My town has a Juneteenth celebration every year and the FB announcements about it always attract comments that are ignorant, such as “fake holiday!”
First of all, all holidays are “fake”. President’s Day was invented by humans and is therefore “fake”. Independence Day is “fake” (why not celebrate the end of the war, not the start? That’s the real accomplishment!). Christmas must be fake if its celebrated on different days in different countries, right? What about New Years? Do you think there’s a magical line in space that indicates when the planet has enter into “new year” territory? No. It’s all invented and therefore “fake”. So, that’s a stupid argument.
While it may be “fake” (as all holidays are), it’s a freakin’ great opportunity to tell the world what a racist asshole you are by replying “fake holiday” every year.
So, it’s a real holiday with a real (dare I say dramatic?) back-story and a real Federal law to establish it.
And what a lovely thing to celebrate! Juneteenth is celebrating the end of slavery in this country! Fuck yeah!
It was a radical change to the U.S. economy, the way we live and work, and … oh yeah … 4 million people were fuckin’ given the human decency of not being owned by another person!
Every other country that banned slavery has statues, memorial parks, and holidays celebrating it. The U.S.? Well, we decided to make it a federal holiday in 2021 (only 155 years after it was first celebrated).
If you think slavery “wasn’t that bad” or “it was like going to the office and having your boss pay your rent and food” I literally want you to DM me with the name of the school that you attended because that, sir, is the definition of a fucked up educational system. Enslaved people were subjected to relentless physical violence, torture, and family separation. That was 24/7, since the day you were born. You were treated as chattel, which means like how we treat livestock today. This went on until the day you DIED. No breaks. No vacations.
I think we should use this day to not only recognize the horrors of our past, but also use it to shine light on modern slavery.
Human trafficking: A bigger problem than most people think. Sadly the term is now misused by politicians to serve other agendas (IMHO). The nail salon near me recently fired all its employees and replaced them with Chinese women that speak no English. Can you say “organized crime”? Holy fuck! Why isn’t this being investigated? (and not to arrest the woman… arrest the boss!)
Wage theft: Did you know many companies screw their already low-paid workers even harder by forcing off-the-clock work, or misclassifying workers as independent contractors? Imagine working 60 hours a week and only being paid for 40. “Oh gee, why don’t these people just quit and find jobs elsewhere?” Gosh, why didn’t THEY think of that, Sherlock? Maybe its because the employer hides it from them, fires anyone that complains, or maybe its because its so prevalent that all other job opportunities at that level do the same thing. Well, I guess 40 years of “no new taxes” has totally defunded the enforcement agencies that prevent that kind of thing. Gosh, it’s as if the whole “defund” movement wasn’t started by the left! Shocking!
Juneteenth should be a day we look backwards but also reflect on the way that today’s abusing labor practices are the subtle new ways that the powerful abuse others.
And to the guy that every. single. year. posts “fake holiday!”, fuck you. In what planet should we NOT support more days off from work?
