End Columbus Day?
DENVER (Reuters) - About 75 protesters, including American Indian activist Russell Means, were arrested on Saturday after blocking Denver's downtown parade honoring the Italian-born discoverer Christopher Columbus, an event they denounced as "a celebration of genocide."Protesters have a point. Columbus was a bold explorer and a talented sailor, but he also enslaved and executed Native Americans. He was jailed briefly for his tyrannical rule. In Columbus's defense, he was later released, though Spain refused to restore him as colonial governor. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
On top of that, historians long ago acknowledged that the Vikings arrived in North America long before Columbus, and Columbus himself insisted until his death that he had not discovered "The New World," but had actually landed in a remote part of Asia.
All this makes me wonder, is it time to end Columbus Day as an official holiday?
I know that Italian-Americans may object, but given that there's still some dispute about whether Columbus was even Italian, I'd like to offer up a trade.
How about March 9th for Amerigo Vespucci?
Or even better, January 30th for Franklin Delano Roosevelt?
11 comments:
I definitely think it's time to toss Columbus Day. At some point, it becomes ridiculous to turn a blind eye to history and how it relates to our country today. Surely we can find something more positive to celebrate every fall.
The fact that his “discovery” was somewhat less than groundbreaking is a reasonable point. But I find it hard to take the rest of your post seriously, considering that, in many states, your Party has dinners to celebrate its Indian-slaughtering “founder,” Andrew Jackson.
By your logic, we should also eliminate President's day, since George Washington (along with several other US Presidents) owned slaves.
YDD, since it was offical US government policy to "remove" as many Natives as possible through relocation or death, shouldn't we also stop celebrating the 4th of July since it is in fact celebrating the end of Native life and culture?
FDR was a Communist. Period.
If Andrew Jackson did not "slaughter" the Indians, they would have slaughtered us.
Wake up, America.
OK, 5:18 is a moron. Period.
But I have to ask, why would the Italians want to swap Columbus with FDR, who was of Dutch descent?
FDR was no communist; he was an authoritarian statist, much admired by Mussolini, responsible for extending The Depression and for using executive power to prosecute his political opponents (Andrew Mellon, Sam Insull etc), and merits getting booted off the dime (or at least sentenced to remain on the dime) but I still don't think he was a communist.
JBP
I think it's smart to avoid any holiday centered on a person.
Presidents day for Washington and Lincoln the only exceptions probably.
Columbus is responsible for genocide and does not deserve to be honored. Trade Columbus day for a federal election day holiday.
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