Thanksgiving is the Expression of the Colonizer, Then and Now

[AOR]

--by Danny Haiphong

“As the capitalist economy developed, plantation elites created a system of white supremacy to empower every white settler to protect the profits of chattel slavery.”

(Snip)

"At this stage of history, most people outside of the US know that the dominant narrative of Thanksgiving is a pack of lies. But in the US, this is not the case. White supremacy and imperialism shape all aspects of life, making Thanksgiving day a politically useful tool for the ruling system. Every November, the ruling class greases its misinformation machine to erase its history of genocide and colonialism from historical memory in place of the myth of white benevolence. President Lincoln started the process by making Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863 to revive white racial solidarity in the midst of the Civil War that threatened to tear apart the nation. Ever since, white America and broad sections of the oppressed have sat down to a meal once a year to "celebrate" the supposedly peaceful dinner between the Wampanoags of New England and the English settlers in 1621."

(Snip)

"Historians differ on the facts of the 1621 feast and some believe the Wampanoags were not invited at all. Others believe Lincoln distorted the story from a multitude of meals because the English depended on the Wampanoags for survival. Yet, the significance of the Thanksgiving narrative is not limited to the facts of the meal. The same forces that plundered New England and North America remain the rulers of the imperialist system they set into motion. This historical truth is the reason why Thanksgiving continues to be an American tradition. For white America and the tiny minority of people around the world with a stake in US imperialism, the truth about Thanksgiving is worthy of the highest degree of suppression. The task of resistance forces, freedom fighters, and revolutionary organizations is to keep historical memory alive so we can erase the forces of suppression from existence."

(Snip)

"The truth is that the same English settlers who supposedly took part in a peaceful dinner with the Wampanoags went on a hunting expedition of each and every indigenous tribe in the region in their quest for expansion. It wasn’t until the settlers decimated the Wampanoags and traveled further into the New England region that Thanksgiving really began. In 1637, the English colonizers massacred the Pequot tribe in what is now Connecticut. Over 700 Pequots were killed in the massacre. Governor John Winthrop declared the day “Thanksgiving.” After each subsequent massacre, the settlers would celebrate gratitude for their plunder by giving thanks."


(Snip)

"But the plight of indigenous peoples of continental North America is not merely a side-story of the imperialist system. Rather, it marks the beginning of capitalist development and white supremacy in North America. The early English capitalists and colonizers paraded their colonial missions in North America as a service of "civilization" for the native. As the capitalist economy developed, plantation elites created a system of white supremacy to empower every white settler to protect the profits of chattel slavery. Today, US imperialism "civilizes" oppressed peoples of the world with a heavy dose of super-exploitation and repression. The difference between then and now is that instead of the ruling class rising to prominence off the backs of oppressed people, imperialism is crashing and burning."

Full article here...

http://www.blackagendareport.com/node/4208

[niyad]

1. k and r

[niyad]

2. roxanne dunbar-ortiz' "an indigenous people's history of the united states" also talks

about the massacres of the indigenous peoples that gave us these "thanksgiving celebrations"

[AOR]

3. Unfortunately... the four paragraph rule is limiting...

and never does justice to the whole article written. Hopefully people go past the snips to read whole pieces if they're interested in the content. Thanks for reading in full. Cheers

[niyad]

4. thank you so much for the article. it is appalling (but not surprising) how lacking in

knowledge about the history of this country so many people are.

[AOR]

9. Agree...it's appalling....

and not surprising and probably somewhat understandable in regards to the level of propaganda and illusion we are spoon fed from birth by the ruling class and those in power. Those in power write the history for their own benefit. We have an obligation to at least learn the less than savory realities and the foundations of many of things we celebrate as wholesome, good, and the "American way." That includes many things including capitalist social relations and the blatant hypocrisy behind many of our celebrations being an exceptional beacon of human social relations. Separating what is real and what is illusion matters.

