Historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz on Thanksgiving: "It Has Never Been About Honoring Native Americans"

Apple pie from home grown apple trees

As a kid I hated school.  I guess it didn't help that I had to endure moving constantly, ending with a different high school every year.  I had this one history teacher who was the dean of the school.  It was one year that my step-grandfather paid for a year at a private school in Waltham, Massachusetts, at Chapel Hill Chauncy Hall.  I had been really struggling at Brookline High School.  Anyway, this history teacher bullshitted us with the usual crap about the native Americans.  It was even backed up by a textbook.  I got pissed, called bullshit and walked out of the class.  Now this woman really speaks to my heart.  Too bad I had to wait three decades to hear her wise words.  She is Right on!

I agree that this holiday should be honest about its history, and a time for friends and family to get together and honor each other and souls of the past.  I'm celebrating this year with permanently deleting my facebook account.

Historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz on Thanksgiving: "It Has Never Been About Honoring Native Americans"  -link to Democracy Now

As much of the United States prepares to mark Thanksgiving this weekend, many Native Americans will gather in Plymouth to commemorate the 47th National Day of Mourning. This year is dedicated to water protectors at Standing Rock and to the struggle for recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. To discuss this and more, we speak with indigenous historian and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. She is the author of "An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States" and co-author of "All the Real Indians Died Off: And 20 Other Myths About Native Americans."

Welcome back to Democracy Now!, Roxanne. Could you tell us, as the nation prepares to observe Thanksgiving, a national holiday ostensibly meant to honor Native people, what are your thoughts?

ROXANNE DUNBAR-ORTIZ: Well, thank you for having me on the show.

Actually, it’s never been about honoring Native Americans. It’s been about the origin story of the United States, the beginning of genocide, dispossession and constant warfare from that time—actually, from 1607 in Jamestown—until the present. It’s a colonial system that was set up.

There’s a sort of annual calendar for this origin story, beginning with Columbus, October 12. Why celebrate Columbus? It was the onset of colonialism, the slave trade and dispossession of the Native people of the Americas. So, that is celebrated with a federal holiday. That’s followed then by Thanksgiving, which is a completely made-up story to say the Native people welcomed these people who were going to devastate their civilizations, which is simply a lie. And then you go to Presidents’ Days, the Founding Fathers, in February, and celebrate these slaveowners, Indian killers. George Washington headed the Virginia militia for the very purpose of killing Native people on the periphery of the colony, before, you know, when it was still a Virginia colony. And then we have the big day, the fireworks, July 4th, independence, which is probably the most tragic event in world history, because it gave us—it gave the world a genocidal regime under the guise of democracy. And that’s really the—I’m a historian, so that’s the historical context that I think we have to see Thanksgiving in, that it is a part of that mythology that attempts to cover up the real history of the United States.

It actually—when it was introduced as a holiday by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, there was no mention of pilgrims and Native people or food or pumpkins or anything like that. It was simply a day for families to be together and mourn their dead and be grateful for the living. And I think that’s an appropriate holiday, that—how people should enjoy it. But they should take Native Americans and Puritans out of the picture for it to be a legitimate holiday of feast and sharing with family and friends.

So, that’s—you know, the people at Plymouth, I send greetings to them. They have, for many years—I think it’s almost 40 years now—stood up and testified to the lie of Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower, the pilgrims. And this is very hard for people to give up. This is the national—nationalism. It’s actually—Americanism is white supremacy and represents negative things. There’s almost no way to reconcile it. It simply has to be deconstructed and faced up to; and, otherwise, there will be no social change that’s meaningful for anyone. for full text -link to Democracy Now

Amy Goodman is on assignment at the Dakota Pipeline Water Protectors situation.  I pray for all of their protection.  Obama should help these people!!!

Now that the worst 'antichrist' in history is getting set up in office (the government has always been the antichrist in my humble opinion) shit's going to get really scary.

May the Universe protect all good entities.

Brutus, Rest in Peace

Click and Clack, our beloved turkeys

Nature Walk

A Walk Through the Woods

A walk in the woods, pine sap sticking to your skin
rushing air through the trees, the leaves falling

chick-a-dees singing their sweet silly songs
out in the woods there is nothing wrong

hugging a tree reaching into the sky
feels so right, never have to ask why

rustling through fallen leaves cane in hand
accompanied by a merry canine band

this is where we're meant to be
me, the canines, with the trees

water rushing through the brook
beauty everywhere you look

Brook

She Wore a Raspberry Beret...

Amy, (Ilya Hoffman) 1976 or 1977

Such a beautiful girl.

No Longer Conned by Don, 'Zen Gardner' Revealed

Zen Gardner's Cult of Betrayal

we see you now, don/zen

7/20/2020 update
I took this post down because I didn't want to be reminded of Zen Gardner aka Don Ferguson.  But he's been slithering back into the blogosphere lately.  Activist Post put a video of him conversing with someone up yesterday.  So I feel compelled to put this back up.  Kathleen Stillwell, whose blog was removed last year, is back up with Don's writings featured.  ++++++++++++++++++++++


It was the contributors to the Zen Gardner, (aka Don Ferguson) site that drew me in.  Many interesting and caring commenters were also drawn to the site.  (Moths to a flame.)  It felt like community.  A safe one, (not).  I found myself caring about many of them, learning more about them and truly feeling a connection with other people there.  Found many cool bloggers to follow there.  I still do care about them, but it is sad, if there are any real commenters left who remain there being continually taken in by Zen, or Don, or whatever his name is. I hear he's been abandoned, and is masquerading as commenters on his own site. 

