u/UnfilteredFacts

Ive been doing RA-4 for about 5 years, always using the "all included" Arista or similar chemistry kits that include the components for the developer and blix with mixing/dilution instructions, etc.

I would really like to scale up to Kodak or Fuji because the small kits are becoming less available and inconsistent quality. But the components are seemingly sold seperately (developer part B replenisher, etc). Ive always used RA4 as a single shot process, so why would I replenish anything?

Can someone please list exactly what components I need? The needed amounts, dilutions, etc would be most appreciated. If you DM me, I will compensate you 50

This is not an attack on the US Thanksgiving holiday, widely celebrated by most Americans, including myself. But we should all know the truth about the Pilgrims, who called themselves "saints" and "first comers." They were neither.

Our celebration and praise for these people is largely rooted in the somewhat democratic architecture of the Mayflower Compact, which has been symbolically described as the "seeds of democracy." This is intimately tied to the classic fable of the peaceful, brave, freedom-seeking pioneers who landed on Plymouth rock, befriended the Native Americans, and started the Thanksgiving holiday tradition we all love. This false narrative is a source of pious pride for modern Newenglanders and Americans in general, and it's absolutely shameful.

Besides the Native Americans who had already been there for 1000's of years, the Pilgrims were hardly "first comers" to North America. They were only the *4th* serious attempt to establish a British colony along the east coast of NA:

Newfoundland (1583): Multiple failed attempts until 1610.

Roanoke (1585): Failed.

Jamestown (1607): First successful colony rooted in hardship.

Popham (1607): Failed.

Plymouth (1620): Second successful colony rooted in luck.

Etc.

These attempts were mostly organized and financed by British companies who saw investment opportunities in NA, and the general locations for each colony were strategically pre-determined. The 4th attempt was financed by a group called the "Merchant Adventurers" based in London. These "*Fourth* comers" were *supposed* to set up another organized, defensible colony near the Hudson river, and maintain it for 7 years while more settlers and supplies arrived to expand, explore, etc. The location was also important for reinforcing British control of the "New World" already in place at Jamestown, where the Pilgrims could go if things got too real for them. The Pilgrims agreed to this and set sail in September, 1620 to exploit and plunder this new territory.

Way off course, the Pilgrims instead decided to settle in a (supposedly) abandoned Wampanoeg village, in the territory already named "Plymouth" by John Smith in 1614. There is no evidence of any Plymouth *rock*, and the modern tourist attraction is only that. But seeing opportunity, the Pilgrims reasoned that their land patent didn't apply to the Plymouth area, so rather than just go to the intended area, they decided "*OH, Well! Let's disregard the interests of the investors who financed our journey! Let's use the supplies to do Whatever. We. Want!*"

Now off the grid and dependant only on each other, they hastily drafted a vaguely democratic 200 word agreement among themselves to discourage inighting among these selfish people. They called it the "Mayflower Compact" and it had absolutely no connection to the founding documents of the U.S. government. They then wasted no time unceremoniously scrapping the sacred (and chartered) Mayflower boat, whose rental was paid for by their investors, who definitely lost that deposit. Now, some sources report the Pilgrims said they were stranded. But isn't that what you would say if perhaps, this was your plan all along?

Zero question these self-righteous people would have all died if not for their absurdly lucky chance meeting with Squanto, a native who just happened to have been to England and was just about the only person in North America outside of Jamestown who spoke a word of English. A well-intending person, Squanto was able to convince the local tribes to cooperate with the Pilgrims for a short while until he died from one of their European diseases. Peaceful relations with the natives naturally began to fall apart, and their famous Thanksgiving feast was by no means a recurring event. With their stolen property including modern weapons, they systematically displaced the natives who saved their lives and taught them how to survive.

For the record, the first Thanksgiving was held in Virginia on December 4, 2019, and obviously had nothing to do with the Pilgrims. The first national Thanksgiving holiday was declared by George Washington in 1789 to celebrate the outcome of the revolutionary war, the constitution, and having nothing to do with Pilgrims. Much later, the Lincoln administration made it a recurring holiday to promote unity and help hold the north together during the Civil War. Conversely, Native Americans hold a quietly ignored day of Mourning in Plymouth every year because they believe the event marks the beginning of their oppression. Rooted in the Pilgrims.

As it is, the current version of the Thanksgiving holiday serves insult to injury as the Native presence in this country quietly fades to history. So let's instead celebrate and practice the examples of peace, and kindess demonstrated by the Native American tribes with modern gestures of friendship, respect, and Thanksgiving. Formally revising the reason for the Thanksgiving holiday might just be what this country needs during these times of resentment politics, ragebate echochambers, and looming conflict.

TL/DR:

Thanksgiving should be about celebrating the Native Americans, and condemning the selfish Pilgrims.