Presidential turkey pardon

[Pool Hall Ace]

Does anyone else find the whole annual White House "pardoning of the turkey" stupid? I'm not sure what purpose is served by it. All it does for me is remind me of the many turkeys that will have their necks wrung so they can act as a pretty centerpiece at some dysfunctional family gathering. I even felt this way as a meat-eater, so it's not exactly related to the whole going-vegetarian thing.

I remember ranting to someone about this and her reply was, "Don't you have anything to be thankful for?" I guess for some people, tradition dies hard, and this is the only way to show gratefulness.

Sorry to show my holiday crabbiness. I am thankful that after this rough year that I have had, I get to enjoy some stuffed squash, without any bickering! :D

[flvegan]

1. I agree.

And I thought the same thing even when I ate meat. I suppose it's in good humor, just humor I guess I never understood.

[LeftyMom]

2. Yes. Also, calling Thanksgiving "Turkey Day" makes me fucking stabby.

[Pool Hall Ace]

3. Oh yes, that is another one that I didn't care for

even when I was still a meat-eater. Goofy yet well-meaning co-workers would cheerily ask, "How was your Turkey Day?"

Depending on where I had spent Thanksgiving, I would grumble that it was about as much fun for me as it was for the turkey.

[CrispyQ]

5. Ditto on that.

For the most part, I can endure food events, but T-day is different. The whole focus of the day is the food, especially the turkey. My mother never understood my disgust at having a dead carcass sitting on the dinning table. It's slightly less offensive than a pig roast, but not by much.

[LeftyMom]

6. I don't deal with it anymore.

As is now my custom (two years running and no plans of changing it in the future) I spent Thanksgiving with friends who are all vegan.

[CrispyQ]

7. Yeah, I stopped going to T-day dinner over 20 years ago.

My mother never forgave me for ditching T-day. Just another on a long list of things she was pissed at me about. :eyes:

What sent me over the edge was the year my family agreed to come to our house for a vegetarian T-day dinner. I made a two big pans of lasagna, garlic bread, pies, the whole works. They called T-day morning & said they weren't coming because, "It's just not Thanksgiving without a turkey!" I was so pissed I never did T-day with them again. You know, if they had just said up front that they didn't want a veggie T-day I wouldn't have been nearly as pissed as canceling out the morning of the event.

Many years later my sister told me that my grandmother had planned to bring a turkey to our dinner, but my mother, who knew I would go ballistic, said, "No, let's just stay here & eat our turkey dinner, instead." Assholes.

Yeah, I just called my family assholes. x(

[Raine]

4. It's ridiculous

and irratating.