DCPS Chancellor encouraging parents to talk about genocide for Thanksgiving

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a first generation white immigrant and you bet I don’t want anything to do with “this,” if you mean pretending Thanksgiving is about some mythical peaceful feast.

Wake up. The country as you know it was built on exploiting certain peoples. Does knowing that and yet doing nothing about it help you sleep at night? Do you really want your kids to grow up ignorant? Believing in Santa is one thing but turning a blind eye to untold suffering of generations is quite another.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanksgiving is objectively stupid and only the most clueless racist would not see that. But DCPS should really be focusing on educating kids.

Isn't pointing out when false culture narratives are being promoted part of educating kids?? But asking people to look at the truth and real history they are educating our kids and families. You can still celebrate your own version of of the holidays.. just be honest about all the parts of the holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanksgiving is objectively stupid and only the most clueless racist would not see that. But DCPS should really be focusing on educating kids.

So is Christmas, Easter, and every other holiday you could come up with. And I’m sure you have many criticisms of the 4th of July and all the historical inaccuracies therein.

But what good will come from eliminating every tradition and celebration from a society? Is that really going to be an improvement? Must every festive occasion be turned into an opportunity to reflect on oppression and if so when are we allowed to experience unifying moments of joy in our culture? Can you even have a society without any traditions that cause people to bond, feel nostalgia, and connect with neighbors?

Im honestly curious what the end game is here. Is the plan to create new traditions and celebrations in the progressive society of the future?

Yes. If you can't handle the truth behind the holidays and history our country then you should not be celebrating anything. Also, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the 4th are the only national holidays you mentioned.
Really Christmas and Easter have no place as national holidays as they are a religious holiday and we have no official national religion.

New holidays have been created over the decades for sure. And old holidays have gotten national or state recognition over the years. Either way understanding the actual history is a good thing. And the only way we can actually move forward to a better country.

[Anonymous]

I understand the need to discuss how Native American feel about thanksgiving. But having known many tribal members, you can’t generalize. I’ve known NAs who celebrate thanksgiving and others who don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a first generation white immigrant and you bet I don’t want anything to do with “this,” if you mean pretending Thanksgiving is about some mythical peaceful feast.

Wake up. The country as you know it was built on exploiting certain peoples. Does knowing that and yet doing nothing about it help you sleep at night? Do you really want your kids to grow up ignorant? Believing in Santa is one thing but turning a blind eye to untold suffering of generations is quite another.

+1

Thanksgiving is about being thankful for what you’ve received during the year. It’s about family and gratitude. It has never been about celebrating the colonization of this country. Or at least this is how it was taught to me during the 80s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a first generation white immigrant and you bet I don’t want anything to do with “this,” if you mean pretending Thanksgiving is about some mythical peaceful feast.

Wake up. The country as you know it was built on exploiting certain peoples. Does knowing that and yet doing nothing about it help you sleep at night? Do you really want your kids to grow up ignorant? Believing in Santa is one thing but turning a blind eye to untold suffering of generations is quite another.

+1

Thanksgiving is about being thankful for what you’ve received during the year. It’s about family and gratitude. It has never been about celebrating the colonization of this country. Or at least this is how it was taught to me during the 80s.

I'm an 80s baby born and raised in DC. They most certainly taught us about the Indians saving the Pilgrims and the two groups having a feast to celebrate friendship. We made feather headdresses out of construction paper. Half the class were pilgrims and the other half were Indians. It wasn't until 11th grade US History that I learned the truth. It wasn't in our textbook. The teacher read from a book he bought on his own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a first generation white immigrant and you bet I don’t want anything to do with “this,” if you mean pretending Thanksgiving is about some mythical peaceful feast.

Wake up. The country as you know it was built on exploiting certain peoples. Does knowing that and yet doing nothing about it help you sleep at night? Do you really want your kids to grow up ignorant? Believing in Santa is one thing but turning a blind eye to untold suffering of generations is quite another.

+1

Thanksgiving is about being thankful for what you’ve received during the year. It’s about family and gratitude. It has never been about celebrating the colonization of this country. Or at least this is how it was taught to me during the 80s.

I'm an 80s baby born and raised in DC. They most certainly taught us about the Indians saving the Pilgrims and the two groups having a feast to celebrate friendship. We made feather headdresses out of construction paper. Half the class were pilgrims and the other half were Indians. It wasn't until 11th grade US History that I learned the truth. It wasn't in our textbook. The teacher read from a book he bought on his own.

I didn’t grow up in DC. I grew up near a large reservation in the SW. We never dressed up as pilgrims and Indians given our community. My kids attended private school here in DC and dressed up like this… I almost lost my mind. WTF?! I didn’t realize people still did this. Sorry you didn’t learn what I did! It’s much better. My kids left private and attend DCPS. Much prefer this msg from the Chancellor than having my kids dress up as pilgrims or Indians. Lordy, these must be the people that think black face is ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a first generation white immigrant and you bet I don’t want anything to do with “this,” if you mean pretending Thanksgiving is about some mythical peaceful feast.

Wake up. The country as you know it was built on exploiting certain peoples. Does knowing that and yet doing nothing about it help you sleep at night? Do you really want your kids to grow up ignorant? Believing in Santa is one thing but turning a blind eye to untold suffering of generations is quite another.

And yet here you are. Perhaps it’s time to return to the place your parents came from if you don’t want to participate in the suffering of others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not offended by this email! Send it to Tucker Carlson, and I’m sure he can do a great segment on it.

Tucker Carlson is a garbage American and shitstain of a human being. Hard pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not offended by this email! Send it to Tucker Carlson, and I’m sure he can do a great segment on it.

Tucker Carlson is a garbage American and shitstain of a human being. Hard pass.

I think you missed the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not offended by this email! Send it to Tucker Carlson, and I’m sure he can do a great segment on it.

Tucker Carlson is a garbage American and shitstain of a human being. Hard pass.

I think you missed the point.

Really, I did not. People like Tucker Carlson are why we need to force these conversations.

[Anonymous]

I work with quite a few indigenous scholars, and I just want to say that they would probably start shouting at me over this thread, because everyone is acting like their culture is dead or frozen in time, that they're all on reservations, that they're basically gone, etc. These things are not overwhelmingly true.

[Anonymous]

I should have said their cultures ARE not their culture is. I would get yelled at for that too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess this is a nice distraction from discussing the massive learning loss caused by DC keeping schools closed for more than a year, but what an embarrassment:

https://dcpsreopenstrong.com/chancellor/sharing-my-gratitude/

Too bad so many DCPS students can't even spell "colonizers"

[Anonymous]

If the pandemic has taught me anything, it’s not to give a cr*p about any recommendations coming from all our wise officials.
I only comply with rules that are enforced or have a high chance of being enforced. Recommend away, a**hats!