Scott Alexander reframes the Thanksgiving story as a science fiction narrative to highlight its overlooked complexities and darker aspects.
Longer summary
Scott Alexander retells the story of Thanksgiving as a science fiction narrative, highlighting lesser-known historical facts. The post reimagines Squanto's life as a tale of alien abduction, dystopian empires, and post-apocalyptic America. It portrays the Pilgrims as aliens with advanced technology but lacking basic knowledge, and Squanto as a complex figure trying to rebuild civilization. The narrative concludes with a reminder of the eventual near-extinction of Native Americans, drawing parallels to the aliens' actions in the story. Scott uses this sci-fi retelling to emphasize the often-overlooked complexities and dark aspects of the Thanksgiving story.
Shorter summary