Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic

Is Thanksgiving a lie?
RobVG — (archived)

Is Thanksgiving a lie?

I don’t believe so. What it represents to those who celebrate it is real, taking a day to reflect on what is good in our lives and sharing a hot meal with family and friends who we don’t see as often as we'd like. But the facts regarding the first Thanksgiving are in dispute and apparently it’s meaning to a portion of the population is very different from the smiles laughter and feasting that “we” anticipate every fall.

Or so say some educators:
School says Thanksgiving is for 'mourning' Holiday called 'bitter reminder of 500 years of betrayal'

When I first read the article I got a little angry, feeling this was just more PC BS directed at another sacred bastion of Americana. But after reading the letter I calmed down a bit. Seattle school officials reiterated the district’s goal of being “inclusive and aware of all our students by respecting and honoring the many cultural experiences of our students, staff and families”.
“We appreciate your willingness to struggle with these complex issues by considering the impact on many of our Native students when teaching about the Thanksgiving in traditional ways”.

That’s not so bad when you think about it. It’s hard for people to walk a mile in someone else’s moccasins and white Americans often struggle with the realization that we don’t all share the same reality in this country.

Concern over how Native Americans view Thanksgiving is legitimate and the response to the letter is an expected overreaction.

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