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Black Friday Around The World

11/26/2021

THE CHALLENGE
You may know all about Black Friday, but here’s the challenge. Ask anyone born after 1990 if they know the origin of the term “Black Friday”.

Chances are none of them will have a clue, other than it's a Friday for special sales. Not even as the day after Thanksgiving or Holiday Sales, since many retailers now advertise Black Friday sales throughout the year.

WILL THE REAL BLACK FRIDAY STAND UP?
The first use of the term came about in relation to a specific financial crisis in the United State: the collapse of the Gold Market on September 24, 1869.

This collapse occurred when two stock brokers, Jay Gould and Jim Frisk ‒ who had already engaged in stock fraud and bribery ‒ collaborated in a scheme to cheat Wall Street investors by manipulating the Gold Market. The subsequent crash was called “Black Friday” by the financial world, the press, and those who lost money. Note: a good description of the event can be found by clicking here.

Scene in the New York Gold room during the excitement of September 24th, 1869
Image credit:. Library of Congress
Image Source: pbs.org/wgbh/black-friday/

Until the 1950s and ‘60s, “Black Friday” and “Black any-other-day” had been associated with financial disasters.

BLACK FRIDAY REBORN
Any number of stories exist about the rebirth of the “Black Friday” phenomenon we experience today, and each year I find a new version.

Some believe the term found new life in the 1950’s when factory managers referred to the day after Thanksgiving as "Black Friday" because so many workers called in sick.

However, the most direct trail leads back to the Philadelphia Police Department in 1966 when the police began using the term to mean the day after Thanksgiving, the official opening of the Christmas shopping season, which brought massive traffic jams, over-crowded sidewalks, a rash of shoplifting, and general chaos. In addition, the annual Army-Navy football game was played on the last weekend of November and brought its own crowd, traffic, and problems.

Image Credit: Shopify Black Friday Philadelphia
Image Source: usupdates.com/black-friday-history Image Source: philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/police

Needless to say, the police hated that day ‒ no day off for them ‒ and the nomicker was applied in an uncomplimentary way. The people in Philadelphia didn't like the negative connotation and tried to change the term to "Big Friday" but it didn't stick. Gradually the name “Black Friday” for the first day after Thanksgiving came to mean the beginning of holiday shopping.

AMERICAN INGENUITY SAVES THE ECONOMY
Popularity and common usage grew, and by the 1970s and 80s retailers throughout the US aborted the dreaded name and complained about the negative connotations. I doubt that at that point the general public even remembered the tie to financial disaster, but apparently the merchants had not.

So, being the innovative business people that we are, someone realized that this day was the point in the year when retail businesses ‒ which traditionally operated at a loss or “in the red” ‒ started making profits and operated “in the black”. Retail interests made sure that this positive spin was publicized and ‒ Ta-dah! ‒ then the merchants loved it, and the shoppers loved the sales.

RE-REBIRTH AS A GLOBAL EVENT
The internet and the 2020 pandemic can be thanked for the expansion of Black Friday Christmas sales morphing into year-round sales events and on-line purchasing, primarily to keep businesses alive during the shut-down. It certainly eased the stress a little by being able to purchase “without contact”. During the five-day Thanksgiving weekend of 2020, shoppers still spent an average of $311.75 on holiday purchases, only 1.7% down from 2019. blackfriday.com/news/black-friday-history

The other result was the almost sudden expansion of the phenomenon throughout the world. Of course, global expansion had been happening slowing with the accessibility of internet purchasing but the COVID virus gave it a kick in the butt… so to speak.

Now there are at least 195 countries which have a “Black Friday” which features pre-holiday or other sales (since some of these countries are not Christian, such as Saudi Arabia).
But alas, most of the 195 countries do not celebrate Thanksgiving, and for them there is no day after Thanksgiving. There is, however, a fourth Friday in November, which many countries have adopted as the day to begin the holiday sales. In some places, Black Friday falls on other dates.

Of course, it is not an official holiday anywhere and in most of these countries no one gets a day off as many do in the US, which was one of the main reasons for Americans to begin their holiday shopping. Note: I presume the photos below were all taken prior to 2020.

United Kingdom Saudi Arabia
Image Source: mirror.co.uk/news/black-friday-2014 Image Source: youtube.com/watch?v=_2LDvAJi7dI

Italy Japan
Image Credit: gettyimages.com.au/aeon-news-photo Image Credit: gettyimages.com.au/aeon-news-photo

I didn’t read anything or see any photos that implied that the residents of other countries are any more ‒ or less ‒ polite and civilized in their shopping behavior than Americans. It’s a zoo wherever you shop on Black Friday weekend.

Image source: distractify.com/p/black-friday-fights

Image Source: dailymail.co.uk/Black-Friday-shoppers-arrested

Worldwide, Black Friday is still not the busiest or most lucrative shopping date in the world. That, believe it or not, is “Singles Day”. Spain and the United Arab Emirates — both countries with dedicated Amazon markets — have jumped on the Singles Day trend and the US may soon join in the Singles Day shopping trend (a subject for another blog).

TAKE AWAY
I find it interesting that changes in society take place so slowly or so subtly that no one seems to have the foresight to see or think about what direction trends are going. No one is recording anything much in the way of history. So much change occurs that isn’t big or political, yet any history we have appears to be created after the fact. That results in so many unknowns about where things originated and how the evolution occurred.

Perhaps in this “ME” era when everyone has the internet to express their opinions and observations to a large audience (whether or not the audience wants to hear it), and want to talk about everything including their sex life and the color of their underwear, our historical information will be more accurate… or maybe not!

I guess I’m being unrealistic. Anyone can write anything on the internet, whether or not it’s correct or corroborated and can do it anonymously. No one ever checks, and everyone seems to believe anything on the internet.

