Joy Reid Calls Thanksgiving a ‘Simplistic Fairytale’ That Republicans Need Because it ‘Erases the Genocide’

[Auburn85 432]

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/joy-reid-calls-thanksgiving-a-simplistic-fairytale-that-republicans-need-because-it-erases-the-genocide/

 

Quote

 

By Kipp JonesNov 23rd, 2022, 7:38 pm

 

MSNBC’s Joy Reid attacked Thanksgiving as a “simplistic fairytale” that is based on a lie Republicans rely on to cover up for America being founded on “genocide.”

The host opened Wednesday’s edition of the ReidOut by attacking the holiday and its traditions as millions of Americans prepare to break bread with family members and friends.

“We begin tonight with Thanksgiving, the day we gather with friends and family to enjoy turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie,” Reid said. “We throw on the game and catch up on our lives and discuss or quite possibly argue about religion and politics. For millions of Americans, it’s a day of cherished tradition. As Americans, we value those traditions.” Reid added:

But it is also to unpack the myth of Thanksgiving. It is a holiday riddled with historical inaccuracies. It is built on this myth that the indigenous welcomed their colonizers with open arms and ears of corn. A simplistic fairytale interpretation of a 1621 encounter between indigenous tribes and English settlers that erases the genocide that followed.

It’s the truth that Republicans want banned from our textbooks. Because here is the secret they want so desperately to keep: we are a country founded on violence. Our birth was violent. In 1619, a ship with more than 20 enslaved Africans landed in Virginia ushering in two centuries of American slavery that left millions in chains or dead.

Reid said the Ku Klux Klan “picked up where the Civil War ended” and continues to use violence to “maintain White supremacy.”

“The Klan is still active, and as Americans, we continue to choose violence,” Reid concluded. “We are a country that chooses violence over and over again. There is no facet of American society that is untouched by it.”