[FutureTown]

Politically Correct? You mean fending off past ignorance? I wonder if during the time of slavery you guys would think to yourself why should we challenge status quo and just keep the way things are (In example, continue on wards with slavery).

While we're celebrating people responsible for a genocide. I think it's time that Italians also celebrate a day for Mussolini. Great man, indeed. And much more recent in memory.

Columbus isn't anyone special in the United State's history. He needs to be eradicated from any situation where he his celebrated.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by mels

FYI: there are several states that do not recognize Columbus Day as a holiday. While those states won't get their mail delivered on that day, the kids go to school and state and local governments act like it is any other Monday. Just because it is a federal holiday, it doesn't mean you have to shut everything down. It just means federal offices and agencies won't be operating business as usual.

Very few businesses, even corporate, close for it anymore anyway. Same with Veterans Day.

[atlaw]

Originally Posted by JayCT

It seems that the Bridgeport Board of Education has changed the Columbus Day holiday to Indigenous People Day. A new temporary Board member brought it up to them and they fell for it. To me this is just another stupid politically correct maneuver to appease a vocal few. I hope the Italian community in Bridgeport goes after the Board for this stupid move. I am tired of having to constantly apologize for history. Columbus is credited with making Europe aware of North America. Whether that is considered to be discovering it or not is immaterial. To change a long time holiday is just insulting and sends just as poor a message, if not worse, than keeping it the day to honor someone who got us where we are today. What do you think? Jay

Columbus Day now

I agree with you again!!!! everybody including the "native" Americans, migrated here. no natives in the new world, no humans started here

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by FutureTown

Politically Correct? You mean fending off past ignorance? I wonder if during the time of slavery you guys would think to yourself why should we challenge status quo and just keep the way things are (In example, continue on wards with slavery).

While we're celebrating people responsible for a genocide. I think it's time that Italians also celebrate a day for Mussolini. Great man, indeed. And much more recent in memory.

Columbus isn't anyone special in the United State's history. He needs to be eradicated from any situation where he his celebrated.

I disagree with you STRONGLY. Despite what you think, Columbus is credited with making Europe aware of the new world. That is a significant accomplishment. We would not be celebrating the day if it was not. Whether you like what happened or not, it happened and that is a completely different discussion. The point is that without him doing what he did, the world would be a much different place. A LOT of good came out of it including the simple fact that you are able to post your opinion here. Again we have to STOP apologizing for what was done in the past. It happened and there was good that came out of it and there was bad, just like EVERY event in human history. The "ignorance" in this is trying to minimalize the event and "eradicating" it is nothing more than PC censorship. Jay

[CTDex]

Agreed politically correct nonsense! I celebrated the holiday with full vigor!


The people who complain about Columbus love to paint the Indians as some sort of peace loving morally just people who were all saints and always one step away from Heaven. Nothing could be further from the truth! The Indians fought consistently against each other in brutal tribal warfare. They tortured and enslaved other tribes regularly.


With Columbus came European advancement and ingenuity leading to the development of the U.S. as it is today. The world has advanced greatly because of the U.S.

[Suzsilk]

Originally Posted by in_newengland

I know there is at least one other state that has done it, in the PNW.

It's a federal holiday, isn't it? If so, how can a state or a city over ride that? And why change a holiday that we've had for a long time. "Columbus sailed the ocean blue, in fourteen hundred ninety two." We all learned that as a kid, it's a tradition, why change it to something else? What's next? Take away Thanksgiving? Christmas? They're not politically correct either.

Make a new holiday but don't change one that is already there. I'm not Italian so that has nothing to do with it. It's just stupid.

In four-teen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue
He sailed, and sailed and sailed, and sailed
To find this land for me- and you.

He sailed and sailed and sailed, and sailed
In the Nina, Pinta, Santa Marie,
Un-til at last he found this land,
He found this land for me- and you.

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by FutureTown

Politically Correct? You mean fending off past ignorance? I wonder if during the time of slavery you guys would think to yourself why should we challenge status quo and just keep the way things are (In example, continue on wards with slavery).

While we're celebrating people responsible for a genocide. I think it's time that Italians also celebrate a day for Mussolini. Great man, indeed. And much more recent in memory.

Columbus isn't anyone special in the United State's history. He needs to be eradicated from any situation where he his celebrated.

Yes! How can any educated person celebrate that man? He was a vile human being and it speaks volumes of someone's character if they defend this creature, and he didn't even discover America first!! He sailed and he sailed and enslaved countless indigenous people from islands etc, not just America. I was thrilled upon learning that my son's school teaches the truth about Columbus. And again, he did not discover America first!

[basehead617]

There's a difference between noting a historical fact about a historical figure, and CELEBRATING the person with a HOLIDAY.

Not wanting to CELEBRATE (and teach our children that he should be celebrated) *this* guy is politically correct?

Apropos link:
Christopher Columbus was awful (but this other guy was not) - The Oatmeal

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by andthentherewere3

Yes! How can any educated person celebrate that man? He was a vile human being and it speaks volumes of someone's character if they defend this creature, and he didn't even discover America first!! He sailed and he sailed and enslaved countless indigenous people from islands etc, not just America. I was thrilled upon learning that my son's school teaches the truth about Columbus. And again, he did not discover America first!

On come on now. Really? He was a product of his time and we should not judge what he did based on todays morals or views. Columbus was an explorer whose primary job was to find riches for the people that hired him. He met resistance and did what he was expected to do. That was what was expected of him and other explorers of the time and the centuries before and after.

I would also ask do you not acknowledge Veterans Day? It honors soldiers who killed millions of people. Are you going to cancel that because you do not agree in killing? What about Christmas which celebrates the birth of Christ. Would you cancel that as a holiday because so much pain and death has been inflicted in his name over the centuries?

Schools now teach that Columbus did not actually "discover" America. They did that even back when I was a kid and that was a LONG time ago. So enough of this politically correctness already. Jay

[mlassoff]

Originally Posted by JayCT

On come on now. Really? He was a product of his time and we should not judge what he did based on todays morals or views. Columbus was an explorer whose primary job was to find riches for the people that hired him. He met resistance and did what he was expected to do. That was what was expected of him and other explorers of the time and the centuries before and after.

I would also ask do you not acknowledge Veterans Day? It honors soldiers who killed millions of people. Are you going to cancel that because you do not agree in killing? What about Christmas which celebrates the birth of Christ. Would you cancel that as a holiday because so much pain and death has been inflicted in his name over the centuries?

Schools now teach that Columbus did not actually "discover" America. They did that even back when I was a kid and that was a LONG time ago. So enough of this politically correctness already. Jay

Jay, I think you are confusing political correctness with accuracy.

Yes, he was a product of his time and, on balance, this has to be acknowledged.

However, native islanders in Hispanolia were treated as slaves, brutalized by Columbus and his proxies and even had their limbs cut off if they didn't collect enough "treasure".

He was celebrated as "discovering America" when he clearly did not.

There is no reason to put him on a level with Washington, Lincoln and Martin Luther King. Times change and blaming "political correctness" is a silly crutch when one simply doesn't want to change with the times.