the price and no matter if she need it or not.
Her brother, like my father, is a Kasden. Without the temperance my father bears, Great Uncle Alfred is loud, strongly opinionated, short tempered and has a tendency towards violence. "There is no murder in the killing of the wrong" and he will not bear them, even when proven that his seemingly best way is not, in fact, best. He merely states that of course he was right and we have wasted time doing it my way. His tall muscular frame, unlike my father again, has small eyes and mouth and portrays an certain dissatisfaction with the other members of the family.
My Uncle, a Bush, has the large almost bearish frame I would have had if I had drunken my milk when I was younger. Quiet much of the time he feels that winning and argument can be won by a series of questions and logical arguments. Passionate about his work he sometimes comes off as frightening though he is quiet gentle unless provoked.
The women of my generation are all mixes of the three. My eldest cousin Tirza, has the Lerner build but the Bush mentality without any of the nastier tendencies of a Kasden. The middle cousin, Sharon, Tirza's sister, has the build of the Kasden genotype with the Bush quietness and the Lerner determination. Myself, though in appearance a Bush, am an opinionated Kasden with a tendency towards violence when threatened, and sometimes a Lerner with passive-aggressive tendencies to maintain attention upon myself. On the upside, when I am in Russia, I fit perfectly, Kasden huntsmen created a large gene pool in Russia which continues to dominate the small villages around Moscow. Also my exuberance for what I care about, a compelling Kasden quality, allows me to sell almost any item I would like.
All the Leader women, whether born or married, with the exception of my mother, a Nolan to the core, are hard on their men. We tend to have strong opinion with a determination that disregards the concerns of nay-sayers. The men learn quickly to acquiesce before we become angered but the perfect man for many of us has a backbone in important subjects as we grow bored with doormats and tend to throw them away. We tend to find love very early in life and lose our virginity to our husbands or the men to eventually become our husbands. We are devoted to our families and tend to plan our lives to the last increment and never actually follow through with the plan. We are totally devoted to our husbands and many times support them through college.
We tend to very strongly politically liberal and fiscally conservative. We are activist and like to help people, many of us never really figure out what career we want to do. Very independent, be tend to have trust issues, and compromise issues. We tend to marry fairly laid back men.
Our men never have good direction sense and are very passionate in their calling, many times having many different jobs before settling.
The Leaders are a clan in the largest sense. We tend to protect our own even from each other and are always there for a room or help. We are devoted to each other and understand that everyone needs to grow in their own way. Most importantly we constantly have family meetings about what everyone is doing or a specific concern, and we are always very open about everything.

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