Why do we still have a columbus day?

[Philosoraptor]

Why do we still propagate the mythology surrounding columbus to our children and celebrate his so called wonderful achievement? He wasn't looking for America, but China. He was an Italian seeking gold and treasure for Spanish royalty and profit, hardly a noble cause.

When I was a boy in the 50's we learned that song, 'in fourteen hundred ninety two, columbus sailed the ocean blue, he sailed and sailed and sailed and sailed, to find this land for me and you'. Ridiculous.

We have parades for the white European who 'discovered' America, we have a national day off even, but this is the 21st century and the myth is old and moldy.

Technically Lief Erikson got here long before columbus and he didn't conquer the continent or plunder its resources and people, maybe he just landed in the wrong spot, cause we all know the deal with the Vikings.

Even more technically, the continent was ALREADY inhabited thank you, and didn't need to be 'discovered' by somebody from thousands of miles across the ocean.

I suggest we teach kids that yes, columbus accidentally landed near America, before it was called that by it's conquerers, and just happened to claim the whole fucking continent for Spain by poking a flag in it and declaring it, then he proceeded to rape and plunder the original inhabitants, wiping out whole tribes, murdering thousands of them, converting thousands more to Catholicism and syphilis.

Then his fellow Europeans showed up like locusts and totally destroyed the ORIGINAL INHABITANTS for the next 500 years plus and have not stopped since.

Or would that be too much education for the little people?

Why the hell do we still waste our time with and perpetuate columbus day?

Oh yeah, happy Monday off.

[Clark2008]

1. Only government offices and banks are closed on Monday

I have never worked anywhere that was closed on Columbus Day.

[Waya]

6. Schools, too......my kids never had ..........

........School on that day.

[Clark2008]

7. Not around here.

School is open on Monday here.

[yorkiemommie1]

25. our school district never had Columbus Day off

until this year!

[Waya]

30. Ours always did.....in Ohio....

.....and here in PA now, too....

[zanne]

8. ... nt

[ellie]

2. I have been calling it

Murderers' Day for more than 20 years. How someone can "discover" land that is already occupied is beyond me. My husband and I joke that we should walk into a McMansion and claim it for the governments of Germany (he's German) and Hungary (I'm Hungarian). That's exactly what happened in the U.S.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[jobycom]

10. That's not true or relevant, but welcome to DU!

:hi:

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

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[jobycom]

26. They are in the minority of Native Americans, and in the case of

the Seminoles, have a financial interest in not changing the name.

It's still irrelevant as to why we have a holiday for a man who brought slavery to America, captured and enslaved children for sexual purposes, and slaughtered thousands of people for his own financial gain. I mean, I can understand why the Republicans would like the guy, but not real Americans.

[Waya]

29. Most of these........

..'self-appointed activists', as you call them, are Native American.... members of AIM, UNA and others....

[Waya]

12. Actually, Tribes do 'raise hell'......

.....depending on the issue....


Oh yea, WELCOME!

[Waya]

4. Good Gawd, man.........

..did you take leave of your senses?

We can't teach the little tykes the truth about how America came to be. They might grow up and have an entirely distorted view of 'the Land of the Free (except Native Americans) and the Home of the Brave'(cheating Native Americans - like taking candy from a baby).

No, no - better to cloak the 'Native Amrican Holocaust' in the Flag of Bravery and Glory.
Much better for the psyche of the little precious ones in the long run...........

[Toots]

5. Native Americans enjoy having a day to celebrate their "discovery"

don't ya think? :shrug:

[marmar]

9. Because in the land of torture, genocide is something to celebrate!

I can't wait until "George Allen Day" and "Anita Bryant Day" are introduced as national holidays. :toast:

[Warpy]

11. He's a big deal in the Italian neighborhoods in Boston

and NYC. Other than that, he's an excuse for bait and switch sales nationwide. Big woop.

It's one of those holidays we nurses didn't get but the administration did.

Columbus is significant because he's the first European imperialist to set foot in the western hemisphere.

The Norse and St Brendan were here long before he was, and probably more Europeans had come from time to time, so he didn't discover much.

It was the first blush of Empire, and the land so plentiful that most seafaring nations could grab a piece of it---and they did.

The exception was Italy. They preferred Empire closer to home in Africa.

