Let’s change the name of Thanksgiving

[Better Believe It]

Let’s change the name of Thanksgiving
By Darryl Lorenzo Wellington
November 22, 2010

Spare me the school-assembly version of Thanksgiving.

Since I was in grammar school, I’ve seen these misleading reenactments.

The Thanksgiving plays and celebrations glamorize the relationship between the Pilgrims and Native Americans.

They falsely portray the Pilgrims as the ones who allowed the Native Americans to sup with them, rather than vice versa.

And they erase the genocide against Native Americans that followed.

Thanksgiving is America’s guilty holiday, a kind of camouflage, a symbolic excuse to ignore the elimination of whole populations of indigenous Americans by disease or war.

We do not have to remain stuck helplessly in a yearly cycle of guilty silence, hoping that Thanksgiving doesn’t seem – at its crassest — to be “giving thanks” for exterminated Indians.

Instead, we should petition Congress to rename the holiday. A more appropriate name would be “Family and Early American Heritage Day” to honor all peoples of colonial history.

Read the full article at:

http://www.progressive.org/mpwellington112210.html

[PBS Poll-435]

1. !

:rofl:

[leftstreet]

2. It should be called Christmas Retail Season Eve n/t

[Better Believe It]

4. Or perhaps "Go out and buy lots of shit eve"!

[Fire1]

20. How about, "Christmas Part I" n/t

[slackmaster]

3. Sorry, I'm not buying into the whole Political Correctness thing

:nuke:

[whistler162]

5. Nah.... change it to MLWis1D1OT day

[Brickbat]

6. I know scarecrows are popular decorations this time of year, but this strawman is ridiculous.

[HereSince1628]

7. Harvest celebrations have been around since the Neolithic

I'm all for recognizing that what's to be thankful for is an abundant food supply that could last through the starving time of the next spring.

It's mostly a consequence of the industrial revolution that people can live entire lives only indirectly linked to the growing seasons that support their lives.

[gratuitous]

8. It's a perfectly functional holiday name

If someone is uncomfortable with the whole Pilgrim story, then just think of it as a special day to reflect on the good things in life and be appreciative for those good things. There are plenty of calamities, misfortunes, and other horrible things going on, and trust me, they'll continue to go on today, tomorrow and on into the future. But for a couple of hours, one day out of the year, stop and think about how really, truly good life is even in the midst of these horrendous events.

Then the next day, get back to doing something about those bad things so that next year, someone else may join the number of the appreciative. Can you change the world? Maybe not. Can you improve your little corner of it? Definitely.

[PBS Poll-435]

15. I would honestly question the motives of someone who is against

A day where your family and friends get together, cook, talk, reconnect, pray (if you are into that), and express gratitude and thanks for the things that ARE going right.

And also for those that take their time and money to contribute to those less fortunate by donating, cooking, or whatever...

[AnneD]

9. I would suggest ....

The Native American Day of Mourning-but that is what we call Columbus Day in our household.


Perhaps Native Fool's Day:shrug:
Boy was the joke ever on us. :spray:

We never had a Harvest holiday that I am aware of, I guess we were alway thankful to eat, but a Harvest Celebration sounds good to me.

[flvegan]

10. If You're Not Already in Line at Best Buy, You're Shit Outta Luck Day!!

[MicaelS]

11. Absolutely not....

We're just now getting back to saying "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays", and now you want to start this shit? And yes I used the term shit deliberately.

Not just no, but FUCK no!

[emilyg]

13. Happy Thansgiving to

you and a Merry Christmas. :hug:

[PBS Poll-435]

16. Happy Thanksgiving emilyg

(If I don't 'see' ya before then)

I am going to enjoy the day.

[BlueJac]

14. Happy Holidays!!

[RaleighNCDUer]

23. Hey, nobody's stopping you from saying Merry Christmas to all the

pagans, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, atheists you meet - but a lot of people who like the holidays don't give a crap about Christmas, so don't be surprised when they answer with "happy holidays".

The 'war on christmas' is the real bullshit.

[BlueJac]

12. Kind of like Columbus Day..

WTF, how can someone discover a place where people are already living?

We live in a fantasyland.

[RaleighNCDUer]

24. As Stan Freeberg put it:

"What you mean you discover us? We discover you on beach here."

[quinnox]

17. a good example

of where the phrase loony left comes from. What a silly idea. Its the same PC mentality that says you better refrain from saying "Merry Christmas" because you might offend someone, somewhere, somehow.

[Harry Monroe]

18. Thanks-Giving

What is wrong with a day set aside to give thanks for all that we have? Hence, the word "Thanksgiving". I'm sure the Pilgrims had another word for it, don't know what it is, but this is PC bullshit!!

[Nye Bevan]

19. I hate these politically correct threads where DUers piss on holidays.

I love Thanksgiving. And guess what, I love Columbus Day too. Because Columbus discovered America.

[RaleighNCDUer]

21. I rather like - Autumn Harvest Festival.

That is, after all, what it is.

And it should be moved up to the day after Halloween, so all those pumpkin guts can be put to good use in pumpkin pies for the festival.

[sarcasmo]

22. Being Cherokee I do not recognize this holiday.

[RaleighNCDUer]

25. Being atheist, I don't either.

Just who am I supposed to be giving thanks to?

[sarcasmo]

27. Mother Nature, perhaps?

[WildEyedLiberal]

26. "Thanksgiving is America's guilty holiday" - this is why Joe Blow doesn't like "liberals"

What a load of hand-wringing faux-PC garbage. Stupid shit like this just serves to perpetuate the meme that liberals don't really like America and do nothing but attack beloved, harmless institutions because of some perceived sense of self-righteous white guilt. And every moronic article like this just reinforces the stereotype. "Family and Early American Heritage Day"? Yeah, that'll catch on. :eyes:

Canada has a Thanksgiving, too. I wonder if they should also be consumed with guilt over daring to enjoy a day to get together with their families?