“So, I’m from Africa. How does this whole Thanksgiving thing work?”
“Well, the Pilgrims came and ate with the Natives.”
“So, basically, the White people came and the Niggas gave them turkey.”
“Exactly!”
That was the most ignorant conversation that I have EVER heard in my entire life! That conversation really occurred. (In my Freshman Compostiton Class, of all places) I should not be surprised, because that class is NEVER on topic. It’s a writing class where we have discussions on Black Women’s hair and Racism. Not exactly the curriculum.
But back to Thanksgiving. What is Thanksgiving? And do we, as Americans, truly understand what it means?
Honestly, I think the message of Thanksgiving was lost in “Black Friday”. The whole concept of being thankful for more than the food on the table and the clothes on our backs was definately lost in translation. Let’s go back to the first Thanksgiving. First off, I’m fairly sure it wasn’t called Thanksgiving. The natives were probably half-naked and the Pilgrims were probably so covered up and buttoned in that they could barely breathe. There was definately misconnuncation throughout the dinner. “Pass the butter,” could have been understood as, “Shut the Hell up before I slap the shit out of you!” … It could have happened. It’s not like they spoke the same languages!
The bottom line is that “Frist Thanksgiving” was probably VERY rough around the edges. They had alot to be thankful for too! First off, getting them from Europe to The New World without being one of the people that died! Alot of times we fail to realize how good we have it! Whether you live in a one room apartment, no apartment, or a 5 bedroom house we must give thanks for what we have.
“Give thanks to whom?”
First and foremost, give thanks to God! Without him we wouldn’t have anything to be thankful for. No matter the situation, God is to be thanked before anyone else!
Then, I would have to say, give thanks to our ancestors. Thank them not for who they are, but for what they went through so that we could be here today! Without them many people would not have the big house, dog, and whie picket fence. So, be greatful to our ancestors.
Then, thank your family that is alive! No one can do ANYTHING without a family that supports them. You may think, “Oh, I’ve made it so far without my family!” So you think… If it was not for your mother you would not be here. If it were not for those who changed your disgusting diapers when you were a child you would have died from dissentary. (Severe diarrea) So, be thankful.
And finally, thank yourself! Thank yourself for the hard work that you put into the last year. The classes, the time on the job, the chores, the bills you managed to pay (Thank God for that first though!). All the times you were rejected, thank yourself for picking itself up and moving on. All the times people thought you could not do “it”. Thank yourself for proving them wrong! All the times you felt like you were not worthy. Thank yourself for how you did not give up, but managed to coax yourself into doing more than you imagined.
So, there is SO much more to be thankful for during this Thanksgiving season. Just don’t forget how you got where you are and you’ll be just fine!
