Let’s all join together to make our feelings known about this abomination of a “holiday.” It sickens me that we still, with our extensive knowledge of what happened, “celebrate” this day. Do what you can to tell people about what went down and set the record straight.
Growing up, I loved long weekends. I think most kids (and adults) do. Any reason to get off school was a good reason to me. “Oh the President was shot? Do I have to go to school?” “We’re going to war? That means I can stay home, right?”
It wasn’t until my 4th year of college that I realized the school systems had been lying to us about one of our national holidays, Columbus Day. The only thing that we were taught as kids was that Columbus sailed the ocean blue and discovered America in 1492. That’s basically the reason for the holiday–that he discovered America. We owe our existence to him. This is a lie. Here are some snip-its from an essay that I wrote about the situation at hand:
The horrifying reality of Christopher Columbus’ legacy is rarely focused on in present day America…
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There can never be enough reasons to slag off the Spanishy-Italian lot.
I agree. Stop being so proud. Haha!
Nice! Set it straight!
That’s right. Every little helps.
I do not really agree with this writer. It is the sort of PC I find rather irritating. Take any one of the early pioneers and you will find large measures of the brutality and ignorance of their times. We are not celebrating that, and of course deplore actions dictated by those aspects.. What we ARE celebrating would be the positive qualities of adventure, skill, courage and fortitude which went into their exploits.
Unfortunately, I think there was more of a quest for riches and power than adventure, and sadly at the cost of these indigenous people. I don’t think any amount of skill or fortitude could negate the atrocities these ” explorers” committed. I very much dislike the whole PC thing, too. There is a tendency in America to whitewash everything. This goes far beyond whitewashing, I’m afraid. I draw the line at celebrating a holiday named after a man who was a brutal and merciless exterminator of people. To me it would be the same as celebrating Hitler Day.
Now, Ernest Shackleton, he was an explorer I could celebrate for his exceptional courage, strength of character, skill and fortitude.
We’ll just have to agree to disagree on this one, I’m afraid.
Well I just learned something I never knew about Mr Columbus and now makes me pause as to how/why we honor him.. Oh boy, me no likey this..
Thanks for the history lesson ( obviously i was asleep in school)
Yeah, it’s pretty revolting. I also found out today that Columbus Day was created in 1937 by Roosevelt to win the Italian vote. Who knew? Certainly, not me.
I also didn’t know that many states are already doing away with Columbus Day. That’s at least promising.
I don’t think we were asleep in school, Lynne – our schools teach the whitewashed version, aka the lie. It makes me wonder what other info/facts we’re missing…?
So the important thing here is, did you enjoy your Columbus day?
haha! Of course. I just tried to focus on Leif Erickson, the real discoverer of the North American continent. Because we all know, the Vikings were a very kind and loving people. 🙂
Well then Happy Leif Erickson day! http://www.segmation.wordpress.com
Thanks, to you too!!
I feel the same way about Columbus Day! I am not sure why it is a celebration. Or a child’s rhyme or a day of remembrance. Ugh.
I’m so glad you feel this way, too. I don’t care what time period or century a person is from, torture and brutality is uncivilized. It’s a disgrace. I was just thinking about how the British have put an eternal flame and an apology carved in stone, outside the Tower of London where they did all of the beheadings. Something about that is honest and cleansing. At least we should recognize the truth and not look the other way. Thanks, Jean.
Lily is such a good writer, Lisa! And her essay really hit a chord with me. And I don’t think facing up to the truth about what kind a man Columbus is PC at all. It’s just a fact. How ironic that for the 1500 years when the most important thing in life was a person’s faith in god and concern about their ultimate salvation that the world was so cold and cruel and brutal where there was such little regard for human life. I’m so glad I didn’t live then or if I did I’m so glad I don’t remember any of it! HA! 😀
Ha! I feel the same way. I’d like to think that no matter what time period I lived in, that I would never feel casual about human suffering or just chalk it up to ‘the times.’ It’s bad enough to kill and quite another, to brutally torture. The more you learn about Columbus the more you ask yourself, “Why are we celebrating his life?” I heard on the CBS sunday morning news that Roosevelt created the holiday in 1937 to win the Italian vote. What the heck? haha!
We should get rid of Columbus day and replace it with Amerigo Vespucci day. Amerigo Vespucci is a way cooler name!
I totally agree. At least he actually stepped foot on the North American Continent, and discovered it, unlike Columbus. Haha!