JUST SAYIN
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2021 Sources:
https://usupdates.com/black-friday-history-2295.html
https://samdamretail.be/blog/black-friday-history-popularity-europe/
https://www.history.com/news/the-black-friday-gold-scandal-145-years-ago
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-black-friday/
https://www.junglescout.com/blog/black-friday-around-the-world/
https://www.holidayscalendar.com/event/black-friday/#:~:text=This%20crisis%20was%20the%20collapse%20of%20the%20United,into%20a%20free-fall%20that%20eventually%20caused%20its%20collapse.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/black-friday-2014-three-arrested-4710327
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2LDvAJi7dI
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515911/Black-Friday-shoppers-arrested-Virginia-man-35-sliced-bone.html
https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/customers-shop-during-the-black-friday-sale-at-an-aeon-news-photo/6255698026
https://www.ilgiornaledipantelleria.it/shopping-scatenato-con-il-black-friday-venerdi-23-novembre-in-tutta-italia/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%28shopping%29#:~:text=%20Black%20Friday%20around%20the%20world%20%201,originated%20within%20the%20Police%20and%20NHS...%20More%20
2020 Sources:
https://mashable.com/shopping/black-friday-2020-future-predictions/
https://www.techradar.com/news/black-friday-deals-2019
https://www.hbs.edu/news/releases/Pages/koehnblackfriday.aspx
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/02/black-friday-is-over-heres-why-retailers-are-touting-weeks-of-deals.html
https://www.theblackfriday.com/what-is-black-friday.shtml
https://www.hbs.edu/news/releases/Pages/koehnblackfriday.aspx
https://www.marketplace.org/2011/11/25/history-black-friday/
https://www.crushthestreet.com/articles/precious-metals/black-day-week-started-gold-friday
https://www.distractify.com/p/black-friday-fights
https://www.hoskinsandturco.com/blog/the-deals-and-dangers-of-black-friday-five-most-insane-injuries/
https://corporate.target.com/press/releases/2014/11/target-shoppers-nationwide-score-doorbusters-as-bl
2016 Resources
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/11/25/the-little-known-philadelphia-origins-of-black-friday/
http://www.philly.com/philly/...Black_Friday_started_in_Philly.html%20-
http://en.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/20879/20141125/history-of-black-friday.htm
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/commentary/history-black-friday
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/grant-black-friday/
http://www.vocabulary.com/articles/wordroutes/the-origins-of-black-friday/
https://blackfriday.com/pages/black-friday-history
http://mentalfloss.com/article/31581/brief-history-black-friday
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/11/black-friday-is-not-the-biggest-shopping-day-of-the-year/
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/thanksgiving/shopping.asp

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THANKSGIVING CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD

11/19/2021

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GOD BLESS AMERICA
Most of us are aware of the history behind the Pilgrims and the first American Thanksgiving in 1621. It is an important national celebration in the United States – as it should be -- but Americans are a bit presumptuous to think the pilgrims “invented” Thanksgiving.

Pilgrims first Thanksgiving at Plymouth by Jean Louis Gerome Ferris
Image Credit: Bettmann Archieve via Getty Images
Image Source: amazon.com/Thanksgiving-Gerome-Ferris

In fact, it is a matter of historic debate where the first Thanksgiving feast was held in North America and by whom, including two locations in Texas, two in Florida, one in Maine, two in Virginia, and five in Massachusetts. I didn't realize there were so many colonies and expeditions before 1621. Also, I noticed the articles referenced didn't list where those sites were located or who made the claims.

More than two sources, however, cited the first known Thanksgiving feast in North America as being celebrated in Palo Duro Canyon, Texas panhandle, in 1541 by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and the "Tejas" of the Hasinai group of Caddo-speaking Native Americans. Who knew?

HARVEST FESTIVALS
Hundreds, and more likely thousands, of years before the fifteenth century, there were harvest festivals and celebrations held by nearly every agrarian culture in the world. These ancient peoples depended on an adequate autumn harvest to feed the population through the winter, and they understood that sun, rain, and good earth were required to make that happen. These natural phenomenon became worshiped as gods in many cultures, and harvest festivals the world over were oriented to celebrate the harvest, thank their local deities for a bountiful year, and/or pray for either continued good fortune or for a better harvest the next year.

Lughnasad, Celtic Harvest Festival
Image Source: historicmysteries.com/lughnasadh

This ancient tradition, religious and non-religious, sets the stage for worldwide “Thanksgiving” days.

THANKSGIVING AROUND THE WORLD
The same basic elements that went into the first North American Thanksgiving, wherever it was, are embraced by other countries and reflected in their national holidays in other parts of the world. Some of them are harvest feasts of harvest and thanks completely unrelated to the U.S. holiday, and others are versions of the American tradition, albeit with modifications. Many are held on or near the fourth Thursday in November, while others are as early as September.

CANADA
The first Canadian Thanksgiving was held in 1578 ‒ about 40 years prior to the celebration at Plymouth ‒ Sir Martin Frobisher and his crew in Nunavut, giving thanks for the safety of their fleet.

Later, such festivities drew inspiration from similar European holidays and gave early settlers a way to appreciate the fruits of a successful harvest. Canada’s first official Thanksgiving was held on November 6, 1859.

GERMANY
Germany’s Thanksgiving equivalent is known as Erntedankfest, which translates to ”harvest thanksgiving festival.” There is evidence that Erntedankfest celebrations happened thousands of years ago as pagan festivals.

Image Source: allthatsinteresting.com/Germany

Today Erntedankfest is a religious holiday for both the Catholic and Protestant churches. The altar is decorated with sheaves of wheat, and the fruits of the harvest. There is singing, celebration, and often a second service in the evening. After the second service, churchgoers distribute leftover or surplus food to the poor. Many communities have a Lanternumzug (Lantern Parade).

Although this celebration began as a rural festival to give thanks for the harvest, all Germans still give thanks and celebrate.

NETHERLANDS
Thanksgiving is observed by orthodox Protestant churches in the Netherlands on the first Wednesday in November (Dankdag [ nl]), but it is not a national or public holiday. Observers go to church in the evening.

However, the English Pilgrims weren’t the only Europeans who traveled across “the pond” for a different life in 1620. Dutch Pilgrims joined their English counterparts on the journey. The ship Speedwell left the city of Leiden in the Netherlands in 1620 and sailed to Southampton, England, where they picked up English pilgrims who traveled with them to the Americas.

Pieterskerk in Leiden, Netherlands Thanksgiving Decorations, Netherlands
Image Source: .wikipedia.org/wiki/nl:Pieterskerk Image Source: thecountriesof.com/Netherlands

In Leiden, the connection to the pilgrims is still strong and that community celebrates Thanksgiving on the same day as the United States. Leiden’s residents gather in a 900-year-old church Pieterskerk and celebrate the Speedwell’s successful voyage to the Americas.