[William Bloode]

39. Know whats funny about that?

New evidence suggest that Columbus was actually a Spanish mercenary, and not Italian. There is no real evidence to support he is Italian, according to a documentary i watched on History Channel International.

[Warpy]

59. Heh, I know

I read about that some time ago. Nobody knows for certain, though, records back then were spotty, to say the least.

It is pretty funny. I didn't look at the last several Columbus Day parades in the North End quite the same.

[ThatsMyBarack]

13. I have to work on CD Monday,....

....but I don't mind 'cuz I love my job! ;)

[Jed Dilligan]

14. Why do you hate Amerigo?

[Philosoraptor]

16. oh I forgot, chris thought he was in INDIA

hence the eternal insulting name for the original inhabitants.

[Philosoraptor]

21. and they always badmouth that awful Cortez

[Jed Dilligan]

32. I was making a bad pun...

But yeah, it's weird that Columbus is a hero and Cortez a villain in history... When they were both just flea-bitten pirates, like thousands of others of their times, but they were in the right place at the right time to make the history books. If anything but luck helped, it was the ruthlessness they held in common.

[Philosoraptor]

34. I'm hip

I remember Amerigo. the victors write the history books

[Solly Mack]

15. It's all about the image...

snort

[nickinSTL]

17. as a part of my religion...

I consider the day to be Leif Eriksson and Freydis Eriksdottir Day.

Did you know that Leif's sister traveled with him?

Leif Eriksson and his sister, Freydis Eriksdottir, both children of Erik the Red, discovered Vinland, in modern Canada, almost 500 years before Columbus.

Leif and Freydis landed in Vinland in about the year 1000 CE, and established the first European colony in the Americas.

[Bridget Burke]

35. Well, the Norse had Irish maps!

As that famous Irishman, Oscar Wilde, said: "America had often been discovered before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up."

Edited to add: Leif Erikson Day is a United States observance occurring on October 9. It honors Leif Erikson, who led the first Europeans believed to have set foot on North American soil. In 1964, Congress authorized and requested the President to create the observance through an annual proclamation. Lyndon B. Johnson and each President since have done so. Presidents have used the proclamation to pay tribute to the contributions of Americans of Nordic descent generally and the spirit of discovery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leif_Erikson_Day

[semillama]

36. That's possibly the best Wilde quote i've ever seen. n/t

[nickinSTL]

63. October 9

This article is a bit misleading, IMO.

Some groups do recognize October 9 as Leif Eriksson/Freydis Eriksdottir Day. This is in a tradition that honors some worthy historical heathen on the 9th of each month.

Others recognize Leif and Freydis Day on the same day that "Columbus Day" is celebrated.


For a list of others celebrated on the 9th day of other months, scroll down to "Lesser Feasts: Days of Remembrance" at this link:
http://www.thetroth.org/ourfaith/rites.html

[bryant69]

18. Because we are here

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[kskiska]

19. We should take a good look at Thanksgiving, too.

[TAPat]

22. No kidding, Man!

My kid brought home some cute little play about Columbus day. First words out of my mouth: My god, are they still teaching this shit?

On the way home from gymnastics I had one of my "educational rant" talks with her - frankly I do not think it's too much for kids to be turned on to the mythology surrounding so many of our *nationalistic pride* stories.

We are going to "celebrate" by spending a couple of days at a farm in the country (owned by a totally awesome progressive horsewoman) riding horses (and staying away from DU!) I need a break...

Happy weekend PR :toast:

[goodhue]

23. We don't!

At least not here in Minnesota. It is not a federal holiday. Nor is it a statewide holiday in Minnesota.

[RB TexLa]

24. How is it not a federal holiday there?

[goodhue]

27. Looks like I'm wrong.

In any event, state government is open.

[goodhue]

28. Columbus Day is one of 10 federal holidays . . .

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode05/usc_sec_05_00006103----000-.html

TITLE 5 > PART III > Subpart E > CHAPTER 61 > SUBCHAPTER I > § 6103

§ 6103. Holidays

(a) The following are legal public holidays:

New Year’s Day, January 1.
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., the third Monday in January.
Washington’s Birthday, the third Monday in February.
Memorial Day, the last Monday in May.
Independence Day, July 4.
Labor Day, the first Monday in September.
Columbus Day, the second Monday in October.
Veterans Day, November 11.
Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November.
Christmas Day, December 25.

