Happy ThanksLiving to all QU blog readers, you have truly become part of the extended online family. I am thankful for all your support and insight that you have provided over the course of many months, I look forward to renewed queer activism and spirit in the wake of our defeats this election day. United we stand, divided we fall, queers and allies together as one will bring about true equality as evidenced by the reality of the dreams of the great ones before us like Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohatmas Gandhi.
On this day we also must as queers extend our arms and hearts to those who have been so affected by this day we call "thanksgiving" that represents sorrow for millions. I am deeply saddened and in mourning for the millions of Natives of this land who were murdered, raped, and evicted from their homeland. This holiday represents the destruction of a beautiful and wise culture with rich spirituality and history of preserving the land and exploring its beauty and vastness.
Included in the destruction of heritage and culture were queer Natives, commonly referred to as Two-spirits.
http://www.intltwospiritgathering.org/
http://www.nativeout.com
I also am horrified by the continual massacre of beautiful sentient beings that are intelligent and kind only to be murdered in the name of food because they look different and aren't equated with deserving any rights. "Thanksgiving" has become associated with the massacre of hundreds of millions of Turkeys. Beings who are de-beaked, packed so tightly with the inability to move, forced to stand on excrement, having their throats slit while still conscious, and scalded to death in the feather removal tank.
The video above highlights the unacceptable standard practice on factory farms.
"In Germany they first came for the Communists,I won't be part of the "Thanksgiving" tradition which does not honor life and speak up for others. ThanksLiving for me is about honoring others and aspiring to be grateful and committed to a better future. I honor the living tradition of the Natives, and respect the life and dignity of my fellow creatures. Happy ThanksLiving!
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me —
and by that time no one was left to speak up." (Pastor Martin Niemöller)
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