AUSTRALIA
Because Australia is located in the Southern Hemisphere, their harvest season is different than the Northern Hemisphere. Although a hearty meal to give thanks at the end of the growing season makes sense in the north, where winter is coming, in the south it’s the beginning of summer.

Australians enjoy harvest festivals around Easter time, but they don’t relate them to Thanksgiving. They do, however, celebrate a National Day of Thanks the last Saturday in May, which is fall in the Southern Hemisphere..

At the beginning of the 21th Century, many Australians expressed their desire to have a national day each year to honor the country’s Catholic heritage, and the blessings and freedoms that Australians enjoy. In 2003, National Church leadership introduced these thoughts and dreams into the Australian church network and received unexpected support. Through many exchanges and discussions, Australia’s National Day of Thanksgiving was born and eventually set for the last Saturday of May each year.

ISRAEL
Like other agrarian-based cultures, citizens of Israel have a form of harvest festival celebrating the gift of food and life. Israel’s is called Sukkot, the Feast of the Tabernacles. As well as a time to say thanks for the harvest, Sukkot also commemorates the protection of the Jewish people by God when they left Egypt for their promised land.

The celebration begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei and lasts seven days. The date upon which if falls on the western calendar varies, sometime between the months of September and October. It comes five days after Yom Kippur ‒ the Hebrew high holiday.

During the seven days of Sukkot, all meals are eaten in open-ceiling, wooden booths called sukkahs. The outdoor structures commemorate the temporary dwellings in which the Jewish people lived while on their journey from Egypt..

Community takes part in a traditional pilgrimage
Image Source: Ibtimes.Co.In/Sukkot--Feast-Tabernacles

A sukkah Image Source: torahportions.ffoz.org/portions-library/

A sukkah - Image Source: torahportions.ffoz.org/portions-library/

A sukkah - Image Source: looking4theblessedhope.com/feast-of-tabernacles

Special prayers and psalms are read at different points during the seven-day celebration, and everyone is encouraged to spend as much time in their sukkah as possible.

Sukkot is perhaps the Thanksgiving holiday that is most heavily influenced by religion, but it is nonetheless a celebration with the same central themes of all these holidays and festivals: food, family, and thankfulness.

CHINA
China celebrates their annual Chung Chiu Moon Festival, the fall harvest festival, on the 15th day of the eighth lunar cycle of the year, the full moon closest to September 15. On this day, Chinese families come together for a three-day feast featuring a sweet delicacy called the mooncake. Image Source: chinahighlights.com/mooncake.htm

Families watch the full moon and sing and recite poetry about it. Chung Chiu is a particularly special holiday for couples, who can celebrate some romance under the full moonlight.

In the US it’s said the Chinese are the only people other than North Americans who celebrate Thanksgiving. American teachers have been teaching kids about this holiday and how America was settled by Pilgrims for several decades now, and it has caught on among younger people and Christians in China.
Image Source: en.ce.cn/Life/newsMoonFestival

Granted, it is generally thought of as a time to have a Western meal and thank friends, family, workmates, and teachers or bosses. They call it "Gan'en Jie" (感恩节, literally: 'thanks for grace holiday'). So foreigners in China might hear people say "thank you" and receive a small gift. New Chinese supermarkets in the big cities such as Shanghai and Beijing may also stock frozen turkey.

JAPAN
Japan observes a Labor Thanksgiving Day (Kinro Kansha no Hi) on November 23 every year, which is incorporated into Japan’s Happy Monday System. Not all Japanese citizens have the day off work, but all government entities are closed on this day in celebration of the country’s industrial workers and their progress.

Labor Thanksgiving Day is the modern name for Niiname-sai.

The origin of Japan’s Thanksgiving holiday actually dates back to the seventh century. The first record of the holiday is found in ancient records from 678 A.D., originally known as Niinamesai, an ancient cereals (rice, barley/wheat, foxtail millet, barnyard millet, proso millet, and beans) harvest festival. The holiday, which was then celebrated in November, “welcomed” the harvest season.

This celebration was accompanied by a harvest ritual by the Japanese emperor and the Royal Court. This ritual known as Shinjo-sai and involved the Emperor tasting the first rice of the harvest and honoring the harvest for the spirits, or kami.

Image Source: whenistheholiday.com/Thanksgiving_Japan

As Japan progressed and evolved into an industrial country rather than an agrarian one, the celebrations switched from honoring farmers to honoring workers. This modern interpretation has been in practice since 1948, following the country’s expansion of their Constitution following World War II which established new laws regarded workers’ rights and fundamental human rights.

Although widely practiced, Instead of large festivals and parades, families have modest celebrations within private residences. A number of major events held on this day, such as a labor festival in the city of Nagano, which hosted the Olympic Winter Games in February 1998. Local labor organizations sponsor this event to encourage people to think about issues affecting peace, human rights, and the environment

SOUTH KOREA
Korea’s Thanksgiving holiday Chuseok, also known as Hangawi, commemorates the first day that the full harvest moon appears, similar to other ancient harvest festivities from around the world. Families come together to welcome the harvest season and to spend some quality time with one another.

Much like American Thanksgiving, there are specific foods associated with Chuseok. One of the most important foods is a rice cake known as songpyeon. The rice cake’s dough is made using finely ground, new rice, and filled with sesame seeds, chestnuts, red beans, or other delights. It’s then molded into a small ball.

Image Source: financialexpress.com/south-korea--chuseok Image Source: koreaonlinevisa.com/news/

Families come together on the night before Chuseok to make songpyeon as a bonding activity, illustrating the importance of family in Korean culture.

Korea’s Thanksgiving holiday also calls for gift-giving between both family and friends. Typical presents range from high-quality steaks and fresh fruit, to gift baskets filled with necessities for the year. Spam is actually one of the most common gifts since it’s incredibly popular in Korea.

LIBERIAl
Thanksgiving in Liberia is celebrated on the first Thursday of November each year. It is almost identical to the United States’ version of Thanksgiving, aside from the day it’s celebrated.

