Thanksgiving: The Return of Columbus

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Who doesn’t love being with family and eating dinner at two o’clock in the afternoon? I’m sorry this wasn’t posted sooner, but I was out of town and didn’t have the time to write this up before I left and when I was away.

I was thinking of doing another “Myths about [Holiday]” entry, but I frankly don’t feel as passionate about correcting the wrongs of the holiday of Thanksgiving. There is a difference between Separatists, Pilgrims, and Puritans. The First Thanksgiving wasn’t really the first one in North America. The one we have memorized in our heads most likely didn’t have turkey, potatoes, and pumpkin pies. And it wasn’t in November.

Okay, we are all caught up. The one thing that bothers me about this holiday is the same thing that bothers me about Columbus Day; the incessant whining and complaining about the treatment of Native Americans. I already talked about why I can’t stand this in a previous post. Please go there for my opinions on the subject for I am not repeating them here. But there is one thing about this holiday that I don’t understand that I could understand about the other; why is this considered a bad day?

As much as I complained about Columbus Day haters, I can at least understand why people dislike the day. His discovery led to the oppression of the Native Americans. He wasn’t directly responsible for every death, but his exploration and discoveries greatly changed the world, mostly for the worst for the Americans. But why does Thanksgiving get such a bad rep?

The bare basics for the holiday is this; settlers in 1621 Massachusetts were thankful for surviving their first winter in the New World, thanks in large part to the Wampanoag tribe giving the settlers food for the winter, and for teaching them how to catch and grow their own food. 53 settlers and 90 natives joined the feast.

What is wrong with this? It shows that settlers and natives could work together peacefully and benefit mutually (and by “benefit mutually”, I mean the settlers needed help not starving and the natives could have lived their lives without ever having contact with Europeans). This should be remembered as a bittersweet “could have been” moment, in which the following massacres, theft, and destruction could have been avoided. I could understand Native Americans being upset at Americans for celebrating the Wounded Knee Massacre with a big feast every year, but Thanksgiving? (Hell, Canada celebrates their Thanksgiving on our Columbus Day!) If the south can turn losing the Civil War into a fond memory, why should Thanksgiving be a bad memory? Tim Giago thinks Native Americans can turn Thanksgiving into a positive day.

I think Native Americans should have a lot to be thankful for. They are full citizens of the US (although my mothers’ parents were born before all Natives were given this right) and they have their own land and Tribal Sovereignty. Sure, the US Government only did this after years of fighting and killing them and making their lives a living Hell, but there has been some progress made. I can understand not seeing anything to be thankful for in 1900, but I think by the year 2000, there should be something.

One step forward, another step back...

If you honestly want to turn Thanksgiving into a Day of Mourning, you better put some effort into it. If you don’t, you’ll get the sad excuse of “Sorry Day” in Australia, the official way the government has tried to right the wrongs of a policy of kidnapping Aboriginal children from parents and hospitals that lasted until the 1970s.

I honestly can’t wrap my head around this. Maybe it’s because I can’t stand people who won’t let the past be the past and want to spend the rest of their lives pissed off over something they can’t control. Columbus Day, I can kind of get (although I won’t agree with it). Thanksgiving, I’ll never get. Thanksgiving should be remembered as the day in which peaceful coexistence between Native Americans and European Settlers was possible, but sadly, it didn't happen. Coming together peacefully and celebrating existence is a bad thing? I'm sure there are people out there who have had life take a nasty dump on them, and yet they can still find something to be thankful for. But some people will not rest until everyone is as miserable as they are. If I keep talking, I’ll just be repeating myself from my Columbus Day Clarification post.

I hope you had a good day. I hope you could spend it with people you love and could enjoy some good food.