Thread by @thrasherxy

Thinking today abt how many US Jews spent their holiest days of 2020 “with” family on Zoom, and abt how many US Christians are indicating that we are not willing to do the same with our holidays (while framing being asked to do so as persecution).

There’s a lot to unpack here.

As I wrote yesterday, I don't like thinking abt any issues of the pandemic (including holiday travel) simply as individual choices, but systemically. And I think Christian supremacy is a part of how USians are socialized to conceive of freedom & choice

https://twitter.com/thrasherxy/status/1330279709402337285

US Christians routinely view/present ourselves as a persecuted minority, when we are the the driving dominant force beneath US theocracy. And while Christianity is v close to many (not all) Black Americans, it's also v close to white supremacy.

In my frame of view, an actual persecuted religious minority, esp. in recent yrs (Jewish ppl in the US) has portrayed spending their high holy days on here v differently than the dominant religious group, which often portrays continuing in-person traditions as an act of war

Of course, there's lots of variations within groups of Jews & Christians (& within other groups of non/believers). But for a religion that preaches loving sacrifice for others, Christianity in the US must reflect on why it's not actively asking its members,

What Would Jesus Do?

This is a good point from @DanaGField, and fits into a kind of thinking I often try to do with queer/trans ppl of color:

If we center the experiences of ppl already marginalized, how could that make life better for everyone?

https://twitter.com/DanaGField/status/1330553241969410049

US Jews, Muslim, Hindus don't get their holidays centered for time off for work/travel.

What if US Christians could observe how Yom Kippur, Ramadan & Dawail have been celebrated by their respective religions?

Could we learn there ARE ways to be in community w/o traveling?

"there’s something to be said about folks who have a deep religious perspective about the fact that life can be disrupted." ❤️

Thank you for this perspective, @ColonelKSpeaks.

https://twitter.com/ColonelKSpeaks/status/1330549463853666309

We're coming off yrs of Christians being told/saying we're under assault & we must defend ourselves by celebrating Xmas even MORE loudly.

In addition, this persecution complex is wedded to white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.

This all helps fuel pandemic holiday travel.

Indeed, @fridayprayers. Thank you for sharing

On the point that Thanksgiving is an "American holiday" open to all:

I can't look at SD & not see what @Ethnography911 calls "frontier settler shit" as separable from Christianity's desire to dominate Native Americans (& Jews, & Muslims &...

https://twitter.com/MrDanZak/status/1330557668449193985

As, my brilliant student and teacher @AdamLMahoney points out, we are made to assume the world we live in (the choices available to us, the conditions we exist in) exist Just Because and Should Not Be Questioned, when they were of course socially created

https://twitter.com/AdamLMahoney/status/1330560279919386624

This is a good article in @vice by @sbearbergman on what USians considering travel can learn from Jews about how we can celebrate holidays in ways that are remote, meaningful and SPECIAL vice.com/en/article/5dp…

Thank you for this, @carynward123—yes, the dynamics are very connected

https://twitter.com/carynward123/status/1330570626097180674

Look at this framing of gathering for Thanksgiving as a “rebellion.” So much about US religion, prayer and “holy” days is close to threats of war and violence

https://twitter.com/scrowder/status/1330187901976662017