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After a year of attacking Civil War history, those on the left are increasing their efforts to rewrite Columbus Day as “Indigenous Peoples’ Day”. Many colleges and cities are rewriting the holiday on the calendar, although the second Monday of October is still in recognition of the Italian sailor. This once again brings up the debate about rewriting history. However many people don’t know how Columbus Day came to be.
The United States has observed Columbus Day at the federal level since 1937. The holiday became recognized largely do to the lobbying of Italian Americans. To Italian Americans, it became sort of like St. Patrick’s Day, although with a lot less drinking. The historically unpopular immigrant group relished the celebration of one of their own who played an important role in bringing two worlds together.
Perspectives
Columbus Day no longer: Austin Council votes to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day- KHOU
The city of Austin voted to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day stroking Columbus Day. The sponsor of the legislation originally intended for both holidays to be recognized; however during the amending process, this clarification was edited out. This would make Austin the 41st city to do so. The Council also approved a resolution condemning the display of monuments and memorials of the Confederacy.
NYPD provides 24/7 protection for Columbus statue ahead of holiday- NY Post
The marble statue in Columbus Circle has stood since 1892 with no issues until recently. Three or more local statues have already been vandalized within the last two weeks. NYPD is having one or two officers protecting the statue around the clock for the weekend in hopes of deterring any further vandalism. On Wednesday afternoon, the Columbus Circle monument was ringed in metal barricades. A patrol car with two uniformed cops was parked within the circle. Controversy has swirled around the city’s five Columbus statues in recent weeks, an offshoot of the nationwide backlash against monuments honoring Confederate generals and other controversial figures. Italian-American leaders have been at war with Mayor de Blasio over his recent decision to appoint a commission to review the fate of the city’s potentially offensive monuments.
76% of Americans Say Figures Like Columbus Should Be Judged by Criteria of Their Time, Not Ours- Yahoo
Almost 6 in 10 Americans (57 percent) believe that celebrating Columbus Day is a “good idea,” while only 29 percent oppose the holiday, according to a nationwide poll released 10/6/17. The survey, conducted by The Marist Poll, also showed that an overwhelming majority of Americans (76 percent) believe that Columbus and other historical figures should be judged by the standards of conduct of their own lifetimes, as opposed to modern standards. Only 16 percent disagree.”The Knights of Columbus joins the vast majority of Americans in celebrating Columbus Day,” said Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson. “He was a man ahead of his time, who brought two worlds together and began the process that led to the founding of this country. It is a testament to Americans’ commitment to a fair reading of history that the explorer’s popularity has endured despite the unfair and hateful attacks by British propagandists, the Ku Klux Klan and revisionist academics.“
65% of Catholics hold a highly favorable or favorable view of Columbus.
Reactions
Reminder that October 9th is not C̸o̸l̸u̸m̸b̸u̸s̸ D̸a̸y̸ but
Indigenous Peoples Day!!— ً (@lilnativeboy) October 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/JesseKellyDC/status/917171618031349760
Marching in Bronx Columbus Day parade. DEBLASIO NOT WELCOME HERE! pic.twitter.com/uCTHof18G8
— Bo Dietl (@BoDietl) October 8, 2017
I'm going to celebrate Columbus Day all day tomorrow by spinning pizza dough on my finger and getting lost
— Böb Jänke (@Bob_Janke) October 9, 2017
Final Thoughts
Much of the complaints about Columbus Day are an attempt to undermine history. I understand that Columbus did not “discover” America. The Vikings achieved that as far as anything east of the Atlantic goes. And of course, there were already inhabitants. We need to recognize that Columbus was a businessman. He had an idea of a new better way to reach Asia. He went to all sorts of sources for backing and the queen of Spain said yes. When he reached the new world, he thought he achieved his mission. Instead what he did jump-started a collision of two worlds. This moment in history merits positive recollection. While Spain went on to commit atrocities, the greatest political thinkers in all of history eventually got together and founded the United States. Our history is dependent on events like this. We should teach it correctly. We shouldn’t judge historical figures by modern societal standards. The overwhelming majority knows that is wrong.
The other point I want to raise is that by replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, liberals are essentially saying that Native American heritage is worth celebrating and Italian heritage is not. I’m sure liberals are okay because Italians are european and that means white. This again ignores the history of Italian immigrants who largely came to America after the Civil War. Though Italians are white, they weren’t white enough to escape nativism. And while Native American heritage is quite sizable in our history, we don’t need a day to celebrate it. We really don’t need a day to celebrate Italians either… or Irish… or Cinco De Mayo. The latter two are just excuses to drink in excess. So either keep Columbus Day, or get rid of it. Replacing it is stupid.
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