Liberia, West Africa, was founded by freed American and Caribbean slaves in 1822. It was established for those free slaves who wanted more freedom and equality than the United States could offer. The country’s capital, Monrovia, is named after President James Monroe, who supported the creation of Liberia. The free slaves who choose to relocate to Liberia brought a lot of American traditions with them, and one of those traditions was the Thanksgiving holiday.

Image Source: pinterest.com/pin/527202700100336316/ Image Source: marketwatch.com/story/thanksgiving

Of course, Liberians put their own spin on the American traditions. Families get together and eat dinner consisting of chicken, green bean casserole, and mashed cassavas, which are a vegetable similar to potatoes. But Liberians like their food to be spicy, so different seasonings are added to give their dishes a kick.

UNITED KINGDOM
It may be surprising to some that Thanksgiving is celebrated also in the United Kingdom, seeing as the U.S. and the U.K. have had a pretty turbulent past at times. But long before there were Brits or Americans, the people of what is now the United Kingdom celebrated harvest festivals just like much of the world. So it isn’t as much of a leap as it might appear on the surface.

“It {Thanksgiving] began in churches in the year 1843, when Robert Hawker invited local parishioners to a special thanksgiving service at a church in Cornwall. This resulted in the custom of decorating churches with home-grown products. In the old times, the success of crops determined the success or failure of the people. The natives of UK, pleased the god of fertility by offering him the first sheaf of corn. This was done to ensure a good harvest in the coming season.” thanksgiving-day.org/celebration-united-kingdom.html Prior to that time the Druids and Celts celebrated fall harvest festivals at well.

The holiday is unofficially dubbed “Brits-giving” in the UK and is celebrated by those who honor it on the 4th Thursday of November as it is in the US.

BARBADOS
Like many other countries, Barbados’ answer to Thanksgiving comes in the form of a harvest festival called the Crop Over Festival. This is a 300-year-old tradition with origins from the sugarcane plantations on the Caribbean island. Slaves who worked in those plantations began celebrating the end of the sugarcane harvest season, which signaled the end of their strenuous plantation labor. The event included singing, dancing, and feasting. Drinking competitions were also a part of the celebration, as well as the tradition to climb a greased-up pole.

Begun in the 17th century, Crop Over was suspended for a period of time in 1943 when Barbados suffered from economic struggles due to World War II and didn’t have the funding to continue. It was brought back to life 30 years later by the Barbados Tourist Board and a group of passionate Barbadians..

Image Credit: Eye Ubiquitous/UIG via Getty Images Image source: barbadostoday.bb/BarbadosCropOver
Image Source: allthatsinteresting.com/thanksgiving-Barbados

Now the festival is now renowned worldwide and lasts anywhere from six weeks to three months, and apparently has little to do with giving thanks, at least in the sense that most Americans celebrate.

INDIA
Thanksgiving in India is usually found to be observed by the Christian populations. It is not a nationally recognized holiday and is known by different names in different parts of the country as a means to give thanks for bountiful harvest and flourishing of wealth.

As a multi-lingual, multi-cultural and secular country, the population participates in a number of harvest festivals in various regions, and the day is known for its Unity in Diversity. Harvest festivals are not national holidays in India but may be declared as State holidays by their respective regions. The purpose is to thank their deity’s.

In southern India the end of the harvest is observed as Pongal. On this day, farmers bring the newly harvested rice and prepare sweet dishes. The people believe that by thanking their deity, they will remain happy and prosperous throughout the year.
Image Source: goabroad.com/articles/Thanksgiving-India

On this day, homes are neatly decorated and new clothing is adorned for the occasion. Prayers are offered, a variety of sweets are cooked and distributed to the neighbors and friends.

The festival is common to several parts of India but they are known by different names in various parts of the nation and occur on different days. Therefore the holiday is celebrated with diverse culture and rituals.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL
These are only some of the countries who celebrate what could be called a formal Thanksgiving, but enough to give you a good idea of how widespread this is. It is all about thinking of the things you are grateful for and giving thanks for those things, and doing it with family. Some of the others include (but are not limited to):

Brazil Ghana Greneda Norfolk Island Puerto Rico Vietnam

Malaysia

And as Snoppy asks, "Why can't we be grateful all year?"
JUST SAYIN
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Sources
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/9-other-countries-celebrate-thanksgiving-110021067.html
https://allthatsinteresting.com/thanksgiving-in-other-countries
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/thanksgiving-around-the-world/
https://www.history.com/news/8-thanksgiving-celebrations-around-the-world
https://www.theifod.com/ten-other-countries-that-celebrate-thanksgiving
https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/thanksgiving-day.htm
https://tshirtatlowprice.com/thanksgiving-day-in-australia/
https://culturacolectiva.com/travel/thanksgiving-around-the-world-celebrations-traditions
https://www.thedailymeal.com/thanksgiving-family-traditions-across-america-slideshow-photos
https://whereintheworldislianna.com/miscellaneous/thanksgiving-traditions/
https://www.ibtimes.co.in/sukkot-2016-how-jewish-celebrate-feast-tabernacles-check-out-photos-700185
https://germangirlinamerica.com/what-is-erntedankfest/
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/when-is-thanksgiving-canada-2019-190659375.html
http://whenistheholiday.com/hc-5645-Labor_Thanksgiving_Day_in_Japan_in_2015
https://www.thedailymeal.com/thanksgiving-liberia
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/thanksgiving-in-8-other-countries-2015-11-25
http://www.thanksgiving-day.org/celebration-united-kingdom.html
https://www.goabroad.com/articles/gobble-up-these-7-thanksgiving-traditions-around-the-world
https://www.historicmysteries.com/lughnasadh-celtic-harvest-festival/
http://jschwind.blogspot.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-in-australia.html
https://torahportions.ffoz.org/portions-library/weekly-torah/raised-up-and-rebuilt.html
https://barbadostoday.bb/2021/08/06/bteditorial-crop-over-2022-in-some-form-or-fashion/
https://torahportions.ffoz.org/portions-library/weekly-torah/raised-up-and-rebuilt.html
https://looking4theblessedhope.com/2018/09/27/fulfillment-of-the-feast-of-tabernacles-and-our-eternal-choice/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving#:~:text=Thanksgiving%20is%20observed%20by%20orthodox%20Protestant%20churches%20in,church%20in%20the%20morning%20%28and%20occasionally%20afternoon%29%20too.

