Living the Spirit of Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a holiday I have always been ambivalent toward. On the one hand, I love the idea (and I stress the word idea) that we as a nation come together in the spirit of gratefulness, to spend a day eating delicious food that we shouldn’t eat, and enjoying the fellowship of family, friends or strangers. It is admirable that we understand the need to collectively pause, at least once a year, to express our gratitude. We need not wait until tragedy occurs to realize what we are thankful for. On the other hand, the history of Thanksgiving, coupled with continued injustice in our society makes Thanksgiving seem like a farce, an absurdity. It is beyond ironic that we celebrate Native Americans who welcomed and aided European immigrants. However, now there is a shameful push to deny similar aid to Syrian Refugees. How can we celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving but not live it?

My ambivalence grew more last night as I watched in horror the shooting of Laquan McDonald.[1] Admittedly, I had not heard the name Laquan McDonald until yesterday as the media covered the First Degree indictment of the Chicago officer, James Vandyke, accused of shooting McDonald 16 times in a matter of seconds. If you are unfamiliar with this story, sadly it is not unlike others we have heard before. A young black man, who may not have been an angel, gunned down as he walked away from the police. He was shot multiple times because the officer “feared for his life.” The dash-cam video revealed there was no threat to the officer, however.

What is also noteworthy about this case is it is the first time in 35 years a Chicago officer has been indicted for first-degree murder. This milestone should not be diminished. However, arriving at this indictment was not without some troubling facts. To begin, this indictment occurred over a year after the shooting. Vandyke was indicted only after a judge forced the police to release the video. Had the video not been released to the public I do not have much confidence that there would have been an indictment. Also, there is evidence of corruption when the police deleted 86 minutes of surveillance video from the Burger King across from the crime scene shortly after the shooting.[2] Collectively, what I see is a system that was ready and willing to cover up this death, but was forced to take action with the release of the video. And when it did take action, it took the minimalist approach by only indicting one officer.

The use of black male bodies as target practice has become so commonplace that I struggle not to become numb to it. However, watching that video jarred me from any lull I was in. Also, the release of this video so close to Thanksgiving, and on the first anniversary of the non-indictment announcement for Darren Wilson, compelled me to reflect upon the motif in American history of Thanksgiving mixed with injustice. These two concepts seem contradictory, but for us their awkward juxtaposition remains a permanent fixture in society. We love to commemorate the generosity the Native Americans displayed during the First Thanksgiving. However, we gloss over, if not outright ignore, the fact that those same immigrants showed their appreciation by killing and seizing the land of their hosts. Inextricable to our idea of Thanksgiving, then, is the concealed presence of injustice. We celebrate one, and ignore the other.

But this holiday, I hope we can work to disrupt this motif. I do not want to remain ambivalent forever. Yes, we should celebrate Thanksgiving, because maintaining a life of gratitude is necessary. However, we must not let our celebration blind us to the injustices in our society, nor must we allow our ignorance to cause us to enact injustices on others. Instead, let’s strive to live in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Let’s endeavor to do justice and actively work for the good of the world. Now that’s something to celebrate!

–Until Next Time–

Palooke

[1] You can watch the video here. WARNING GRAPHIC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix2N6_jLAgA

[2] Watch new clips here: https://www.facebook.com/shaunking/videos/950718308300421/?pnref=story