Recently I wrote about a bunch of ungrateful people in Seattle who aren't happy about Thanksgiving. [Thanksgiving–History From The Enemy's Point Of View].
The idea is that we're supposed to feel guilty about the settling of America by people from England, because the descendants of the original inhabitants aren't happy about it.
The Seattle Public School Board, and some irredentist Indians at Oyate.org say
"Fact: For many Indian people, 'Thanksgiving' is a time of mourning, of remembering how a gift of generosity was rewarded by theft of land and seed corn, extermination of many from disease and gun, and near total destruction of many more from forced assimilation. As currently celebrated in this country, 'Thanksgiving' is a bitter reminder of 500 years of betrayal returned for friendship."
But for the rest of us, it would presumably be a celebration of victory, right? No one's suggesting that we refrain from celebrating VE Day for the sake of Nazis and Fascists, or refrain from celebrating VJ Day for the sake of the Japanese Imperialists, are they?
(Well…in fact, some years ago, a showing of Tora Tora Tora! was cancelled on Pearl Harbor Day out of sensitivity to Japanese-Americans, who were apparently not as loyal as they're made out to be.[Multiculturalism Lives in Infamy, November 13, 2002])
As for "betrayal returned for friendship" check out the story of Jamestown told here by Kevin Carter: Jamestown—America's First Experiment in "Assimilation"—the moral of which is that it's unwise to be unarmed in Indian Country, wherever that happens to be.
One website has this relationship backwards, and compares America's victory over the Indians to an imaginary Nazi victory, and likens America's celebration of Thanksgiving to a celebration of Nazism.
"What would we say about such a holiday? Would we not question the distortions woven into such a celebration? Would we not demand a more accurate historical account? Would we not, in fact, denounce such a holiday as grotesque?" [Fowl Play | Jewcy.com, by Robert Jensen, November 19, 2007]
All you need to know about this man's sense of history is that he recommends a book by notable academic fraud Ward Churchill. You can see a discussion of this at the Classical Values blog—Eric Scheie writes...
"The thing is - it was not some round up and mass slaughter of the Indians. There was fighting all the way. Initiated by both sides. It is why we used to like giving our sports teams Indian names. Fierce Warriors. Even famous American Generals. William T. Sherman. You can look up what the T stands for."
Scheie also makes the same obvious point I did above
"You know 'the evil white man destroyed the noble Indians and we therefore wish to atone for the sins of our ancestors' types.
"Have I got news for them.
"The Indians fought wars with each other all the time for territory.
"The white man was just a better Indian."
Oddly enough, many American Indians were thankful for the arrival of the Pilgrims. If you had been battling other Indians with stone knives and wooden arrows for hundreds of years, you'd be overjoyed to see potential allies who had guns, even if they were only matchlocks. Before European settlers came, the Indians didn't think of themselves as Indians, they thought of themselves by their tribal names, like Wampanoag, Seneca, and Huron. And they were constantly involved in battles with the other tribes.
Of course, the real problem for the Indians was that they had no resistance to disease, but this isn't the fault of the settlers. As Ann Coulter pointed out in an interview with David Yeagley, (whose thoughts on Thanksgiving and Indians can be found here) this problem predated the discovery of the Germ Theory of disease by two centuries. The settlers didn't know any more about germs than the Indians.
The other issue with Thanksgiving is what Gary North calls "the issue of offering public thanks to the Non-Pluralistic Sovereign Previously Known as God."
Thanksgiving is meant to thank God for his blessings. You could look it up. And any hint of thanking God is anathema in modern America. Probably the first thing I wrote about Thanksgiving on VDARE.COM, in 2001, said that
"There's a question on the Citizenship Test that you (used to) have to take to become an American citizen.
Who helped the Pilgrims in America?
"The 'school solution' is Native American Indians. And there's some truth in this, since Squanto and Massasoit did help the Pilgrims. A treaty with the Wampanoag resulted in 50 years of peace between settlers and that tribe, partly because the Wampanoag wanted someone to protect them from the Narragansett Indians.
"But the Pilgrims themselves would have said that 'God Almighty' had helped them. Or possibly 'God's merciful Providence.' (For those of you who missed it, it's God, G-O-D, that receives Thanksgiving every November.) They would also have pointed out that for every Wampanoag who told them what and what not to eat, there was a Narragansett with a stone ax and a firebrand."
God gets a lot of abuse in the Public Square these days, at the hands of the ACLU and various federal judges. That's why I'm always surprised that the President is even allowed to date his Thanksgiving proclamation "in the year of our Lord two thousand seven," as well as "of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second."
And while you know I am not a Bush partisan, he is the President, and after carefully checking out his 2007 proclamation for any reference to "the religion of peace", (none) or to immigration, (none), I'm going to reproduce the whole thing here, as the sentiments transcend party:
"Americans are a grateful people, ever mindful of the many ways we have been blessed. On Thanksgiving Day, we lift our hearts in gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy, the people we love, and the gifts of our prosperous land.
"Our country was founded by men and women who realized their dependence on God and were humbled by His providence and grace. The early explorers and settlers who arrived in this land gave thanks for God's protection and for the extraordinary natural abundance they found. Since the first National Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed by President George Washington, Americans have come together to offer thanks for our many blessings. We recall the great privilege it is to live in a land where freedom is the right of every person and where all can pursue their dreams. We express our deep appreciation for the sacrifices of the honorable men and women in uniform who defend liberty. As they work to advance the cause of freedom, our Nation keeps these brave individuals and their families in our thoughts, and we pray for their safe return.
"While Thanksgiving is a time to gather in a spirit of gratitude with family, friends, and neighbors, it is also an opportunity to serve others and to share our blessings with those in need. By answering the universal call to love a neighbor as we want to be loved ourselves, we make our Nation a more hopeful and caring place.
"This Thanksgiving, may we reflect upon the past year with gratefulness and look toward the future with hope. Let us give thanks for all we have been given and ask God to continue to bless our families and our Nation.
"NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 22, 2007, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all Americans to gather together in their homes and places of worship with family, friends, and loved ones to reinforce the ties that bind us and give thanks for the freedoms and many blessings we enjoy.
"IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.
"GEORGE W. BUSH"
In a year or two, there will be another such proclamation, still in the "in the year of our Lord," and still in the "Independence of the United States of America" with another person's signature on it.
That will be a Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving From VDARE.COM. Previous Thanksgiving Coverage Below:
11/21/01 - Thanksgiving: The National Question Footnote
11/27/02 - Thanksgiving, Crazy Horse, Us
02/08/01 - TODAY'S LETTER: A Reader Comments on Multi-Cultist Holidays
11/26/03 - Then They Came For Thanksgiving…
11/21/03 - View From Lodi, CA: Hot Chocolate For Thanksgiving
12/08/03 - War On Holidays Is War on America
11/23/04 - Grace, Gratitude, and God At Thanksgiving
11/19/04 - View From Lodi, CA: Mincemeat For Thanksgiving!
11/24/04 - The High Road to Turkey: An Indian View of Thanksgiving
09/25/03 - Pressure On The Pot [Blast from Past! A 1989 Peter Brimelow column from the London Times.]
11/25/04 - The Fulford File: Thanksgiving Roundup
11/23/05 - VDARE.COM Wishes Everybody A Happy Thanksgiving
11/22/06 - The Fulford File Happy Thanksgiving From VDARE.com! (While It Lasts)
