Thanksgiving: The Most Problematic Holiday

Americans have a habit of cultural appropriation and Thanksgiving is one stark example of that. The holiday celebrates a period of American history that is overtly white-washed, as children are taught inaccurate depictions of that first turkey feast. These inaccurate historical references are perpetrated each year, making the battle for equality and accurate representation an ongoing one for Native Americans in the U.S.

For many, the holiday is considered a day of mourning. Much like Columbus Day, Thanksgiving is viewed to be a celebration of the conquest of Native Americans by colonists. Professor Robert Jensen of the University of Texas at Austin previously said;

“One indication of moral progress in the United States would be the replacement of Thanksgiving Day and its self-indulgent family feasting with a National Day of Atonement accompanied by a self-reflective collective fasting.”

While the accuracy of our current understanding of the first Thanksgiving is hotly debated by historians, the issue remains thus; it celebrates a real event in isolation from the fuller context of history. While it’s true that there was cooperation between Pilgrims and the Native American tribe of the Wampanoags, there is much more to the story which is often left out.

Beyond the deeply problematic portrayals of Indigenous peoples, Thanksgiving is often a sore point for many within the LGBTQ community. The holidays can be a difficult time of year for LGBTQ people who feel misunderstood or even unwelcome at family-oriented gatherings. Organizations around the country each year set up safe spaces for queer folk to gather online, or in previous years in-person, to help those who need it to survive the holidays.

To add another problem to our already growing cornucopia, 2020 and the novel coronavirus deepens our need as a society to end this controversial celebration. Health experts at the CDC as well and the WHO are urging American’s to stay home for the holiday this year as cases of the deadly virus hit records for the third week in a row.

This year doesn’t seem to be the one in which American’s will indicate their “moral progress” as professor Jensen put it. However, there’s still hope that in years to come we can move beyond the contentious holiday to one that’s more inclusive and accurately depicts our collective history.