Juneteenth Thoughts

[Bobbert]

• If the Juneteenth holiday is a response to people who reject the July 4th Independence Day, shouldn't people be forced to choose one of those holidays as a mid-summer holiday?

• Will the Juneteenth holiday become a platform for marches and speeches related to racial grievances? June used to be a very relaxing month as we started the summer. Now it has become very political, with the homosexual activism and Juneteenth.

• I work for a federal contractor. Every time there is a federal holiday, you can count on at least three days of limited access to people—the holiday, the day before, and the day after. It can make things difficult, especially when you are doing work on-site at a federal facility.

• Many people think that blacks didn't have full rights until the Civil Rights Act of the mid 60s. How soon can we expect a push to get that commemorated as a national holiday?

• And on a lighter note, I went to bed last night to the sound of fireworks. Looks like Juneteenth will be a chance for the fireworks fanatics to unload some of the stuff they've been stockpiling for July 4th.

[km1125]

As if we needed another reason to make the federal government even 10% MORE inefficient and wasteful!!! They should have removed one of the other federal holidays if they thought this really needed to be recognized.

[craig11152]

If they keep adding federal holidays without removing some eventually they will have 365 and Government works won't actually work.

[Deleted User 14896]

I myself was only vaguely aware of it this year.
It popped up on my phone calendar and I had to google it to see what it was about.
I'm thinking it will fade into the background in a few years. Like Eid Al-Adha and the First Day of Sukkot, most folks will see or hear something mentioned, wonder for a moment what's that all about, then shrug and forget about it.

[Bobbert]

I myself was only vaguely aware of it this year.
It popped up on my phone calendar and I had to google it to see what it was about.
I'm thinking it will fade into the background in a few years. Like Eid Al-Adha and the First Day of Sukkot, most folks will see or hear something mentioned, wonder for a moment what's that all about, then shrug and forget about it.

An empty mailbox will be an annual reminder of this holiday.

[craig11152]

I got 5 bucks says white liberals will embrace this holiday way more than most black people do. I'll put the number at 64% of black people and 99% of white liberals. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if those self flagellation whips go flying off the shelves wherever they sell them.

[BME]

If they keep adding federal holidays without removing some eventually they will have 365 and Government works won't actually work.

Columbus Day would be an obvious candidate for removal. I'm surprised it's still recognized as a national holiday.

[jadednihilist]

• If the Juneteenth holiday is a response to people who reject the July 4th Independence Day, shouldn't people be forced to choose one of those holidays as a mid-summer holiday?

• Will the Juneteenth holiday become a platform for marches and speeches related to racial grievances? June used to be a very relaxing month as we started the summer. Now it has become very political, with the homosexual activism and Juneteenth.

• I work for a federal contractor. Every time there is a federal holiday, you can count on at least three days of limited access to people—the holiday, the day before, and the day after. It can make things difficult, especially when you are doing work on-site at a federal facility.

• Many people think that blacks didn't have full rights until the Civil Rights Act of the mid 60s. How soon can we expect a push to get that commemorated as a national holiday?

• And on a lighter note, I went to bed last night to the sound of fireworks. Looks like Juneteenth will be a chance for the fireworks fanatics to unload some of the stuff they've been stockpiling for July 4th.

Juneteenth and July 4th are completely different holidays and can both mutually be celebrated without contradiction. Even Trump supported making Juneteenth a federal holiday as recently as last year; and it got the widespread bipartisan approval of everyone in the Senate and House (minus 14 GOP House Members). I am not sure where the controversy is here.

Juneteenth celebrates a core tenant of American values, freedom. Tragically, slavery continued for about two years after the end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. We should be able to celebrate his milestone of freedom for all of our people while also being mindful of the shameful components of our history as well; just like we celebrate the sacrifices of our veterans while mourning their losses. July 4th commemorates our declaration of independence from Great Britain and the birth of American values; yet another milestone for freedom.

We may disagree on how we celebrate these holidays, but I fail to see a problem with the formal and deep recognition of these important milestones in our history.

If they keep adding federal holidays without removing some eventually they will have 365 and Government works won't actually work.

This is the first federal holiday that's been approved since MLK Day in 1983, nearly 40 years ago. I don't think we're on a slippery slope to never working. If I had to choose any holidays to eliminate on the current list, it would probably be Columbus Day followed by New Year's Day. Do we really need to celebrate each time we complete an orbit around the sun around a random point?

[Matt]

Why is this a discussion?

[bmw]

In the grand scheme of things, the end of slavery was a more monumental event in our history than was the end of racial segregation. As such, one could argue that if MLK Day is a federal holiday then so should be the day the slaves were freed.

That said, I don't think we need TWO federal holidays dedicated specifically to black people becoming free. Personally I would stick with MLK Day and not have made Juneteenth a federal holiday - namely because so much time has passed. If Juneteenth had become a federal holiday say in the 1870s or 1880s then that would be another story.

[ZenithCKLW]

• Will the Juneteenth holiday become a platform for marches and speeches related to racial grievances? June used to be a very relaxing month as we started the summer. Now it has become very political, with the homosexual activism and Juneteenth.

I apologize in advance for my snark. I'm sorry to hear your June slumber was disturbed by those darn pesky people who want their voices heard and existence acknowledged by those who either STILL think of these groups as second class citizens or won't help improve/fix the broken systems that keep these groups living as second class citizens.

I think the calendar can accommodate Juneteenth. I'm curious to hear everyone's thoughts on Christmas (and its associated entire SEASON) and Easter. (I know Easter isn't a federal holiday, but this holiday is still A-OK).

I'm not trying to be a douche, but seriously. We shouldn't be offended or "off-put" by any of this. The fact that this is a debate... ????

[Deleted User 14896]

Columbus Day would be an obvious candidate for removal. I'm surprised it's still recognized as a national holiday.

Columbus Day is a good example of what I was talking about in an earlier post in this thread. The banks and most government offices are closed. But who celebrates anything? This latest holiday will be become the same.

[bmw]

...those who either STILL think of these groups as second class citizens or won't help improve/fix the broken systems that keep these groups living as second class citizens...

Please describe the demographics of these people so we know specifically which group you are generalizing about.

[Lester The Nightfly]

This grousing reminds me of when I was around six years old and shortly after Mother's Day and Father's Day I told my folks there should be a Kid's Day. The old man just looked at me and said "Until you start paying for your food and room on your own, every day is Kids Day".

Point being don't worry all you old, white, conservative Republican's, even though someone else is having an opportunity to celebrate their heritage, rest easy you still have more privilege than 99% of the world population. Not that you necessarily deserve it.

[bmw]

Point being don't worry all you old, white, conservative Republican's, even though someone else is having an opportunity to celebrate their heritage, rest easy you still have more privilege than 99% of the world population. Not that you necessarily deserve it.

In the interest of disclosure, what is YOUR race? I'm trying to figure out if your issue with with white people or just with Conservatives.

And on a side-note, black people now have 30 days to celebrate their heritage (31 in a leap year) - MLK Day, Juneteenth Day, and 28 or 29 days in the month of February. So let's not pretend like the black community is somehow being oppressed by old white Conservative men when it comes to celebrations. That's equally as ridiculous as when Christians claim that the "happy holidays" greeting somehow oppresses their ability to celebrate Christmas.