[goodhue]

31. In Minnesota, the state observes the day after Thanksgiving instead

And leaves local government the option of choosing one or the other.

http://ros.leg.mn/stats/645/44.html
for the executive branch of the state of Minnesota,
"holiday" also includes the Friday after Thanksgiving but does
not include Christopher Columbus Day. Other branches of state
government and political subdivisions shall have the option of
determining whether Christopher Columbus Day and the Friday
after Thanksgiving shall be holidays

[importDavid]

33. It's so....

Us Canadians can have a Thanksgiving turkey day too. ;)

[Bridget Burke]

37. It's a day worth commemorating--if not celebrating.

In Latin American countries & parts of the USA, Columbus Day is called La Dia de la Raza: The Day of the Race. This was the beginning of the mestizo culture--the mixture of Spanish & indigenous cultures that endures today. Yes, it was a bloody birth.

Since 2002, Venezuela has celebrated the Día de la Resistencia Indígena: The Day of Indigenous Resistance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%ADa_de_la_Raza

In South Dakota, October 10th is "Native American Day." www.aktalakota.org/index.cfm?cat=61&artid=176

[bobbieinok]

38. remember the howls of outrage in 1992 (500th anniversary)??????

Many were furious that PC liberals, secularists, humanists, communists, etc etc etc (they'd add terrorists today) were rewriting American history and attacking Columbus.

Lynn Cheney probably had a fit that children were not being taught the 'truths' about American history that everyone learned in the 40s and 50s (='the golden age of American society' according to the republicans).

[RB TexLa]

40. No one can make one celebrate a holiday, I don't for July 4

Most of my ancestors where not in this country in 1776, so it's not my holiday.

[bif]

41. It's nothing here in Michigan

[rolleitreks]

42. Because his voyage led to the conquest and settlement of the

landmass formerly known as . . . what?

While the Vikings appear to have reached Newfoundland, at least, c.1000, and Basque and Portugese fishermen may have been working off the Grand Banks prior to 1492, it was Columbus' first voyage which excited European interest and led to the present state of affairs. I've even heard the voyage credited with energizing the Renaissance with its promise of the new. Of course, you have to balance this with the enormous human tragedy suffered by the native Americans after the Europeans arrived. Despite this mixed legacy, several different nations compete to claim him as a son. The Portugese, Spanish, Italian and Greeks all have their arguments. The Irish and Scandanavians try to pre-empt the whole issue. From time to time, someone argues for the Chinese (Most recently, Gavin Menzies' *1421: the Chinese Discovery of America.*) It all points to some ambivalence, doesn't it? Who will get credit (or blame) for this great turning point of history?

He was a terrible administrator but a seaman and navigator of great skill. If you doubt this, read Samuel Elliot Morrison's biography (the one volume abridgement will do). Another interesting book, which describes the cultures and environment the Europeans would encounter as a result of the voyage, is Charles Mann's *1491*.

Columbus Day celebrations started as early as 1792, but it was in the later 19th century that they became associated with the Italian communities. FDR set the date in 1937. Congress made it a national Federal holiday in 1971. Now it is less a memorial to Columbus than an ethnic holiday, a day for Italian-Americans to parade up 5th Avenue and note which politicians participate.

For me, it's as silly to blame him for all that's gone wrong as to credit him for all that's gone right. He was an extraordinary man of his times inextricably entwined in our history. As such I suppose he deserves his day. I have no idea how to address native American sensibilities on this issue. If we were to eliminate the holiday, would the innumerable towns, cities, schools, hospitals and universities named after the man still rankle? What about Colombia? Will the U.N. get involved?

[Philosoraptor]

43. I didn't blame him for everything, that's bush's fault

[cwydro]

45. thank you

for an educational (and sensible) post.

[Bridget Burke]

46. I think that people should use the day as they wish....

Celebrate if they're Italian. It's more an Italian heritage day in that community.

Protest if they want to!

Or just stop & think on their way to the mall. (If they get the day off.)

(I liked Charles Mann's book. Seems to me that he conflated lots of possible Chinese exploration into one great enterprise. But there's definitely more work to be done.)

[William Bloode]

47. According to knew evidence Columbus may be Spanish.

Archival evidence suggest he was a Spanish mercenary from a wealthy family, and not Italian. There was a nice documentary on this on History Channel International, about a month or so ago.

[Bridget Burke]

49. And I heard he was Portuguese....

A Brazilian told me.

