By Odeisel
Thanksgiving is the most curious of holidays for the kid. On one hand, nobody looks down on days where they don’t have to work. Add all the food and drink, the football and basketball, and the community service attached to feeding the homeless and less fortunate and you have a holiday that lends itself well to goodwill and fellowship. Unless you’re a Native American. For their descendants, it’s a stark reminder of the ungratefulness and evil of man and the imperialism that shapes the world to this day.
Along with slavery, there was massacre and the Arawak “Indians” that populated the Caribbean no longer exist. North America, which once teamed with various nations is now sparsely populated by impotent reservations, with a bogus sovereignty, cheap untaxed cigarettes and the occasional casino, run by people with more Pilgrim than “Indian” in their veins.
People of color know. Or at least they should. But I don’t know if we really think about what celebrating the holiday represents. Puerto Ricans are the descendants of the Taino “Indians” while Black people regularly cohabitated and mixed with native Americans. In New York, prior to the Civil War, Blacks were granted partial citizenship and allowed to purchase property on the outskirts of what was then New Amsterdam. The idea was that if the Natives would ever attack, the blacks would get slaughtered first. It didn’t quite work out that way.
Imagine if you watched the news one night and a story came on regarding a murder. A nice, Christian couple opened their house to a homeless person who turned around and slit their throats. If that was your neighborhood you’d be terrified and the local municipality would probably be moved enough to enact some law in response. If it wasn’t your area, you’ll still give a Smokey-like “Daaaaamn,” and forward that crazy shit to your Facebook friends. We that’s what happened to the Natives, who helped the Pilgrims survive starvation and inclement weather only to be met with the ultimate betrayal and the virtual destruction of their way of life.
I suppose when you believe in manifest destiny that you fool yourself into thinking that your way of life is destined by God and it’s His fault that you enjoy what that kind of villainy is wrought. It goes hand in hand with the idea of America being “one nation under God,” even though there are so many periods in the history of this country that are so un-Christian. It’s that sense of entitlement that still runs rampant today. It’s why the Republican Party keeps noting everything but their own incompetence and craziness for Mitt Romney’s defeat.
Republicans always bring up entitlement programs and how people are always looking for a handout, but they are totally oblivious to how entitled they are. The ideas they espouse are so exclusive and their mentality is so myopic that they thought Mitt Romney was going to win simply because it was his destiny. He didn’t stand for anything, he didn’t stick to anything he did attempt to stand on and his party excluded minorities, women, poor people and pretty much anyone that wasn’t a white male. Sure it was cool to allow Obama one term to prove we’re a modern country but of course the natural order would reestablish itself. There is no one more entitled than these people. There’s an entire site (probably more) devoted to the reactions of these people to Romney’s loss and the images are borderline disturbing. But this attitude can be traced back to the Pilgrims and imperialism. Of course you can give thanks and celebrate wiping out entire cultures. It’s Divine Providence.
I have Native American blood in my veins and to be honest I have almost no connection to it because of various factors. One day I’ll know more and follow bloodlines and connect myself. But when you know that there is a very real chance that part of your lineage may not even exist anymore, hearing “Happy Thanksgiving” feels a bit off. My belly is fully of turkey. I’m drinking rum-laced eggnog and I didn’t go to work today. My family said our grace before the meal and gave thanks for our existence and all the accoutrements that come with being alive and eating. I’m compliant. But then I always took umbrage at “Happy Holidays” instead of Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. I suppose non-believers feel that infringement on their way of life as well. On some level I guess we’re all entitled to something.
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