https://caribbeantrading.com/thanksgiving-traditions-in-puerto-rico/#:~:text=The%20locals%20have%20embraced%20the%20holiday%20eagerly%20and,So%20what%E2%80%99s%20different%20about%20a%20Puerto%20Rican%20Thanksgiving%3F

https://blog.japanesecartrade.com/1072-labour-thanksgiving-day-japan/#:~:text=Labor%20Thanksgiving%20Day%20in%20Japan%20celebrated%20as%20an,ancient%20festival%E2%80%99s%20origination%20dates%20back%20hundreds%20of%20years.

https://www.financialexpress.com/world-news/south-korea-extends-annual-chuseok-holiday-to-boost-domestic-spending/860442/

http://www.fundootimes.com/festivals/india-thanksgiving-day.html#:~:text=Thanksgiving%20Day%20in%20India%20is%20known%20with%20different,end%20of%20the%20harvest%20is%20observed%20as%20Pongal.

https://blog.japanesecartrade.com/1072-labour-thanksgiving-day-japan/#:~:text=Labor%20Thanksgiving%20Day%20in%20Japan%20celebrated%20as%20an,ancient%20festival%E2%80%99s%20origination%20dates%20back%20hundreds%20of%20years.

https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/nation/2019/11/26/native-americans-dominated-first-thanksgiving-feast-plymouth/4248526002/
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THE TYRANNY OF DEMOCRACY: "Democracy Is Two Wolves And A Lamb Voting On What To Have For Lunch"

11/12/2021

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A NATION DIVIDED
Washington, we have a problem!

Public opinion has become so heated over recent issues, that many Americans have been making angry statements – and making fools of themselves – over individual rights, what government can or can’t do, and basically speaking without remembering the meanings of terms they should have learned in school.

Americans are already so polarized about important issues that it doesn’t help – and is a waste of time – arguing over minutia. What is the matter with us?

A FRAME OF REFERENCE
Truth and fact exist based on the best information science and technology can determine at the moment and on the acceptance of those truths and facts by the vast majority of scientists, researchers, historians, scholars, and others intimately familiar with the subject. Some facts may never change, such as the number of bones in a human body which probably hasn’t changed for thousands of years now, but many others, over time, may be altered by new information and evolution itself.

In 500 BC the Greeks believed the earth was a sphere, then later between about 500 to 1100 AD, give or take a few years, it was a fact that the world was flat. Alas, the real fact is, in 2021 we know the earth is neither flat nor is it completely spherical.*

This is the Frame of Reference for discussing Democracy v Republic in terms of form of government.

G. Washington A. Hamilton B. Franklin J. Adams S. Adams T. Jefferson J. Jay J. Madison

OUR FOUNDING FATHERS
Within our frame of reference, it is clear the founding fathers favored a republic rather than a democracy as those terms were then defined. They wanted a government for the people and by the people, and championed seating power in the people of the nation. They also feared what they called the "tyranny of the majority", where the minorities have no protection of their rights.

Their solution was the creation of a republic where the people elect representatives to conduct the business of government, but with a Constitution that addresses this concern spelling out the rights of individuals, is intended to prevent the majoritarian rule of a simple democracy.

When the delegates of the United States Constitutional Convention debated the question in 1787, the exact meanings of the terms republic and democracy remained unsettled. At the time, there was no term for a representative form of government created “by the people” rather than by a king.

However, these guys were pretty smart!

They conceived a new form of government with "liberty and justice for all" based on the concept of the power resting with the citizens. These citizens elect representatives to make the laws which must be consistent with a Constitution that spells out the rights of all the citizens. There were plenty of disagreements and other major issues – such as a strong federal government v power being vested in the states – which are related to but not part of the democracy v republic question.

Our Constitution was designed to “promote the general Welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty.” With these rights and blessings come responsibilities that citizens need to assume in order to fulfill the promise of the new nation. These lofty goals and principles never had a singular interpretation and over time have led to differing ideas and heated debates, but none of them negate the responsibilities of the citizens, which many fail to mention when talking about their rights.

George Washington presiding at the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787
Original painting by Junius Brutus Stearns - Photographer: Granger
Source of Image with caption: pagetwo.completecolorado.com/

Keep in mind that the Roman Republic conquered much of Europe and East Asia, and with the Romans came their traditions and ideas, including that of republics. The founding fathers had examples of different forms of republics in Europe to learn from.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DEMOCRACY AND A REPUBLIC
Democracy and Republic are often taken as one in the same, but there is a fundamental difference.

First, there are different kinds of democracies and republics, and they can ‒ can be and are ‒ mixed and matched into hybrid forms of governance. Second, both in republics and democracies, citizens can be empowered to participate by electing representatives to the governing bodies. These representatives are sworn to protect the interests of their electorate.

Democracies
A pure democracy – called a simple or Athenian Democracy -- requires the people be allowed to take part in the government and its political processes. In a pure democracy, all citizens who are eligible to vote take an equal part in the process of making laws that govern them.

In other words, all citizens vote on all laws and measures, and the majority rules.

Because of the size of the territory included in the newborn country, from the beginning the Founding Fathers realized they needed a representative form of governance where citizens vote directly for representative who then convene to vote on the laws.

Even with a democracy with a representative system, the essence of the system is “The majority rules”. The attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate. whether it be based upon deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences. Therefore, in a democracy minority rights are overridden by the majority, and the laws enacted by the majority apply to all citizens of the country.

This is probably the most significant difference between the two forms of governance, because it leaves those in the minority with no protections of their personal or property rights.

Republics
The basic concept of a republic is a form of governance wherein the power rests in the hands of the citizens who elect representatives to make the laws and an executive to enforce those laws. Election of those representatives is through a voting process open to all citizens eligible to vote. Government leaders exercise their powers as per the rule of law, not rule of the majority as in a simple democracy.

A constitution, which is the law, limits the power of Government and ensures some rights and protections which cannot be overridden even by the majority. According to the constitution those individual and property rights are guaranteed and the government is prohibited from limiting or taking away certain “inalienable” rights of the people, even if that government was freely chosen by a majority of the people.

