About the holidays...
My friend M. just forwarded an email to me about Thanksgiving, and how messed up it's origins are. Here's my response to it.
M., have you seen the Thanksgiving episode from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where the Indians come back to seek revenge, and the characters all have this debate about whether to kill them, or who's responsible to them. It's a fucking brilliant episode. Personally, I think it's cool that there's a holiday about giving thanks, and I think people should be more grateful in general, especially those of us who do enjoy a disproportionate amount of wealth. Yes, it sucks that the Puritans killed off a bunch of Indians, but then again, I don't see that that has much to do with us. We didn't choose that, we didn't have anything to do with it. Most of us didn't even have ancestors that were involved with it. Even if we did, so what? Is it my fault if my great-great-great-great-grandfather was a murderer? Invading people kill each other off. Plenty of Native American tribes did the same shit. They fought and killed each other too. History is full of tales of people coming in, trampling the indigenous people they find, stealing their land and setting up camp. The Indian culture (as in India) we all like to draw from in our rituals and our mystical practices was one of these cultures. Shiva and company were the gods of warrior horsemen who came to the Indus valley, slaughtered hordes of the goddess-worshipping agricultural peoples who lived there, and stayed. But they also absorbed a lot from the culture they invaded. As sad and brutal as this process is, it's one that is by no means unique to European white guys (though admittedly, they've made quite a science of it). Hopefully though, we can also absorb some of the more positive aspects of the native peoples. I feel like we do draw a lot from tribalism and shamanism, at least among a certain subset of the greater population. I'm just saying, I think we need to stop beating ourselves up about a genocide that happened a couple hundred years ago. Now, what's going on in Iraq, that's a different story. We do have an effect on that, and we should all be asking ourselves if we're doing enough to stop it. But sadly, most of these things are beyond our control. Like most people throughout history, we don't get to affect that much of what is being done in our name. Our struggles, most of the time, are personal and immediate. It's about doing what you can right here and now to make the world better. It's about giving thanks. It's about embodying the culture we would like to see, rather than the one that is. And eventually, these things do affect the greater culture. I love the holidays. I love them because I think parties are fun. I like eating lots of decadent food. I like pretty lights. I like giving gifts and receiving them. And yes, these are things I like all the time, not just on certain days. I wish everyone would be festive and celebrate all-year round like we do. But if they're not going to do that, I'm glad they do it at least once a year. And granted, I can enjoy the holidays because I don't go to malls, I don't watch TV (except Buffy), and I generally avoid most of the nastier, consumer-driven holiday culture. If I didn't avoid these things, I'd probably hate it too. But I don't think we have to accept the given cultural interpretations of the holidays. Forget the historical "events" that may or may not have happened to inspire Thanksgiving or Christmas. Let's celebrate because it's fun to do so, because it's good to feast and drink and because it is the darkest time of the year, and all the more reason to decorate with colored lights and candles.
Anyway, that's my rant about it. Try to stay away from the shopping world. And drink some egg nog; it's really good shit. We're going through like a gallon of the soy nog a week at my house. And remember, nutmeg in the right quantities is hallucinogenic.
Much love,
PanDoor
M., have you seen the Thanksgiving episode from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where the Indians come back to seek revenge, and the characters all have this debate about whether to kill them, or who's responsible to them. It's a fucking brilliant episode. Personally, I think it's cool that there's a holiday about giving thanks, and I think people should be more grateful in general, especially those of us who do enjoy a disproportionate amount of wealth. Yes, it sucks that the Puritans killed off a bunch of Indians, but then again, I don't see that that has much to do with us. We didn't choose that, we didn't have anything to do with it. Most of us didn't even have ancestors that were involved with it. Even if we did, so what? Is it my fault if my great-great-great-great-grandfather was a murderer? Invading people kill each other off. Plenty of Native American tribes did the same shit. They fought and killed each other too. History is full of tales of people coming in, trampling the indigenous people they find, stealing their land and setting up camp. The Indian culture (as in India) we all like to draw from in our rituals and our mystical practices was one of these cultures. Shiva and company were the gods of warrior horsemen who came to the Indus valley, slaughtered hordes of the goddess-worshipping agricultural peoples who lived there, and stayed. But they also absorbed a lot from the culture they invaded. As sad and brutal as this process is, it's one that is by no means unique to European white guys (though admittedly, they've made quite a science of it). Hopefully though, we can also absorb some of the more positive aspects of the native peoples. I feel like we do draw a lot from tribalism and shamanism, at least among a certain subset of the greater population. I'm just saying, I think we need to stop beating ourselves up about a genocide that happened a couple hundred years ago. Now, what's going on in Iraq, that's a different story. We do have an effect on that, and we should all be asking ourselves if we're doing enough to stop it. But sadly, most of these things are beyond our control. Like most people throughout history, we don't get to affect that much of what is being done in our name. Our struggles, most of the time, are personal and immediate. It's about doing what you can right here and now to make the world better. It's about giving thanks. It's about embodying the culture we would like to see, rather than the one that is. And eventually, these things do affect the greater culture. I love the holidays. I love them because I think parties are fun. I like eating lots of decadent food. I like pretty lights. I like giving gifts and receiving them. And yes, these are things I like all the time, not just on certain days. I wish everyone would be festive and celebrate all-year round like we do. But if they're not going to do that, I'm glad they do it at least once a year. And granted, I can enjoy the holidays because I don't go to malls, I don't watch TV (except Buffy), and I generally avoid most of the nastier, consumer-driven holiday culture. If I didn't avoid these things, I'd probably hate it too. But I don't think we have to accept the given cultural interpretations of the holidays. Forget the historical "events" that may or may not have happened to inspire Thanksgiving or Christmas. Let's celebrate because it's fun to do so, because it's good to feast and drink and because it is the darkest time of the year, and all the more reason to decorate with colored lights and candles.
Anyway, that's my rant about it. Try to stay away from the shopping world. And drink some egg nog; it's really good shit. We're going through like a gallon of the soy nog a week at my house. And remember, nutmeg in the right quantities is hallucinogenic.
Much love,
PanDoor
posted by PanDoor at 1:35 PM
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