St Patrick was a Romanized Briton, not Irish. But that won't stop St Patrick's day celebrations. (I'll skip the green beer in favor of Guinness & a shot of Powers.)

[Waya]

52. Turtle Island.....among others....

[BoneDaddy]

44. WE still have columbus day because

it has morphed from a celebration of the European "discovery" of America into a kind of Italian St. Patricks Day where Italians celebrate their heritage.

Granted since the inception of the holiday the truth about Columbus has been made clear. His arrival on these western shores meant the eventual genocide of an entire people.

[Hippo_Tron]

48. IMO, I think it's okay if kids are taught the truth by middle school

In second grade we learned that same song and also about how Columbus proved that the earth wasn't flat, etc. I think that as a second grader it's probably better than I didn't learn about genocide of the Native Americans. I think that when you teach history to young children, it kind of needs to be taught in a simplified way without any real analysis.

Here's another example. Rosa Parks is one of the most beloved figures by all people in American History. But would she be so beloved if we taught second graders that she was legal counsel to the NAACP and trying to start a controversy and not an old lady who wouldn't give up her seat because she was tired? Should we teach second graders that Martin Luther King wasn't faithful to his wife?

I think that we absolutely should teach kids these things when they get older, but for second graders, I think there's a reason that we spoon feed them the mythological version of history. The real thing is too much to handle.

[One_Life_To_Give]

50. For shattering another religious myth?

He did shatter the myth that the Earth was Flat. In somewhat dramatic fashion by sailing off of what was supposed to be the edge of the world.

[tjwash]

54. Aristotle figured out the world was round 2000 years beforehand.

And it was pretty common knowledge in 1492. Of course the addition of that little "factoid" in the Columbus tale it makes for a good bedtime story. Kind of like how fairly he treated the Natives after he landed.

The Arawak people went completely extinct due to Columbus. It may be the most successful feat of genocide ever accomplished.

[One_Life_To_Give]

57. You make Genocide sound intentional

[tjwash]

58. No one sets out to commit Genocide. It's a by-product of dehumanization.

The first thing that Cristobal Colon (Columbus as we call him) did when he landed on Santo Domingo in the New World in 1492, was to build a cross and a gallows. 12 gallows to be precise, in honor of the 12 apostles. He then proceeded to hang 12 selected natives just to show the rest of them that he meant business. And that was just the beginning. By 1555 they were extinct.

He was a brutal, vicious person, who looked at the natives as not even being human.

There was no voyage of discovery, or anything that romantic. The reason he was commissioned to be there in the first place was that he was in search of precious metals.

[Igel]

60. No, that's not true. Some tribes *do* set out to commit genocide.

But in the case of the indigenous population smallpox and other European diseases wiped out the population, frequently before any contact could take place between the Europeans and the folk already in a territory.

Cultures had 90+ percent of their population wiped out, and undoubtedly collapsed as a result. No small societies with specialization of any kind can survive that sort of ravaging. But it meant that the explorers, when they moved inland, frequently found the remains of a culture, not the culture as it was before 1492. That they didn't realize it was the vestiges of the cultures' former glories isn't surprising; they were conquerors and explorings, missionaries and mercenaries, not anthropologists.

On the other hand, genocide was far from new to the New World in 1492. The only thing that kept it in check was the relative parity in technologies and numbers between tribes. But when the Na Dene moved south, or the Mixtec, or other tribes ... warfare and sometimes genocide ensued. Skin color doesn't remove culpability, and shared skin color doesn't exacerbate guilt. I can't blame the Comanches for pushing out some Apaches, who in turn wiped out the tribes (i.e., genocide) in the areas in Texas that they moved to, any more than I can blame the Spanish and Portuguese or British for what they did. People constantly, and foolishly, assume that when, say, the Western Shoshone claim a large chunk of the West based upon having inhabited it since 1200 or so--after migrating from points north and east--that it was uninhabited. It wasn't. But who preceded the Shoshone have no voice to counter the current claims' legitimacy.

Tribal cultures are often into genocide: it tends to reduce the number of perpetual blood feuds. Estimates are that in places like New Guinea, with lots of little tribes, around a third of the tribes were wiped out per century--replaced when the victorious tribe grew to inhabit the new territory, and split. The men killed, and their women and kids taken into the new tribe provided that they were docile enough.