In a pure democracy, the voting majority has almost limitless power over the minority. Inherent in this is the expectation that to enjoy the guaranteed rights the citizens will accept the obligation and responsibility to participate in the voting process and to obey the laws.

The following chart, put together from two sources, compares a pure democracy and a republic and lays out the major differences.

WHAT IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?
After all this time, there is still no “official” designation for the type of governance we enjoy in the United States. Like most modern nations, is neither a pure republic nor a pure democracy. Instead, it is a hybrid democratic republic.

Alexander Hamilton called it a “representative democracy.” Others called it a “representative democratic republic”. It definitely combines several forms of government.

Just remember, you “pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands."

Because our country is a “representative democratic republic” which honors freedom and liberty and has guaranteed your right to speak out, it’s okay to have issues with the government, and it’s okay to disagree with something you don’t believe in… but please, do so from an informed position. And remember the responsibilities of the citizen in all this.

Try reading the Constitution, or a minimum the Bill of Rights, before you write that nasty little comment on FaceBook or Twitter.

And by the way, that popular quote, “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote”, often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, as well as other founding fathers, it was never said by any of them.

The saying means that in a pure democracy, the majority would literally eat the minority for lunch or dinner. The closest Franklin comes to expressing this sentiment is where he writes in a 1773 letter, “There is Truth in the Old Saying, That if you make yourself a Sheep, the Wolves will eat you.”

The first documented printing of the statement that has been found is the journal “Nomoss: Studies in Spontaneous Order" in 1987. Authorship is unknown. For your amusement, here are a few other definitions by Bill K. published on groups.google.com/g/misc.activism.militia/:

“A Democracy: Three wolves and a sheep voting on dinner.”
“A Republic: The flock gets to vote for which wolves vote on dinner.”
“A Constitutional Republic: Voting on dinner is expressly forbidden, and the sheep are armed.”
“Federal Government: The means by which the sheep will be fooled into voting for a Democracy…”
“Democrats and Republicans: sheep who think they are wolves.”

JUST SAYIN
□
THE BILL OF RIGHTS FROM THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

Article VII
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.

First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Second Amendment
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Third Amendment
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Fifth Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Sixth Amendment
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

Seventh Amendment
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Eighth Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Ninth Amendment
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

10th Amendment
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
□
Notes
Note 1: Thirty-three amendments to the United States Constitution have been proposed by the United States Congress and sent to the states for ratification since the Constitution was put into operation on March 4, 1789. Twenty-seven of these, have been ratified.

Note 2:: The earth is not a perfect oblate spheroid, because mass is distributed unevenly within the planet. There is more mass in the southern hemisphere. The greater the concentration of mass is, the stronger its gravitational pull, creating bumps around the globe. Moreover, to even out Earth's imbalanced distribution of mass and stabilize its spin, the entire surface of the Earth will rotate and try to redistribute mass along the equator, a process called true polar wander.

Sources
https://www.theunion.com/news/twi/our-founding-fathers-wanted-a-republic-not-a-democracy/
https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/article/us-democratic-constitutional-republic-and-yes-it-matters/
https://www.thoughtco.com/republic-vs-democracy-4169936
https://joedoakesplace.blogspot.com/2015/04/democracy-versus-republic.html
https://juscafe.com/encyclopedia/the-bill-of-rights-1791-the-usa/
https://checkyourfact.com/2019/05/29/fact-check-democracy-jefferson-adams-franklin-hamilton/
https://ammo.com/articles/founding-fathers-quotes-democracy-government-power-in-people
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h375.html
https://americanhistory.si.edu/democracy-exhibition/creating-citizens/what-are-rights-and-responsibilities-citizens
https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2020/12/23/caldara-dont-forfeit-freedoms-to-fear/

https://www.history.com/news/biracial-royalty-meghan-markle-queen-charlotte#:~:text=Black%20royalty%20has%20always%20existed%2C%20and%20modern%20monarchies,have%20complicated%20contemporary%20de

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_republic#:~:text=Republic%3A%20%22A%20state%20in%20which%20supreme%20power%20is,members%20of%20a%20state%2C%20typically%20through%20elected%20representatives.%22
https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/democracy_is_two_wolves/#:~:text=%22Democracy%20is%20two%20wolves%20and%20a%20lamb%2Fsheep%20voting,majority%20would%20literally%20eat%20the%20minority%20for%20lunch%2Fdinner.

https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-democracy-and-republic.html#:~:text=The%20major%20differences%20between%20democracy%20and%20republic%20are,rule%20of%20the%20people%E2%80%99.%20...%20More%20items...%20

https://www.ourdocuments.gov/print_friendly.php?flash=false&page=transcript&doc=13&title=Transcript+of+Bill+of+Rights+(1791)

https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/difference-between-democracy-and-republic/#:~:text=Difference%20between%20Democracy%20and%20Republic%20%20%20Democracy,made%20by%20...%20%204%20more%20rows%20

https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/full-text#:~:text=Full%20%EE%80%80Text%EE%80%81%20The%20%EE%80%80U.S%EE%80%81.%20%EE%80%80Constitution%EE%80%81.%20We%20the%20People,and%20establish%20this%20%EE%80%80Constitution%EE%80%81%20for%20the

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REMEMBER THE BEES! Writing characters of other ethnic and cultural backgrounds

11/5/2021

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I HAVE A PROBLEM
The main character in my contemporary series is a tour guide who travels to many countries and has people from everywhere in her tour groups. Hence, I must create characters from ethnic groups and cultures that I am not part of. These characters must be believable and real, and I want to do this without unintentionally writing something that is offensive to members of other cultures I’m writing about and piss them off.

That dilemma prompted this blog about how to write characters from other ethnic groups and cultures.

Personally, I start from the point of view that God created us all equal. Humans have two legs and two arms with one head and a brain that is capable of unbelievable things. Our bodies and internal organs are the same no matter where we are from. Our basic human needs and fears are the same.

It is what happens at birth and afterward that creates the differences in people. The experience of living and surviving is unique to every person.

You can’t live in anyone else’s skin or know exactly their thoughts and feelings, but the closer your experiences are to those of the other person, the easier it is to empathize and to come closer to real understanding.

