We live in strange times. Reality is stranger than fiction, and 2019 is certainly a testament to that notion. Just think back to the poor woman who had to escape the weight of a camel by biting its testicles. Or the Stoughton, MA police department stumbling upon several caged lizards which were left behind on the street. Then sometimes you stumble upon a strange rambling from that friend from high school which goes in a very strange direction. Crazy ideas like Thanksgiving being offensive.
First of all, let’s get this out of the way: if you really and truly believe that Thanksgiving is offensive, you can kick rocks. The historically recognized story of the first Thanksgiving discusses how Pilgrims from the Mayflower celebrated a successful harvest with the help of the local Wampanoag tribesmen in 1621. In fact, the English residents were the minority of the party, making up about 50 Pilgrims compared to the roughly 90 Wampanoags. Several other “First Thanksgiving” stories follow this template, with one being controversial (and occurring in 1637). Due to the date of the latter, I would say it is fair that Thanksgiving is not a holiday spent on celebrating a successful battle against a local Native American tribe. The original meaning of Thanksgiving, and what’s been widely recognized for almost 400 years, is thanksgiving for a successful harvest. In the present day, the holiday may mean that for farmers but for the rest of us could represent thanksgiving for a job, health, family, a pet, or a friend or friends.
That rant is over (for now). Now to the true matter of this article, is that the majority of people and ideas are overshadowed by loud minorities and people searching for controversy. For example, if the idea that Thanksgiving is a perennial testament to a mass murder of 700 Pequot tribespeople in present day Connecticut is new to you, then welcome to the world. Thanksgiving has been called controversial for the last few years of recent memory, but this writer never knew why until the writing of this article. To be honest, I do not agree (for the chronological reason listed above) but the truth is it does not matter. The fact is that this holiday is celebrated for many different reasons in this day and age, and carries a central theme of giving thanks for something. Why is it that a 400 year old tradition is under fire? Same reason that people can find a festival celebrating tacos offensive.
According to the Nielsen Norman Group, 90% of users do not contribute to content on an online platform, with 9% contributing a little and 1% contributing a majority of content. To assume that the 1% of content creators represent the majority of the population sitting back and watching is quite a stretch. Controversial ideas posted by these 1% can spread like wildfire, regardless of whether or not the ideas are popular or agreeable. If a person with a radical philosophy decides to post something crazy in relation to their convictions, other will spread the idea with the intent to suggest that these ideas are so wrong they should be shared, thus becoming the talking points and headlines that appear to the rest of us. The potential for ideas to spread is a great promoter of change, for just as quickly as a bad idea can spread so too can n alternative thought to quell or minimize the bad idea. In fact, this idea of stopping bad ideas from taking traction is a driving force for the creation of this site.
Take some time when you are on Facebook or Twitter to think when you see something crazy. Read the article that is being shared. See if there is any weight behind the thoughts being presented. Then go about your day. Once you cut through the crazy, you’ll realize this world we live in is not as bad off as the mainstream media and the social media loudmouths would want you to think.
Sources:
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_e046c5fc-dd5c-11e9-ba1e-8fc42923739b.html
https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-thanksgiving-2017-11
Bayou Observant 