Thank you, Julia Daniels' facebook profile. You have lovely quotes!
I think that Thanksgiving is a good holiday. Shira recently told me that it is her favorite holiday. When I saw a livejournal announcement for a vegan potluck to protest thansgiving, I was rather incensed. I mean, that is really quite silly. If you dare give me the anti-imperialism/colonialism spiel, I will bite your head off. Because I know a lot about imperialism and colonialism. I am a politics major at Oberlin College. Bitch, please.
What I really love about Thanksgiving is the fact that two groups of people, with completely opposite world views, sat down and shared a meal together. A feast, actually, that lasted three days. The American Indians shared their harvest with the white settlers, who really did not have a clue about what it was like to survive a New England winter. I mean, how completely amazing is that? These particular settlers probably had a whole bunch of ideals that I do not agree with. But, in my mind, Thanksgiving is about the spirit of that meal; the concept as an event unmuddied by the awful happenings that followed.
Yes, I am aware that Roosevelt made Thanksgiving into a national holiday in order to accelerate Christmas shopping. I'm not going to let that stop me from enjoying this day. For me, Thanksgiving can be a very positive experience. I think it can be a time to reflect on the state of the world (past and present), which could include meditating on where the descendants of the early Pilgrims went so wrong in their treatment of American Indians, American land, and citizens.
I grew up in a town full of people who had no concept of how lucky they were. I can understand protesting the free-market, anti-welfare policies that breed this kind of ignorance, but not a holiday which directly undermines it. A holiday that celebrates thankfulness, community, and food is my kind of holiday. And vis-a-vis the protest, "Any revolution where you can't dance isn't my revolution."
What I really love about Thanksgiving is the fact that two groups of people, with completely opposite world views, sat down and shared a meal together. A feast, actually, that lasted three days. The American Indians shared their harvest with the white settlers, who really did not have a clue about what it was like to survive a New England winter. I mean, how completely amazing is that? These particular settlers probably had a whole bunch of ideals that I do not agree with. But, in my mind, Thanksgiving is about the spirit of that meal; the concept as an event unmuddied by the awful happenings that followed.
Yes, I am aware that Roosevelt made Thanksgiving into a national holiday in order to accelerate Christmas shopping. I'm not going to let that stop me from enjoying this day. For me, Thanksgiving can be a very positive experience. I think it can be a time to reflect on the state of the world (past and present), which could include meditating on where the descendants of the early Pilgrims went so wrong in their treatment of American Indians, American land, and citizens.
I grew up in a town full of people who had no concept of how lucky they were. I can understand protesting the free-market, anti-welfare policies that breed this kind of ignorance, but not a holiday which directly undermines it. A holiday that celebrates thankfulness, community, and food is my kind of holiday. And vis-a-vis the protest, "Any revolution where you can't dance isn't my revolution."