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Columbus Day is a celebration of violence
Aaron Igdalsky
Issue date: 10/13/08 Section: Commentary
As public school children and government employees enjoy today off, fewer and fewer states around the nation are "celebrating" Columbus Day. Though Columbus Day - which marks the anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas - is a symbol of pride for some (namely Italian-Americans), for many more it is a symbol of violence, anger and shame. Columbus' deplorable actions should be condemned, not celebrated as a federal and state holiday.
In elementary school, we all learned that Columbus (born Cristoforo Colombo) was an Italian explorer who sailed under the Spanish flag in search of a quick route to India. He instead stumbled upon what are today known as the West Indies, and proceeded to colonize the region. What we didn't learn in elementary school was that Columbus enslaved countless natives and that his men raped and murdered many others. Most devastating to the Native Americans were the diseases that Columbus and his men brought to the Americas, especially smallpox. The Natives had never been exposed to these diseases, and thus had never developed any immunities against them. Several estimates suggest that more than two-thirds of the native population in America was eliminated within the first century after Columbus' arrival.
Many major American cities, particularly Denver, still have enormous Columbus Day parades which commemorate today's holiday. Those parades are, more than anything, an Italian-American pride parade. Italian-Americans celebrate that the man who discovered America was from Italy and they use that as an excuse to celebrate Italian pride. If Italians want to have an Italian pride day, that's fine, but it shouldn't be a national holiday; we don't close schools and government offices for the Puerto Rican Day Parade or the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Also, Italian-Americans should not be so proud of Columbus' achievements; there are far better role models from the Italian-American community to dedicate a day to.
Connecticut, in particular, with its strong Native American history, should not be celebrating Columbus Day at all. We should follow the lead set by states like Nevada, where today is not a holiday and schools and state offices are open for business. At the very least, Connecticut could follow the example set by South Dakota, which has renamed today's holiday "Native American Day" and rededicated its meaning to honoring and celebrating the history of Native Americans in this country.
In elementary school, we all learned that Columbus (born Cristoforo Colombo) was an Italian explorer who sailed under the Spanish flag in search of a quick route to India. He instead stumbled upon what are today known as the West Indies, and proceeded to colonize the region. What we didn't learn in elementary school was that Columbus enslaved countless natives and that his men raped and murdered many others. Most devastating to the Native Americans were the diseases that Columbus and his men brought to the Americas, especially smallpox. The Natives had never been exposed to these diseases, and thus had never developed any immunities against them. Several estimates suggest that more than two-thirds of the native population in America was eliminated within the first century after Columbus' arrival.
Many major American cities, particularly Denver, still have enormous Columbus Day parades which commemorate today's holiday. Those parades are, more than anything, an Italian-American pride parade. Italian-Americans celebrate that the man who discovered America was from Italy and they use that as an excuse to celebrate Italian pride. If Italians want to have an Italian pride day, that's fine, but it shouldn't be a national holiday; we don't close schools and government offices for the Puerto Rican Day Parade or the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Also, Italian-Americans should not be so proud of Columbus' achievements; there are far better role models from the Italian-American community to dedicate a day to.
Connecticut, in particular, with its strong Native American history, should not be celebrating Columbus Day at all. We should follow the lead set by states like Nevada, where today is not a holiday and schools and state offices are open for business. At the very least, Connecticut could follow the example set by South Dakota, which has renamed today's holiday "Native American Day" and rededicated its meaning to honoring and celebrating the history of Native Americans in this country.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
Brian
posted 10/13/08 @ 9:35 AM EST
Columbus Day is a day recognizing and celebrating the westward expansion of European culture to the New World. European curiosity, intellect, sea navigation, cartography and engineering made opened up the passageway for development and eventual birth of modern day America. (Continued…)
Webby
posted 10/13/08 @ 11:14 PM EST
Brian, isn't that a little value laden? Who's to say European culture is better than any other culture? What has all this development gotten us? We still have people starving to death every hour, we still have theft, murder, rape, etc. (Continued…)
Native American Advocate
posted 10/14/08 @ 9:18 AM EST
I would agree with Webby, to celebrate the westward expansion of European culture and colonization is not something to honor. It is celebrating the destruction and genocide of hundreds of thousands of Native peoples. (Continued…)
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