To Celebrate Or Not To Celebrate Columbus Day, That Is The Question

Today the United States celebrates Columbus Day, a controversial national holiday which applauds Christopher Columbus for discovering America on October 12, 1492. Americans are taught from an early age that when Columbus sailed upon the shores of the New World, he greeted the natives with peace and respect.

However, many oppose this commemoration, shedding light on a darker version of untold history. One group wants America to "Reconsider Columbus Day," and today's video lunch showcases their plea. "With all due respect, there's an ugly truth that has been overlooked for way too long," state a handful of activists in the video. They ask society to "celebrate the people who were here first" instead of glorifying a man who "committed heinous crimes against the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and millions of natives throughout the Americas."

Unfortunately, the campaign's website domain name expired on October 7 and is pending review or deletion. But you'll get the gist of their petition for a "nationally recognized indigenous holiday" from the video.

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By Lauren Lloyd in Arts & Events on October 10, 2011 12:00 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

RDZL

With all due respect, these "activists" are hypocrites. They focus on the heinous crimes of Columbus yet they seem to forget that native peoples of the Americas were guilty of countless heinous crimes themselves. The Aztecs for example routinely murdered people, including children, under the veil of human sacrifice. What about the ugly truth of Native American tribes in Meso-America enslaving other tribes? If we're going measure things that happened 500 years ago by today's "politically correct" standards, let's not be selective about who we prosecute. Sure Columbus wasn't perfect, the Aztecs weren't either but I'm not trying to diminish their accomplishments.

Lisa Bianconi

So the same thing should be said about St. Patrick's Day. He supposedly drove out the snakes from Ireland but they were actually the "witches" or a.k.a. innocent, indigenous women, men and children who didn't conform to the church. Do away with all of these holidays.

Robert Hawkes

Is this a real issue? I've never heard of anyone "celebrating" Columbus Day. At least in the private sector, it's a rarity to have the day off.