And let's not forget that Columbus was a good learner, as was the Spanish and Portuguese. Slavery, religious domination, booty ... all learned by the Iberians during the 700 years before 1492. They had good teachers, but finally managed to show them up. So there's lots of blame to go around, current domestic political considerations notwithstanding.

[Jed Dilligan]

64. Oh, so you're saying

The Spanish learned "slavery, religious domination, booty" from the Moors?

[Igel]

66. In part. Large part.

The main slave trade between Europe and Africa was mediated by N. African Muslims; they weren't squeamish about Christian slaves, either--non-Muslim was the criterion. Went on for nearly 1000 years. Romans had slaves, too, before the Muslims, but the Muslims increased the numbers; oddly, even though we can estimate the numbers of slaves from Africa--in the millions--they left comparatively few genetic traces. In other words, most died before having kids that survived.

But 700 years of war over religion certainly taught the Iberians something: when your enemy claims to be fighting for God and treats you for a few hundred years as inferior because of your faith, you perceive that as appropriate, as the norm. You conquer territory, loot it, and most importantly set up your religion and work to delegitimize other religions. People don't have to convert, when the leaders are more 'enlightened', but if they do convert, then they escape some forms of oppression.

The Moors took over from Goths, who were pikers when it came to that kind of warfare. They were in it just for personal power, personal glory, and personal booty, not low-level control or the honor and dignity of a religion.

In fact, leaving aside the booty/religion/slavery business, there's the entire economic situation from the late 1400s. Spices and other luxuries from the east were highly profitable, and the Muslims traders had a monopoly on it. (And African slaves, too.) The Portuguese and the French wanted to break that monopoly. Meanwhile, in the eastern part of Europe, the Muslim conquest was going badly for Europe--the Europeans wouldn't really turn the tide for another couple hundred years.

[Javaman]

51. Because retailers demand it!

It's the stop over between Labor day and thanksgiving.

Halloween just doesn't cut it for sales.

Even though columbus was a racist genocidal pig, that's no reason for retailers not to sell more chinese made toasters.

See how clear it is?

[Irreverend IX]

53. The Italians keep the holiday going.

I guess Columbus is the only role model they have who didn't spend his weekends torturing undercover police and burying the corpses of double-crossers.

I kid, I kid...

[OzarkDem]

56. Its a big holiday for them here

They like to use it not just to celebrate their heritage, but more to celebrate the contributions Italian - Americans have made in the US.

[Dorian Gray]

55. Hell, it's a day off from work!

I find that many Italians celebrate the day while much of the rest of the communities here sort of appreciate the day off from work. And though the "mythology" behind his coming to America may be slightly off, he did find the New World and put it on the map. So, I'll take the day off!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

61. Nationalistic pride.

Nevermind was a pirate that Columbus slaughtered thousands of Americans.

[paparush]

62. We have Columbus day, but Presidential Election day is NOT a National

holiday.

Why oh why oh why isn't a Presidential Election day a National Holiday. There are 300 MILLION of us now. Do they really expect us to vote in a 12 hour window?

Its insane!!

I know, they want to IMPEDE turnout.. DISCOURAGE the vote...

[LaReservaPr]

65. I thought he was from Spain.

The way i have heard a variation of the story is that he was from Spain but there had been a war between Madrid and Barcelona. Columbus had fought against the catholic kings and thats why he had to pass himself off as Italian. That caused a lot of problems with him and the Pinzon brothers who resented his being a foreigner and having the favor of the king and queen. And he knew that he was going to find new land. If you read the exact text of his contract with spain 'Capitulaciones de Santa Fe de Granada' he was basically giving himself 10% of all new found lands that he would find.

He was an ass but he wasn't stupid. He knew in which direction to go in order to find new land. That is why in his diaries he changes the latitudes and longitudes so that others couldn't get ahead of him. And he does everything possible so that his crew still believes that they had reached the India's. An example is when he reaches the Bahamas he names the natives there Indians. The indians point out to a bigger land which is CUBANACAN. There CC tells(lies) his crew that they have reached China since the emperor at that time was named KHAN. There the tribes point to him another land on the east which is named CIBANGO. Better known now as Haiti, he tells his crew that they had reached Japan(Its ancient name was CIPANGO). Etc,etc,etc.

Ill stop now, I'm just recently studying all this in my History of Puerto Rico class and its very interesting.