May Day

How does the forgetting of a workers' holiday commemorating an American labor struggle show fundamental aspects of the American Way of Life?




First off, I wouldn't call the holiday "forgotten" so much as erased and replaced with jovial and warm hearted Labor day. People prefer to keep things positive, especially if they are taking a day off from work to celebrate it. God forbid they should actually use this precious day off to be productive and commemorate the men that brought to them the eight hour work day.

International Workers Day, or May Day, is a commemoration of the Haymarket massacre/strike in chicago where police open fired into a crowd of workers, protesting for a shorter work day. When an Anarchist group set up follow up strikes a bomb went off in the crowd, killing policemen and rioters alike, the pigs opened fired once again on the crowd of unarmed civilians. The Anarchist leaders of this riot were held responsible and hung for the actions of the irresponsible individuals in the crowd.

Of course, few Americans actually know about this and blindly accept Labor day, a day now reserved for traditional family barbecues and drinking, as an adequate substitution. How typically American. No wonder we as a people are so disgustingly lacking in a voice, our schools don't teach it, our government doesn't celibrate it, and the media exploits it by destroying our brains with alcohol. Its been more or less hidden. What better way to keep people under control than by getting them to ignore their past.