Those who know the history, the realities, and foundations and then promote turning a blind eye to such things are those who promote and defend the status quo, deeply reactionary thinking, and worse. Those who know and those who have learned and separated the illusion from the reality have a responsibility to spread that message. So often we hear the well-meaning say things like--"Well, what can I do that is useful to effect change. I feel helpless to do anything in the face of overwhelming propaganda and those promoting the status quo." By learning the truth and separating it from the illusion and then spreading that message IS doing something, and it is doing something very powerful and useful to the cause of changing human social relations. Far more powerful than the activism of "being the change one wishes to see" as an individual act of change and voting for a "savior" as an individual act of change...all the while ignoring and minimizing those historical realities to "go along to get along."

Depending on who is doing the talking and why...I see no reason why the historical voices of the past should not be used to spread that message.

“What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July?

I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.

Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.”

― Frederick Douglass

[randome]

5. Eh. All national holidays -American and otherwise- have their sometimes unsavory histories.

I couldn't care less about Thanksgiving because I see it as a green light for gluttony. But no matter what, my ex-mother-in-law will still send me over a plate full of goodies. (Which will last me for days.)
[hr][font color="blue"][center]All things in moderation, including moderation.[/center][/font][hr]

[Crunchy Frog]

6. I prefer to think of it as a generic harvest festival

of the sort that is celebrated all over the world. Harvest festival

[Waldorf]

7. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Lots of food, lots of family, and lots of football.

[Throd]

8. I was wondering when the Thanksgiving=Genocide Celebration threads would show up.

Seems a little late this year.

[FLPanhandle]

11. +1

I was expecting the outrage posts to begin on Monday.

[romanic]

10. I guess that leaves more seconds for me then.

[IMG][/IMG]

[HereSince1628]

12. just re-frame it as the sweet potato eaters hoot against hunger!

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/uncategorized/ten-amazing-harvest-festivals-from-around-the-world/

1. Samhain – No, we’re not talking about the band Glenn Danzig formed after leaving the Misfits! Samhain means “summers end” and is a festival of Celtic or Gaelic origins, It is celebrated worldwide by Wiccans and Pagans to mark the beginning of winter and to remember the dead. Samhain recognizes the cycles of nature, death and renewal, and marks the beginning of the new harvest year by the burning of bonfires. It was later taken over by Catholicism as All-Souls day or Halloween. Like Halloween, carved pumpkins are a feature of Samhain festivities.

2. Choosuk — A Korean Festival held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, during the harvest season. Families attend ancestral memorials at the graves of their relatives, and give thanks. On Choosuk eve, women gather and sing traditional songs, men engage in wrestling matches and there is a grand feast, where moon cakes are a favorite. In 2010, the North Korean Red Cross offered South Korea the chance for family reunions, allowing families who had been separated since 1945 to reunite for six days around Choosuk.

3. Yam Festival – a West African tradition, the Festival of Yams is held at the beginning of August to mark the end of the rainy season. The festival is a public holiday in Ghana and Nigeria. It is sometimes called the ‘Homowo’ or ‘Hoot at Hunger’. Yams are offered to the gods and eaten amidst celebrations. There are parades, drumming, dancing and singing, and of course, eating of yams in a traditional dish called Fufu.

4. Niiname-sai – Meaning “Celebrations of the First Taste”, Niiname-sai is a Shinto rice festival held yearly in Japan, since World War II Niiname-sai is known as Labor Thanksgiving Day. During the ceremonies the Emperor must offer up some of the harvest to the spirits and make the first taste of the years rice harvest while praying for a healthy crop in the new year.

[Hortensis]

13. Oh, stuffing. Thanksgiving is when our family feels

obliged to synchronize schedules enough to have a nice dinner together at the home of whoever wants it most that year. And, yes, we each give thanks according to our natures and beliefs, but none of them are for the genocidal successes of our forebears.

?w=300&h=244

[Zorra]

14. Celebrating fall harvest on Saturday.

"Comanche Irish Stew" for the main course. Irish stew made with buffalo, potatoes, carrots, onions, and corn. Cranberries and fry bread on the side, with blueberry pie for dessert.

sláinte, ah-ho!

[melman]

15. Remind me to never invite Danny Haiphong to any parties

Guy sounds like a real drag.