Thanksgiving Is Dedicated to Erasing the Ruthlessness of English Settlers

[truthout.org]

Now that Thanks Giving is over I'd like to suggest we reflect on the terrorism our ascendants brought to a world from their own. In which approximately 90% of the indigenous people throughout the Americas were exterminated in our behalf.

{The ruthlessness of capital and of the elimination of Native people is what white people are actually celebrating on Thanksgiving, whether they know it or not. And even if they don’t realize it, they are also celebrating the victory of capitalism over community, of “modernity” over “heathenism.” The fundamental contradiction that Thanksgiving obscures is that settler colonialism has not — and in fact, cannot — be based on the giving of thanks, because it requires the taking of land and the displacement of Indigenous peoples.}

Quite frankly, I think it's time we start to look at this holiday as I and many see Columbus Day. A moment of false history towards conditioning society towards a false narrative. I see every holiday we celebrate as merely being a benefit to capitalism in which so many go blow a good amount of their yearly wages towards manipulated falsities within commercialism created only as a means to support a failing system.

For christ sake, just look at christmas! Where many don't have the means to support the ends, they use what ever credit card they haven't maxed out at the time to go further into debt. I know this all to well from time spent with my son and his significant other. Which is why I always gave them cash for their birthdays or christmas knowing they always needed money. Then depend on tax return time to spend it all on what they really need, to be broke and living day to day again or week to week. That of course is for those who work and get refunds. With each year in the past couple of decades the figures come out that we spend less each year. Ya think! With more people moving into poverty each year, lower waged jobs and under employment. Go figure! It has been the same each year for quite some time. You get a report of how well the season went on the start of the next week, then a couple of weeks go by and the pundits come out with the real figures.

A vast majority of the holidays we celebrate should actually be moments we reflect on the negative aspects of our society and the horrors of the means we came to them. Living up to what we've done to other people for our transgressions in compliance to the ruling class who are really the only ones benefiting from the illusions.