Survival of the Fastest - Channel 4

[SoleSource]

Did anybody watch this programme?

Olympian Michael Johnson investigates as to whether he is successful as a direct result of of the genetic consequences of slavery.

The slaves in the ship, how they were packed together, made me cry.

This subject has always upset me. it is just...:(

I thought the ideas were fascinating....and also very upsetting but was wonderful when he saw the picture of his ancestor.

I saw this - fascinating, though upsetting. Although I already knew quite a bit about slavery, the way they were packed in on the ships and the bit when it said that the living were chained to the dead for up to 6 months - awful. And how the slave owners "mated" them, regardless of the woman's wishes...

I have recorded it so the DC can watch it too.

I watched this with DH with a lot of interest. I had no idea about the theory but it certainly makes a lot of sense. DH is mixed race with his paternal family being from Jamaica. Almost certainly his great-X-whatever-it-goes-back-to- grandparents would have been slaves. He is very familiar with this theory.

Interestingly - DH is supremely talented when it comes to movement and physical activity. He is not big or bulky - of average height - and is just naturally "ripped". He doesn't work out in a gym as such but has been active his entire life. He still holds records for his county in the 200m and 400m, 15 years on. Anything he tries sports-wise he is a complete natural at and excels. He also exhibits the temperament they described of the slaves dumped in Jamaica - his is very proud, a complete alpha male but not in an arsehole-shouty-dominant kind of way. He just has an inner strength that is not arrogance because he is also quite humble, but he is not afraid of anything. He often says he is not beholden to anyone, whereas I am a worrier and feel the need to compromise to meet my needs a lot.

His father is the same as DH - very, very fit and very physically capable. DH's grandmother bore 11 children, and is very strong and fit still for a 90 year old.

All this is not to boast You could say it is a complete coincidence but from the beginning of our relationship, I used to joke that he was a perfect specimen for my future children It was so interesting what they were describing as forced natural selection, and how they would have pillaged most of the different tribes across Africa - who all exhibited different physical attributes - so by the time they were dumped in the West Indies, it was a complete mixing pot of the most physically supreme.