more austerity music

[blindpig]

I Agree That He Was Always A Fraud ...

... albeit Born in the USA should it have been written from the moral and civic position of such people like Roger Waters it would have been a great protest song but it wouldn't be "anti-American", unless this Lewis guy wants to believe that the US went to Vietnam to do humanitarian work and not "to go and kill a yellow man". If Aaron doesn't understand that the US killed millions of Vietnamese civilians and that the US, certainly, deserved this "anti-American" song--he should have his head examined. But then again--explaining to people like Lewis what war crimes and crimes against humanity are will be exercise in futility. Yet, in one sense he is correct:



Springsteen is a fraud in human and artistic terms, because he is not and never was a man sharing struggles of American blue color class. He rode them to fame. Musically he had a huge success and he had a couple of masterpieces and a few good songs, the rest ... good marketing. Remarkably, if not for amazing covers by Manfred Mann's Earth Band of Springsteen's Blinded by the Light and Spirits in the Night (they did another one too--For You), few people would even remember those songs. In the Soviet Union we knew those because of MMEB covers. This one before Chris Thompson's magnificent vocals period.



But, yes--this, an ultimate MMEB sound which makes those covers their own MMEB songs with Chris' incomparable voice.



So, fuck Springsteen.

http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2025/08 ... fraud.html

While I usually find Andrei's taste in rock&roll to be abysmal in this he's absolutely correct. Never liked Springsteen, yeah, a few catchy tunes, but to use today's terminology middleclass suburbia cosplaying as working class. Manfred Mann, meh...

And that clown inferring that the young working class were for the war doesn't know his ass from first base. Yes, some of us went, and mostly came back crippled, one way or another. But most of us, in my neighborhood of Highlandtown in Baltimore were against the war and went to DC to prove it.

[blindpig]

The MAGA cretins think they're taking back 'their country'. It never was 'their' country.

Because it can't be said enough.

[blindpig]

The Real History of Thanksgiving

The mainstream version of the Thanksgiving story paints a picture of courageous Christian settlers braving the perils of the New World and, with the help of some friendly Natives, finding a way to make a new life for themselves. In the days around Thanksgiving, many educators focus on this happy story, helping students make American Indian headdresses out of construction paper and holding Thanksgiving reenactments in their classrooms.

Very few teachers realize that construction headdresses and school re-enactments create a generalized stereotype that Native Americans all wear the same regalia. These school activities also encourage young students to think it is okay to wear culture as a costume. This makes it difficult for students to recognize the diversity of Native American tribes and leads students to believe it’s okay to mimic Native American traditional wear without having an understanding of its spiritual significance.

Most children are only taught this brief snapshot in American History, which leaves a frozen memory of peace and generosity. However, in a short time after these Thanksgiving events, circumstances and relationships between the European settlers and the Native American tribes drastically changed. Unfortunately, very few educators have the opportunity to teach students about the massacres of Native tribes like the Pequot which took place in the years that followed. They also do not mention that English settlers robbed Wampanoag graves and stole food from them to survive during their first years on this new continent.

Here’s a look at some reasons why Thanksgiving is a complex holiday that all Americans should approach with greater sensitivity.



Why Thanksgiving Is Also a National Native Day of Mourning
It’s important to know that for many Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning and protest since it commemorates the arrival of settlers in North America and the centuries of oppression and genocide that followed.

Organized by the United American Indians of New England in 1970, the fourth Thursday in November (Thanksgiving) is recognized as the National Day of Mourning for Native Americans and their allies.

Many people gather at Cole's Hill in Plymouth for an organized rally and day of mourning on Thanksgiving. Here’s what they have to say about this choice to mourn:

“Thanksgiving day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands, and the relentless assault on Native culture. Participants in National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a protest of the racism and oppression which Native Americans continue to experience.”



(more...)

https://blog.nativehope.org/what-does-t ... -americans

Some Native Americans mourn publicly and openly, while some choose to refrain from participating in this national holiday.



******

National Day of Mourning: A 1970 protest changed how Native Americans see Thanksgiving
CBC Radio · Posted: Nov 23, 2020 4:59 PM EST | Last Updated: November 23, 2020


Mayflower II was a replica of the original Mayflower, which brought the pilgrims to Massachusetts. (Peter Stackpole/The LIFE Picture Collection)

400 years ago, the Mayflower arrived on the shores of Plymouth, Massachusetts, bringing the pilgrims to North America for the first time.

The ship's arrival is often acknowledged on American Thanksgiving, because its legacy is entwined with the story of the first meal shared between the pilgrims and local Wampanoag people.

But celebrations surrounding the Mayflower have always been contentious.

Fifty years ago, in 1970, plans were underway for the annual festivities, which included building a replica of the ship.

"The ship was … mainly set up for tourists to be able to kind of walk through, maybe get some sense of nostalgia of the harrowing trip that [the pilgrims] had taken to be able to create this new colony," said Kent Blansett, who is a Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Shawnee, Potawatomi professor of history and Indigenous studies at the University of Kansas.


American Indian Movement (AIM) leader Russell Means at a press conference Oct. 18, 1973. Means was at the raid of the Mayflower replica on Thanksgiving in 1970. (Bettmann/Getty Images)

That year, during the Thanksgiving celebration, activists from the American Indian Movement — or AIM — stormed the Mayflower ship, and occupied it in protest.

"It became a symbol that needed to be confronted, and Russell Means [from AIM] poignantly understood that confrontation," Blansett said.

He explained that the protestors not only climbed aboard and took down the Union Jack, they also tossed a cannon and a mannequin meant to immortalize one of the ship's captains, off the deck.

"It was about that time that the police showed up, and they agreed to peacefully leave the Mayflower."

But, as Blansett explained, not everyone was involved in the protest.

"[The Wampanoag] would later go to the press and they would tell the press … 'we are not here to cause trouble, there's a difference of opinion here between the national Indians … [from] the American Indian Movement, and we locals about how we should mark this day."

It was then that Wampanoag leader Frank James decided the day should instead be marked as a national day of mourning, to bring awareness to the long lasting impacts that colonization had on the Wampanoag and other Native American tribes.

Fifty years later, Blansett said we still need to examine Thanksgiving with a critical eye.

"This is not a day that people should basically be eating to gluttonous proportions and then watching football," he said.

"This is the day that they should be reflecting on the true history of this nation. And out of that, maybe learning a little bit about equity, learning a little bit about how to make this a better world, or a more just world."

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/may ... %20day.%22