Comments on: Veganism and Thanksgiving

By: veronica(:

veronica(: — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:30:49 +0000

i believe it depends on how you want to celebrate it. nobody can make you celebrate any holiday, or anything else you don’t want to…but, it is true about the genocide, and the Native Americans & everything else terrible that happened.but like i said, and everyone knows, it’s totaly your opinion. c:

By: easyVegan.info » Blog Archive » It’s beginning to smell a lot like FSMas! (and, reflections on Thanksgiving/living)

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:21:21 +0000

[...] religious symbols, as many eco-friendly decorations as possible and donations to do-gooder groups; possibly a nixing of Thanksgiving, or perhaps a Thanksliving Day celebration which focuses the rights of human- and [...]

By: easyVegan.info » Blog Archive » Save-a-Turkey Day: T minus 12 days and counting!

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:11:51 +0000

[...] Any suggestions from the veg*n gallery? What are y’all doing for the holiday? Are you even celebrating the holiday? [...]

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:55:54 +0000

Here’s my take:

Celebrating Genocide!
http://www.counterpunch.org/brook1126.html

By: ThoughtCriminal

ThoughtCriminal — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 19:54:50 +0000

Hi Breeze,

I posted the link because I found it insightful and relevant to your original post.
I thought that the article might help some of the people who posted responses here to understand the history of “thanksgiving” from the perspective of POC, especially Native Americans, and make an informed decision as to whether or not they feel it’s acceptable, as vegans actively working against oppression, to celebrate, or participate in, a “holiday” based on oppression (of humans and other animals).

Also, I did not post the original link because I enjoyed, and wanted to share, the playlist on the Vegan Hip Hop page blog.

Thanks for all the work you do, Breeze.

Paz

PS – What we now know as “Christmas” (once Saturnalia or the feast of Sol Invictus) is also very much based on oppression, but that is another topic and I hope to have the opportunity to post about it in detail as we approach that “hol(y)day”.

By: breezeharper

breezeharper — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:32:02 +0000

Thanks for link, ThoughtCriminal. You may want to post more about why you put it up, though.

Best,
Breeze

By: ThoughtCriminal

ThoughtCriminal — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:37:42 +0000

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=88508862&blogID=452273361

By: breezeharper

breezeharper — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 05:45:39 +0000

P.S. And I ask this simply because I’m trying to understand interpretations of vegan philosophy and personal concepts of when (or when not) “harmlessness” comes into play into people’s lives.

By: breezeharper

breezeharper — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 05:32:22 +0000

Alex, I’m wondering if you were to say the above to the indigenous people who participated in the “National Day of Mourning” on Alcatraz (in San Francisco), today, if they would agree. Is there perception of Thanksgiving “antiquated”? When saying “traditions are ours”, who is “ours”? What happens if that logic doesn’t work because the mere mention of the word “Thanksgiving” is a “trigger” of intense collective cultural traumatic memory that continues today?

My friend who first brought up this concern with me (why I posted this discussion), is of Native American descent and is vegan and he does see a conflict. I’m trying to understand what is makes it possible that you and he, both vegans, have different histories and emotional responses to the meaning of Thanksgiving. He interprets his acts of “harmlessness” as NOT celebrating Thanksgiving, and I can’t necessarily say it’s because he is ‘antiquated’. I am assuming it’s something deeper.

When leaving school this week, why is is that not one of my indigenous american friends wished me “Happy Thanksgiving”, yet my friends who do not identify as indigenous American, did wish me “Happy Thanksgiving” and ‘assumed’ that I celebrate it? Strange, no?

What does this mean, I wonder?

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:04:34 +0000

To claim that Thanksgiving is still generally a celebration of the events surrounding the arrival of Europeans to this continent is antiquated. Thanksgiving represents a moment for family or communities to gather, much like Christmas. We ought to avoid clinging to these outdated beliefs – Thanksgiving as we celebrate it is separated from its historicity. Therefore, there is not a conflict between veganism and the celebration. As was argued above, “traditions are ours.”

This doesn’t imply relegating the past to the darkness, of course. However, it is a confusion to link a practice in its current form to its roots in most cases. (“Columbus Day” is a good example of the contrary view: a day that cannot be separated from its impetus.)