I have imitated that trait.  Online I am both Adaline and Pandora.  As a 'web designer/developer' I learned to have several email accounts in different browsers to test website functionality in each browser.  Rudely booted out of the job market after 2008 like so many others, now I like to argue with myself in the comments.  It's silly, and perhaps obnoxious but I've always argued against myself with Gemini as the sun-sign, and it cracks me up.  It may seem strange but I find it useful to doubly support favorite artists in some cases, for example on youtube.

I also learned a ton from that community and am grateful for it.

Conned by Don

I was sickened when I heard.  If zen/don had come clean about his past in *the beginning* of his blogging, this whole public shock could have been avoided.  It would have been the honorable thing to do, come clean when he started blogging.  Instead, he went on to develop a following, which is a huge responsibility.  But he kept his past secret.  Lots of folks mistakenly trusted him.  But zen/don did not reveal his past willingly.  Instead, he only 'came clean' (lame) because he was *forced to do so* or be outed by Steve Seymour @ Philosophers Stone,  'The Cult of Zen Gardner: A Monster in Disguise' http://www.philosophers-stone.co.uk/?p=13298  Zen/don did not write his con-fession of his own free will.

In Shock

To think that I supported, trusted, (with so many others,) liked and respected the writings of this zen/don Ferguson who turns out to be one of lies and deceit, and god forbid with a past 27 year career in a cult rife with abuse and pedophilia.  I felt ill for days after reading Steve's revealing Philosopher's Stone article and on down the rabbit hole, of what the Children of God (COG) cult was all about, which included suicide as means of escape for some.

Zen/don was in the COG cult for a whopping 27 of his adult years, rising in ranks to a leadership position as Image Manager.  Does that sound like a victim?  I think not.  It's the fact that he concealed his past.  So he did public relations for a cult that physically and sexually abuses children, (driving some to suicide.)  Did he not read the publications of his own cult?  In his position he must have.  It is hard to believe him when he claims that he was not aware of these fatal facts.  And that later in his career there he says he did become aware of some of the abuses, and he claims he tried to help, but exactly how?  Where is some evidence proving he tried to help victims?  It is impossible for me to believe him at all any more. 

Community or Cult

For many of the die-hard commenters there at zengardner.com the site seemed the only social life they had with like-minded people.  I signed up to receive added comments to the evasive posts My Missing Years (and the following All the World's a Cult) and there were those still holding on to that place, praising and forgiving and thanking him, taking what he wrote at face value.  Many others who have pointed questions are finding their comments are being moderated out.  Shut that site down.

Rude Awakening

Admittedly, commenting on that site, was the first online community that I had ever felt I was a part of.  'Zen' was a pen-name, that seemed obvious and ok.  But now in the ugly glare of 'zen/don's' being forcibly outed, what is most upsetting for me about losing that venue is losing them.  Most are realizing the truth behind this sociopath posing as a Truther.  His new cult to lead, disbanding.

Through the Deception

Before the reveal, some had already seen through at least part of zen/don's deception.  If only he had come on to the blogging scene clean, with full disclosure.  He would have avoided all this pain.  But he had to deceive, which only leads to unraveling.  I don't feel stupid at this point.  He bamboozled a lot of highly intelligent, successful truther speakers/activists/bloggers.   To think I looked up to this sociopath, makes me cringe. I've been wiping any links to his site off of this blog.  Hope I didn't miss any.

Depth of Devastation

We will never know the depth of devastation that the COG cult perpetrated. Many that did manage to escape only to struggle with isolation and suicidal depression. The suffering spans generations.  I wish their suffering to end and send them healing and peace.

So zen/don did not reveal his past on his own, and when he (was forced) to, he took the stance of victim, and continues to do so.  Forced revelation is betrayal. He is supposed to be a Truther, but he can't stop concealing.  That is just so wrong.

I will however, keep an open mind when evidence shows itself, truth always comes out. 

It would be cool if any of the COG cult survivors that knew him would speak up, have you come across any who write on the web?  It may answer a lot of questions.  Bring truth to what he continues to evade. The continuance of dishonesty by withholding the truth is unforgivable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

by Chautauqua @ Augureye Express:
What's Growing in Zen's Garden | http://augureye.blogspot.com/2016/08/whats-growing-in-zens-garden.html     '...Truth is never honored by protecting it with a wall of lies.  The TRUTH needs no protection ~ The truth points to itself.'

When Heroes Fall | http://augureye.blogspot.com/2016/08/when-heroes-fall.html

by Steve Seymour @ Philosophers Stone:
The reveal:  The Cult of Zen Gardner: A Monster in Disguise | http://www.philosophers-stone.co.uk/?p=13298   'If I were to remain silent, I'd be guilty of complicity.'

David Icke's Official Forums > Main Forums > Exposing Child Abuse > What the hell is going on with Zen Gardner?   https://forum.davidicke.com/showthread.php?t=310492

finding a use for his book

∃ ~ ♬ ♪ ♥ ∞ ☮ ★ ☄ | ☄ ★ ☮ ∞ ♥ ♪ ♬ ~ ∃

ps, here's my comment getting censored on his site 9/3/2016:

 

and another attempt at commenting, with date/time stamp, that was censored out: