Fasting for The Natives

Fasting in honor of the natives

Today I would like to take a break from the movie reviews and finally focus on another topic I have been meaning to cover; Thanksgiving and the reason I don't celebrate it! Since we are in the season, I figured now was a good time as any. When October transitions into November, most people are getting ready in preparation to stuff themselves with a bird and most likely get drunk with family. Not me, I realize the truth of what's really being celebrated and the truth is: nothing real. On this day, I abstain from eating in protests of what really happened that most of us choose not to take in account even when we are aware of it. We claim to be humane and care for each other, yet we ignore the deaths of native Americans in favor of a falsified historical account that we use as a symbol to bring families together. What about their ancestor's family? You know the ones that didn't have what we're having? By now if you are a christian reading this you may be angered by this, if so, good. If you're a person who uses this particular event to stuff yourself or just spend time with family, you may also be mad too. Of course if you know what this blog is known for by now, your outrage and reaction to what's expressed here is of little to no importance to me at all. This is a reality check. You can either get on the train or get ran over.

For those of you that don't know, thanksgiving, like every other major holiday, is built on the basis of a lie. Most people are familiar with the idea of the early settlers, the pilgrims,coming to america and having a beautiful feast with the native Americans getting along like family right? That never happened. That was merely a romanticized version of what really happened here. Along with European colonization came diseases like cowpox that eventually gave rise to smallpox, which was the result of the animals they had domesticated, which helped in decreasing the population of native Americans significantly. Besides that taking place, in 1637, many natives were killed in what is known as the Pequot Massacre, after a white man was found murdered in his boat. All the actions here lead up to a realization: neither the pilgrims or natives were fond of each other. The pilgrims were even thankful for the decrease in the native's population. In fact it has been argued by many historians that Thanksgiving festivities, may be
the end result of the Pequot Massacre, leading up to it being seen as a celebration of those that were slaughtered. If that be the case it is disturbing how we are willing to overlook all of this based on our own convenience. The day after the massacre, the governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony stated: "A day of Thanksgiving, thanking God that they had eliminated over 700 men, women and children." It was signed into law that, "This day forth shall be a day of celebration and thanksgiving for subduing the Pequots." Yeah, it's a bit hard to ignore something like that....

My intent here is to make you think. Question what you have been told on this subject no matter if you want to pig out with the family or not, ask yourself "should I really do that today knowing all this? Or will I do the american thing and accept shit as face value, because that's really all that's expected of me?" I'm not saying that you have to do what I do (because many of you won't anyway, you lack the type of will power in my possession, it's okay, I understand) , but you must realize that by celebrating this holiday regardless of your reasons and/or excuses, you are practically spitting on the face of Native Americans everywhere who have suffered. If you have any heart at all, you would at least consider what this day of all days mean to them. On that day I fast in memory and out of respect for those that owned this land before it was stolen from them. I fast for these people that have had their whole history distorted and the truth about them essentially erased. I fast for the Native Americans!