Letter from the Editor: what there is to be thankful for

It's Thanksgiving, and while there is plenty to be thankful for, it seems the holiday is slowing dying. The idea of having a day in reflection of all the positive things in our lives is certainly honorable. But celebrating a holiday that is dishonoring the very people it's meant to celebrate is disrespectful. There are many instances of history being fabricated, and this is one of those.

Thanksgiving was made into a mockery; a cute little fun holiday where kids are instructed to put on plays in school and show that Native Americans were thankful and sharing with the Europeans. And no one questions it. This holiday is stripping indigenous people of their dignity, and most importantly forgetting their history.

The story of colonization isn't a pretty one, and you can't celebrate it just like you can't celebrate slavery. There's nothing to be celebrated, just remembered so that history doesn't repeat itself. Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated by Americans largely based off a myth. No less ridiculous than Black Friday.

Expect to read in the media about how Americans are greedy as there will surely be plenty of havoc during the holiday.

But there are positive things to be extrapolated from the holiday. In my case, as a student, I have the opportunity to attend SMC. Not to invoke cliches, but students at a community college have a second chance at getting their education. We're not forced to spend 50 grand in our first two years of college, we're not forced to decide our major. We're left the opportunity to figure things out.

I'm thankful for the opportunities that SMC affords to me. I am thankful for my staff that helps me put out a print issue almost every week. A special thanks to the editors who put up with me, and for sticking it out to the end, even though we have a long way to go to be where we want to be.

It's hard to be a journalist. It's even harder starting out as one in a newsroom where we aren't being paid. But it weeds out those people who are really cut out for it, and those who don't really want to be here.

Working on this newspaper and updating the online edition with a small staff can test your patience, and create a whirlwind of emotions for the editors, but at the end of the day we are really happy with the work that we produce. And that's something to truly be thankful for.