Monday is Columbus Day, the Day We Celebrate...

[louis c]

...America's first undocumented immigrant.

[Kaleva]

1. Columbus Day is huge here at DU

[geomon666]

2. and mass murderer

and I believe he was America's first slave trader too, if I'm not mistaken.

[ProudLib72]

3. You know the rhyme. Now say it with me

In 1492,
Spain expelled all her Jews.

Some went elsewhere in Europe. The more adventurous went with Columbus.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/columbus-sets-sail-judaic-treasures

It was Christopher Columbus, the "world-unveiling Genoese" himself, who first linked the Jews and the New World. In his letter to the king and queen of Spain which opens the Journal of the First Voyage, Columbus writes:

So after having expelled the Jews from your dominions, Your Highnesses, in the same month of January, ordered me to proceed with sufficient armament to the said region of India.

Actually, Columbus set sail on August 3, 1492, a day after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain began. Much has been written of Columbus's purported Jewish origins and of Jews who accompanied him on his first voyage. It is certain only that the expedition's interpreter, Luis de Torres, was born a Jew but had converted shortly before the expedition set sail; that two "New Christians," Luis de Santangel and Gabriel Sanchez, had a hand in the financing; and that two Jews, Abraham Zacuto and Joseph Vecinho, provided technical expertise that helped Columbus navigate the "Ocean Sea."

Anyway, this is what I think about on Columbus Day: anti-Semitism forcing people to migrate to a new land free of bigotry.

[democratisphere]

4. When will we celebrate Erik the Red Day who landed on North American shores in 985.

[Duppers]

7. When will we celebrate the first people on...

The American continents?
The Native Americans who came here 12,000 years ago?

Not to take anything away from Erik, mind you. And I agree that perpetuating the myth that Christopher Columbus was the first person to discover the American continent is ridiculous.

Oh yeah, I forgot: ONLY people of white European descent are the only people that matter when "discovering" anything?


Native Americans discovered these continents first. They weren't just some critters living here.

The whole country should abolish Columbus Day and celebrate

*** "Native Americans Day." ***

(Easier to remember than "Indigenous Peoples Day.&quot )

[democratisphere]

9. Agreed.

[MFM008]

5. My Bank

has a sign that says' Happy Indigenous people day' on it.

[MrScorpio]

6. Fuck Christopher Columbus.

[Duppers]

8. YES !!

[geardaddy]

11. Excellent!

[Drahthaardogs]

10. No. Columbus Day is a day for Italian Americans

And was adopted as an apology for the way they were treated in this country (and to get their votes).


Go read up on it.

[brooklynite]

12. Sorry, the joke doesn't work...

...Columbus didn't stay so he's not an immigrant; and he wasn't first...