It never fails. Every Thanksgiving the radical left feels it necessary to "instruct" us plebes about the "real" meaning of the holiday. You see, we're too stupid to understand that the Pilgrims and Native Americans didn't really sit down at a long table and eat turkey together in perfect harmony.
That's what the left thinks we believe about Thanksgiving. Only Sean Sherman, Chase Iron Eyes, and a select few know the real story--and it isn't pretty.
Murder, rape, stolen lands, betrayal--and that's just for starters. That was the experience of Native Americans 500 years ago and the subsequent centuries following.
In fact, the real story of Thanksgiving is about the brutal, savage New World that these white Europeans arrived at the year before and how people were able to work together to overcome disease and their own ignorance to hack a new civilization out of the wilderness.
It was a monumental achievement aided in no small part by the Pilgrims' friendship with the local Native American tribe, the Wampanoags. The Native Americans coveted the Pilgrim muskets and were happy to help. But disease, unfamiliarity with the cold weather, and dysentery struck down almost half the 102 souls who disembarked from the Mayflower in November 1620.
Only 53 Pilgrims celebrated the three-day feast that we now recognize as Thanksgiving.
The left constantly leaves the part out about the incredible courage it took for townsfolk from England to board a tiny ship and attempt to cross an ocean to a new land. There were no towns or markets where they were going. They would have to create it all out of nothing. Why is that left out of the left's narrative of Thanksgiving?
Messrs. Sherman and Iron Eyes see only the need to "decolonize" Thanksgiving.
The sanitized version of Thanksgiving neglects to mention the violence, land theft, and subsequent decimation of Indigenous populations. Needless to say, this causes tremendous distress to those of us who are still reeling from the trauma of these events to our communities.
In truth, both sides exaggerate and mythologize what happened 400 years ago. The Native Americans were not inclined to be very friendly. They had experience with white traders and were unimpressed and cautious. But the symbiotic relationship that formed between Pilgrims and Native Americans was productive, at least while it lasted.
I do not think we need to end Thanksgiving. But we do need to decolonize it. That means centering the Indigenous perspective and challenging the colonial narratives around the holiday (and every other day on the calendar). By reclaiming authentic histories and practices, decolonization seeks to honor Indigenous values, identities, and knowledge. This approach is one of constructive evolution: In decolonizing Thanksgiving, we acknowledge this painful past while reimagining our lives in a more truthful manner.
The "colonial narratives" are the left's idea of what the rest of us Americans believe about Thanksgiving. If any of us give it any thought, most of us recognize the vital assistance of the Wampanoags to the Pilgrims and the later depredations against Native peoples by whites. (The rape and murder of whites by Natives is given a pass because, like the Palestinians, they were only "defending themselves.")
This Thanksgiving, let’s break the bonds of colonization and capitalism—not just on our plates but in our perspectives, too. I want a Thanksgiving where I can be thankful that I live in a world where diversity is celebrated, and where every person’s connection to their food, land, and history is respected and cherished. I would like to be thankful not only for a more inclusive world but for a more accurate accounting of the past. This inclusivity and commitment to truth would honor Indigenous people, but also every person on the planet. Banning histories as a righteous crusade to eradicate different opinions is wrong; understanding true histories is necessary.
Why not just be thankful that you have a table full of food? According to World Vision, there are more than 800 million people starving to death on this planet. Be thankful you're sitting down with your family. Be thankful you can write nonsensical crap about how all of us should celebrate Thanksgiving because you live in a country that tolerates your stupidity.
Now, isn't that a lot better than wanting a different sort of Thanksgiving?
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