“I suspect most people feel more or less the same when being chased by bees.”
Max Gladstone in intellectusspecul-max-gladstone-on-bees

SHOULD WHITE AUTHORS WRITE ABOUT CHARACTERS OF OTHER ETHNIC AND CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS?
The consensus seems to be that they should. After all, we live in a diverse world. In most contemporary settings – even in most historical novels – an all-white cast of characters would be odd, as it hardly reflects reality. So yes, a white author can write a diverse cast… and will learn something in the process.

In both contemporary and historical novels, if a writer is being realistic, it’s hard to find a time and place without at least some representation from people of other races or cultures who could show up at least as secondary characters, if not primary, depending on the type of novel, location, and time.

The second part of this answer, however, is that the writers must do their homework. Research! Research! Research! Then be respectful and understand which lines not to cross.

Mya Nunnally [bookriot.com/casually-racist-things-that-white-authors-do/] writes:
“It’s hard to explain the importance of representation to someone who doesn’t understand. But it’s like not having a good parent to look up to. You don’t have a positive image of what you can be. When you’re a young child of color and all around you are stories and movies and television about white children, you internalize the idea that hey—maybe my story isn’t as important as theirs.”

TAKING ON THE TASK
The following applies to major and secondary characters who have an impact on the story, not to pass-through characters. Minor characters who come and go through out the novel need some description including ethnicity and/or culture.

● Ask The Big Questions
What is my purpose in writing this? Who do I expect to be my audience? These are questions the author should ask himself regardless of what kind of novel he is writing.

Whatever you are writing and particularly if your target audience is primarily white, this is an opportunity to add diversity to your books in ways that help other white people understand and embrace the similarities we all share as human beings. Remember the bees.

Are you willing to do the work? If you are writing a 500 page historical family saga, you are in for a lot of research. Be sure you know what kind of novel you intend to write and your purpose in writing it.

● Research!
Massive research! Start by clearing your mind of everything you think you know about that ethnicity and culture. Be cautious of allowing friendships within the specific ethnic/ cultural group. Even a multitude of friends can’t represent everything about the entire history or culture. Look at your own ethnicity/ culture and think about how many differences there are between you other people you know in the same group.

Just don’t try to cram everything you’ve learned into the actual novel. Only use the parts that are pertinent to the story.

● Read
Read literature written by and for the group you want to depict. Also read or view anything you can which expresses the group members unhappiness with the way they are portrayed in the media and thought of by the general public. Read examples of white writers who handle ethnicity well, and maybe one who doesn’t.

Kelly Nichols and Kris Montee – two sisters who write as P.J.Parish – are a good example. They are so successful at writing their Louis Kincaid series, the the editor who bought the first book thought it had been written by a black man.

Just don't try to put everything you've learned into the actual story.

● Persist
Hang in there, even when your feelings are hurt, you are overwhelmed with “white guilt”, or become defensive. Kayla Ancrum says [mediadiversified.org/how-to-write-women/men-of-colour ], “This blinding rage some POC [People of Color] have for white people is not born of bigoted prejudice, but rather from old hurt. Or fear. Or pain.”

You must must must disassociate your personal feelings about the issues and just sit quietly and listen and not get emotional. The purpose is educate yourself about the issues that this group – and the character you want to write about – has strong feelings about and discuss in their everyday life.

● Be Awareness of Ethnicity
Do not have your white characters pretend People of Color are not POC. White people and POC see the difference in each other. That isn’t to say they can’t interact, be friends, treat the each other with respect, etc., but they are aware of the difference.

Mixed race people are often very cognizant of their racial perception and where and how they fit in. When you write such a character, they should have that awareness. Readers should identify with your character’s human characteristics over everything else.

● Turn About Is Fair Play
Right now, most of the articles available on this subject are about white writers trying to create characters of color or different cultural backgrounds. That’s to be expected since the majority of the authors are white. White people, however, are not homogeneous and do not come from the same cultural backgrounds.

When anyone, white or a person of color, writes a character, just as much research about era, location and cultural background is necessary for the time and place. Most likely, the person of color or other culture doesn’t know about a white person’s ethnicity and culture, nor understand their attitudes, values, and mindset. It should be a learning experience for a POC author.

● Use a Beta Reader
Have one or more Beta readers from your character’s ethnic or cultural group to assess your work and keep you on the right track.

BE AWARE OF THE PITFALLS
My opinion is that the major pitfalls can be avoided if the writer has done the research I keep harping about and is aware of being respectful and sensitive. The following pitfalls are very important to POC readers.

● White by Default
White by default is a sticky wicket and is as much a writing issue as a sensitivity issue. In many novels, when characters are introduced, only those persons of color are called out. That leaves the reader with the idea that everyone else is white if not identified as something else. This doesn’t bother most white writers, but it does bother the readers who are not white. It may cause younger readers to ask, “Aren’t there other people like me out there?”

The rule of thumb is that pass-through characters who never show up again in the novel [the waiter, the maid, the bank teller] and have no impact, are not described at all or with only one descriptor.

Writing primary and secondary characters require the heavy-duty research and Beta reader. Minor characters who show up now and then, or who are there but have little or no role in the outcome are usually described often by actions as well as unique things about their looks [e.g. a big hook nose.].

All characters need to be introduced by showing, not a feature-by-feature description, which will probably solve the introducing only white or only POC characters. Physical character description should be more than skin tone. Show the reader hair, eyes, noses, mouth, hands. Body posture, body shape, skin texture… though not necessarily all of those nor at once.

● Stereotypes
Stereotypes are a no-no in every type of writing. It’s lazy writing; a shorthand used to make quick descriptions of minor characters. When a writer does this, it’s easy to fall back on stereotypes.

All your characters should possess a fully well-rounded personality. After all, not all Japanese are good at math or a master at martial arts. Stereotypes are particularly noticeable in clothes and hairstyles, sometimes in professions.

● Describing People Of Color Using Food
If I learned one thing, it is that People of Color do not like having their skin colors described as a food color. Mya Nunnally [bookriot.com/casually-racist-things-that-white-authors-do/] explains that first, this kind of description is usually applied to people of color.

