thanks: giving, taking, or living?

This post is originally from 2022, but: 👇

To avoid the risk of repeating myself, I've compiled a list of the Thanksgiving posts I've written over the years from oldest to newest, so that you can choose which, if any, you'd like to reread. And the fact that I've posted about this holiday more than any other indicates how off-putting I find the notion of giving thanks by taking away life.

Other holidays too are incongruous for celebrating birth (Christmas) and resurrection (Easter) by killing living creatures, but the hypocrisy of Thanksgiving strikes me as being even more unjust (can't we express gratitude in a less violent way?), perhaps also because more people likely partake of this holiday than the others.

I really wish a movement would take place to reevaluate how Thanksgiving would best be celebrated. And just as 14 U.S. states, the district of Columbia, and more than 130 cities now celebrate Indigenous People's Day instead of Columbus Day, I wish more Canadians would become aware of the colonial history of Monday's holiday. 

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So, here are 8 posts (4 October Canadian ones and 4 November American ones - as they've been archived from the WaybackMachine you won't be able to see the comments, unfortunately) from the past:

2008 - turkey talk

2010 - turkeys belong on fields not on plates

2011 - the fowl/foulness of thanksgiving

2012 - thanksliving

2015 - some food for thought for thanksgiving

2016 - how to get through thanksgiving without killing anyone ;)

2017 - have you met cornelius the wonder turkey yet?

2020 - thanksgiving/taking, it's gotta change however you pronounce it

Comments

Krissa said...

Killing a defenseless creature to show thanks was never anything God said to do or wanted. It doesn't matter what religion a human being is, if they believe that God said that, they are wrong. And I know I'm in danger of causing a conflict in your comment section, but I have read all of the New Testament (HGV, you and I haven't written about this yet, and it's too long to go into here in the comments) and Jesus actually specifically said to not sacrifice animals. He didn't ever come out and say not to eat them, wear their skins, etc. (unless he DID say it and it was left out...don't get me started), but it is not disputed that HE SAID not to sacrifice them.

It boggles my mind that people of any religion can think that violence against any of God's creatures is "ok", much less wanted - that is beyond unbelievable. If a person doesn't believe in God, it still boggles my mind that they find violence against any creature "ok", maybe even more so than those who don't believe.

Human beings are out of place on this earth. We've been "given" the highest place in the hierarchy and we botched it badly, to say the least.

The world isn't the place it was when (possibly) our ancestors needed to kill other animals to survive. We have evolved into something that is dangerous for the entire planet.

We should all absolutely be thankful. And it is never ok to DIS-honor that thanks by torturing and killing other living creatures especially for a holiday with celebration.

Sorry HGV! You may wish I wasn't catching up on posts with this comment. I'm very glad you're posting again and sorry for being so far behind! Thanks too for keeping my cow friend Sweetie's photo on your blog. 💛

ReplyJanuary 21, 2023 at 07:00 AM

have gone vegan said in reply to Krissa...

Oh, I hear you, and I could write the longest post (which this comment may even turn into, snort, as the subject riles me to no end) if not an entire book on the topic, but I think among the incidents or passages from the Bible that contribute to this sorry mess includes, of course, animal sacrifice in the OT.

The story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac can be interpreted in different ways, but I (perhaps uncharitably) see it as a story of a god wanting to be feared and wanting to be obeyed, and when they are thus obeyed, innocent animals pay the price.

Theologians will instead say that animal sacrifice was God's loving way for humans to be able to atone for their sins until God made the ultimate sacrifice of throwing his only son under the bus - sorry, can't keep my own spin out of it - but I've noticed that not a single explanation of why animal sacrifice was necessary has ever included any hint of remorse about the pain and death suffered by animals. Why? Because humans are more important than animals. Heck, animals don't even have a soul, so why the fuss about their welfare, never mind rights?

So right there you have the notion that animals are expendable. And humans have taken that untruth to heart, despite contradictory messages in other passages about God loving ALL creatures. The hierarchy in the Bible is very VERY clear: God, Jesus, the Holy Ghost, the church itself, men (preferably white), women, children, animals, plants, rocks...

Add to that these passages:

Genesis 1:26-28 King James Version

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Twist it around to turn dominion into domination and add "subdue it" in verse 28 and folk have happily said that that means humans can literally do whatever they want no matter the pain, destruction or death, with not only all animals, but the environment and the planet earth itself.

Animals are literally said to serve humans, just like humans are believed by some to be here to only serve god (sorry, refuse to capitalize.)

Notice too that verses 27 and 28 also set the stage for the unscientific claim that there are only two genders (a currently popular refrain used to inflame the by now almost hysterical anti-transgender movement), and for some to not only want to curtail human reproductive rights, but contraception as well. It boggles the mind.

Can you tell this subject often puts me in a bad mood? :(

But I agree with you. We SHOULD be thankful. And we HAVE screwed things up to such a degree that it'll be the death of our species and maybe even our planet at some point. And yet, there are still those who deny the obvious signs - global warming is a hoax they cry, for example.

Oh, but I better stop cuz I could go on indefinitely...

ReplyMay 28, 2023 at 05:57 PM

it's never too late (and you're never too old) to become vegan

Because while veganism is sometimes associated with youthful experimentation, older folk do go (and stay) vegan all the time. I myself was the ripe old age of 46, and 17 years later am still going strong. But if you need more inspiration, here's an article I found from 2022 about an octogenarian taking the leap. Yep, at age 82, this gal went vegan after the death of her husband. While I imagine having two kids who were already vegan made the idea seem palatable and doable enough, kudos to her for still making that type of a change later in life!

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jun/20/a-new-start-after-60-i-became-a-vegan-at-82-and-found-a-new-sense-of-freedom

This also reminds me of a funny incident that happened a couple years ago: noticing an older couple (in their 70s I'd say) picking up a vegan product (sorry, can't remember what it was) I thought I'd encourage them to try it by letting them know I'd enjoyed it myself, and couldn't resist telling them I'd been vegan for 15 years. The woman smiled, then replied, 'honey, we've been vegan for over 50 years already.' 💥!

Also, while I'm not sure she was strictly vegan herself (although she didn't eat meat and was a supporter of less animal consumption), can we tip our hat to the legacy of Jane Goodall? As her name appears to suggest, she likely did more good overall for helping people see animals and the role of Mother Nature in a different light than most of us have been able to do.

Here are her last words of hope. As well, her last book was aptly titled The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times. 

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truth and reconciliation continued

With Canada's Thanksgiving and the US Indigenous People's Day (I don't give a 💩 what Donald the Clown in the Shite House proclaims about the former Columbus Day) coming on Monday, I thought it'd be fitting to add some links about residential school denialism to the September 30th Orange Shirt Day post.

https://beyond.ubc.ca/8-ways-to-confront-residential-school-denialism/

https://theconversation.com/confronting-residential-schools-denialism-is-an-ethical-and-shared-canadian-responsibility-265127

https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/10/01/What-Canada-Doing-Residential-School-Denialism/