Black Thanksgiving

The first known celebration of what has come to be called Thanksgiving was in 1621, when the residents of Plymouth colony (now part of Massachusetts) invited the Wampanoag tribe to share a successful harvest with them.

Since then, future generations of native Americans have been rewarded through death, illness and assimilation, while being forced to leave the land we now sit on and were moved into reservations.  Casino profits notwithstanding, reservations have usually been a hotbed of crime and poverty, with the U.S. government not doing much to improve their situation.

Now Thanksgiving itself, which has been a holiday for as long as the country has existed, and has been immortalized by the likes of Norman Rockwell, has been rendered irrelevant by Christmas.  If it weren't for the novelty of having turkey and football on Thursday, few people would have noticed.

Of course, this isn't exactly breaking news.  Holiday decorations have been up at your local mall since at least Labor Day (another occasion that has lost its relevance due to changing times).  Radio stations have been playing "Jingle Bells" and its ilk 24/7.  And TV commercials featuring Mr. Ho Ho Ho have been running since Halloween.

What's different this year is that Black Friday, which has become the single biggest retail shopping day of the holiday season, has been creeping into Thanksgiving.  Walmart has said it will open Thursday at 10 p.m.  Target says they want to open at midnight.  Their publicity flacks tell us that they're just responding to the wishes of the consumer, who don't want to get up in the middle of the night to pony up for the 50-inch plasma TV that becomes available at 4 a.m. at rock-bottom prices.

But it comes at a cost to the store's employees, who have complained about (and even petitioned against) the idea because they'd be missing Thanksgiving with their families.

It's all quite touching, but retail employees aren't the only ones missing out on the big dinner.  There's hospital staffers, police officers, firefighters, pro football players, the TV crews who cover their games . . . did we leave anyone out?  They'd love to be home with their families, but they have a job to do whether it's a holiday or not.

Besides, the realities of today's retail world almost dictate that stores like Walmart and Target open as soon as the Big Meal is finished.  Those who are too stuffed with mashed potatoes to show up at the mall will simply turn to their computers, where online stores are open 24/7.  When will we have reached the limit?  Who knows?

All of which makes you wonder what generations of native Americans must be thinking, as the white man's greed has pushed aside a day originally designed for Pilgrims to give thanks for merely coexisting with their neighbors during that rough beginning after landing on the Mayflower.

Have a nice Thanksgiving.  Remember, operators are standing by to take your order.