Second, “people of color have had a history of being used for slave labor involving food, especially coffee, chocolate, and so on. The words you use have a historical context. Be aware of them.”Don’t despair if one of your latino characters has “skin the color of caramel.” There are plenty of other ways to describe skin tone, including flowers and earthtones. Here are some listed in writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/words-for-skin-tone.
Basic Colors ▼ Expanded Basic Colors ▼

Minerals & Gemstones ▲ Flowers ▼ Metals ▲ Woods ▼

https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/96830966357/words-for-skin-tone-how-to-describe-skin-color

● Writing Dialogue in Black Dialect
Black English is a dialect of English, not standard English using bad grammar or slang. The dialect is African-American Vernacular (AAVE), and should be researched the same as any unfamiliar dialect. The name for the dialect was suggested in 1975 by a Black scholar. Even though it was never formally adopted by linguists, the dialect has its own rules and structure. Don’t wing it!

Scholars still argue about what AAVE should be called, leaning one way or another at different times. This probably why our white population isn’t familiar with either the name or the concept of it being a dialect. At this point in time, this is the name to use when researching.

● The Faithful Sidekick
Ever since – and maybe before -- Author Fran Striker wrote the “Lone Ranger” series of books, first released in 1936, the only person of color [if there was one in the story] was the hero’s sidekick or maybe the villain. Those works in themselves were surprising for the time to have one lone POC character.

Be cautious when you use a POC as a sidekick. At least make the character a full blown person with the appropriate feelings and mindset for the time and place, and give him or her a significant role.

● The White Savior
Another pitfall is the novel with the white person who “saves the natives”, presumably because they can’t do it themselves.

The movie “Avatar” is a good example. After it opened with great box office success, a deluge of blogposts, tweets and articles claimed the movie was "a fantasy about race told from the point of view of white people" and that it reinforces "the white Messiah fable." The lead actress, Robinne Lee, who is black with Jamaican and Chinese ancestry, said, “It's really upsetting in many ways. It would be nice if we could save ourselves." cbsnews.com/racist-theme-in-avatar/

TAKE AWAYSThere is a lot more to be discussed about diversity in writing novels... just look at the number of sources listed. Across the board, we all need to respect the rights and dignity of others and to be aware of and sensitive to those things that hurt or denigrate others.

The more the topic is addresses in the writing community, the better we will get at mutually dismantling inequality. Writing a POC character in a book ;with sensitivity and understanding may seem a small step, but every step in the right direction counts.

JUST SAYIN
■
Sources:
https://medium.com/thrive-global/24-things-that-only-writers-know-from-writers-464c0a625bb7
https://nelsonagency.com/2017/01/can-white-authors-write-characters-of-color/
https://midnightbreakfast.com/writing-people-of-color
https://www.springhole.net/writing/offensivemistakes.htm
https://writingtheother.com/writing-characters-of-different-races/
https://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2016/06/20/how-to-write-protagonists-of-colour-when-youre-white/
https://writersrelief.com/2018/02/15/characters-different-ethnicities-writers-relief/
https://midnightbreakfast.com/writing-people-of-color
https://indefeasible.wordpress.com/2008/03/23/writing-about-characters-of-a-different-race/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Understanding
https://clairelight.typepad.com/seelight/2006/09/almond_eyes.html
https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/96830966357/writing-with-color-description-guide-words-for
https://cypheroftyr.com/2016/05/20/so-you-want-to-describe-a-poc-character/
https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/95955707903/skin-writing-with-color-has-received-several
https://www.nap.edu/read/1785/chapter/8
http://authorelizaandrews.com/on-writing-about-race-when-youre-white/
https://nelsonagency.com/2017/01/can-white-authors-write-characters-of-color/
https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/guest-post-max-gladstone-on-bees-and-diversity/
https://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2016/06/20/how-to-write-protagonists-of-colour-when-youre-white/
https://writingtheother.com/writing-characters-of-different-races/
https:/www.writersdigest.com/wd-books/characters-and-viewpoint-excerpt
http://www.countriesandcultures.com/spanish-stereotypes-of-americans/
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/discussion/why-do-we-read-and-write-novels
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02167900
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-practical-differences-between-intellectual-and-emotional-empathy
http://www.journal.kfionline.org/issue-6/this-matter-of-intellectual-understanding
https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/guest-post-max-gladstone-on-bees-and-diversity/
https://bookriot.com/casually-racist-things-that-white-authors-do/
https://bookriot.com/white-as-the-default/
http://udel.edu/~dlarsen/ling101/slides/AAE.pdf
https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/96830966357/words-for-skin-tone-how-to-describe-skin-color
https://www.dictionary.com/e/united-states-diversity-african-american-vernacular-english-aave/
https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/2014/02/writing-tonto-wise-cracking-minority/
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MightyWhitey
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/racist-theme-in-avatar/
https://mediadiversified.org/2013/12/19/how-to-write-women-of-colour-and-men-of-colour-if-you-are-white/
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-practical-differences-between-intellectual-and-emotional-empathy

Paper by Rebecca S. Wheeler at the Workshop of Language, Westport, Connecticut 1999
Title: African American English is not Standard English with Mistakes.

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/10/16/the-effects-of-seeing-asian-americans-as-a-model-minority/model-minority-seems-like-a-compliment-but-it-does-great-harm

http://www.criminalelement.com/writing-where-your-protagonist-is-a-different-culture-or-race-john-keyse-walker-sun-sand-murder-comment-sweepstakes/

https://wendyallott.com/2018/02/07/what-should-you-consider-when-writing-characters-who-are-have-a-different-race-religion-gender-or-sexual-preference-to-you/

https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/guest-post-max-gladstone-on-bees-and-diversity/https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/guest-post-max-gladstone-on-bees-and-diversity/

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/10/16/the-effects-of-seeing-asian-americans-as-a-model-minority/model-minority-seems-like-a-compliment-but-it-does-great-harm

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November 05th, 2021 -Alert! I tried to post my blog today and someone ate it. Give me a while to get it back up. Sorry

11/5/2021

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Black Friday Around The World

THANKSGIVING CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD

THE TYRANNY OF DEMOCRACY: "Democracy Is Two Wolves And A Lamb Voting On What To Have For Lunch"

REMEMBER THE BEES! Writing characters of other ethnic and cultural backgrounds

November 05th, 2021 -Alert! I tried to post my blog today and someone ate it. Give me a while to get it back up. Sorry

Author R. Ann Siracusa

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