When did this "I proudly celebrate Columbus Day" shit start?

[Aristus]

I don't ever remember anyone "celebrating" Columbus Day until just a few years ago. We now know that Columbus was a monstrous, slave-mongering, genocide-supporting pile of shit. Is Columbus Day celebrated by people who think these are good qualities?

Man, oh man is this country turning into a shithole.

[iemanja]

1. It's a big Italian-American holiday in the Northeast

and has been for generations. It was celebrated long before awareness of Columbus' atrocities. Celebrating it is not new.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. Mafia in South Philly.

That's who.

[LeftInTX]

3. What?? We always did as kids in the 60's

We drew pictures of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria and all that stuff. It's been a holiday for a long time.

And I lived in Japan, Seattle, New Jersey, California and Wisconsin. It was always a thing everywhere we lived. There was never any controversy about it until about 20 years ago or so.

[Dorian Gray]

41. no it doesn't mean that

There are Italians who are proud of the cultural heritage and celebrating this holiday is a way to do that.

YES, of course, we as a society should learn how Columbus plundered local native communities in the West Indies. Of course he never actually stepped onto soil that is now considered the US.

But there are plenty of people who celebrate their heritage and march in the parades who don't hate the left. Framing it that way will lead to more divide.

[Aristus]

8. I grew up in Department of Defense schools.

We recognized that Columbus Day was a thing, and even sang "When Columbus Sailed The Ocean Blue" in music class. But I don't remember "celebrations" with cake, presents, and the rape of indigenous people. Now it sounds like the kind of trollish right-wing behavior that gave us White Lives Matter.

[LeftInTX]

12. It was more of a fun lesson that often included some arts and crafts

[wnylib]

34. 20 years ago I was discussing with a history professor

the influence of the Iroquois on the colonies and the constitution. He is a Federalist and challenged what I said. I cited some sources, including the well respected anthropology professor at the college.

The history professor was so put out then that he said, "Well, I am proudly celebrating Columbus Day." (It was a couple days before Columbus Day when this happened.)

[Raine]

4. Italians like to celebrate it with parades etc been doing it for decades. nt

[Ferrets are Cool]

5. I proudly DERIDE it each year and continue to bang the drum that it should be eliminated

as an American holiday. It is sickening.

[Amishman]

28. Which is why the Right is digging in their heels to defend / promote it

The movement to flip it to Indigenous Peoples Day is both change and a multicultural perspective - so they absolutely hate it

[DenaliDemocrat]

38. Well then we better boycott the 4th of July

Because our government is responsible for Wounded Knee, Sand Creek Massacre, and the genocide of the entire native nation.

[Tickle]

42. Thank you for your post NT

[AntivaxHunters]

43. Sounds good to me!

[Ferrets are Cool]

44. OK

[DenaliDemocrat]

48. Sorry, but a white guy sitting in his built on stolen land

Suburbia eating his beef burger raised on corn grown on stolen land shipped on rails used to slaughter the Buffalo to starve the native to death, yelling “Fuck Columbus - he was a monster” while we fly our flag and light off some fireworks might be the most hypocritical action in the entire universe.

[BlackSkimmer]

46. Spot on.

There's a lot of troubling behavior on the part of modern Americans too. People tend to forget that.

[Sympthsical]

6. Every year?

It was celebrated all through my school days (80s-90s). It was a holiday. Sometimes they made kids dress up as boats.

I do think, at least where I lived in the Midwest, it kind of permutated starting around 2000 or so to emphasize Italian-American heritage more and Columbus less as awareness of what he was all about became more common currency.

But it's always been a thing my entire life.

[Mad_Machine76]

9. When the right-wingers decided to "own the libs" over something else?

No matter what, right-wingers have to be a-holes and contrarians about something if they think for a second that people are starting to realize and start to correct past injustices.

[FoxNewsSucks]

10. That "pride" is probably proclaimed by the same racist assholes

who put stickers like this



on things in towns near reservations. I saw one a half-block from an Indian cultural center in Van Buren AR last year.

It doesn't get much more disgusting than that.

[Baggies]

11. In 500 years

In 500 years someone on whatever is the equivalent of a DU pol site will be asking “When did this ‘I proudly celebrate MLK, Jr Day’ shit start.” And then they’ll make some remarks, and then look back on 2022 and how horrible someone we admire was, and remark how this is a reflection on the country going to shit.

It’s a vicious cycle.

(Read below before jumping to false conclusions)

[Aristus]

14. Only if they equate MLK's compassionate positivism and humanity with Columbus's monstrosity.

Man, oh man, does that post reek of bothsideism.

[Baggies]

17. Actually it reeks of the future.

If you had lived in 1492, would you have imagined that 500 years later Columbus would be viewed the way you view him now? Unlikely.

So in 2522, maybe the way people view MLK, Jr. or someone else we admire will be viewed in ways we can’t imagine. You see, that’s why it’s foolish to judge the past based upon the worldview of the present. Eventually, it will be this time under the microscope, and maybe it will be those of whom you think highly that are thought of as evil.

[Aristus]

20. We have evidence today of what a horror Columbus was. No one is making that up.

We also have evidence that MLK was a good man who tried to make the lives of his fellow Americans a little better, and preached non-violent means for doing so. In 500 years, they'll have the evidence we have for both men. Equating the two then, as now, would betray a staggering lack of perception, empathy, compassion, humanity, intellect, etc, etc, etc.

[Baggies]

21. Not equating.

Just using as an example. I could have picked any number of those we admire.

But you have no clue what they’ll think of anyone we admire from today in 500 years. That’s the point. However, there’s one thing for sure: If in 500 years they think poorly of him, their ain’t a damn thing you can do about it.

[Aristus]

22. We could all be better teachers.

Teaching today's young generation what is admirable and what is deplorable in order to decrease the nasty diameter of that circle of violence just a little. Cynics be damned, it is actually doing some good. Most young kids coming up have positive, or at least not negative, perceptions of people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ people, etc. The ones who don't are getting their hate from their parents; that also can be remedied to a degree.

My point is, we can, and should, influence the way people in centuries to come will perceive life in our times. We can't rely on our "if it bleeds, it leads" corporate media. But we can write books, found organizations, support progressive institutions, and work for proper history education in our schools. None of this is impossible. We just have to make up our minds to do it.

[Baggies]

24. An admirable goal.

However 500 years is a long time. What you propose, while certainly a goal to attempt, would be tough over the course of 100 years, much less longer. But OK.

[Aristus]

25. If making the human race better than in centuries past was easy, we would have done it by now.

But we still can, and it will be worth the effort, if we can psych ourselves up to do it.

[Johonny]

47. But 500 years ago

Columbus's behavior would not be viewed the same way. Columbus did what many people were doing. One only has to look at those who followed him to the new world to see Columbus was not a man out of his time, but a man that behaved as society did. For the record, the people he encountered in the Americas were just as greedy, vain, power hungry . . . the idea of the noble savage is just as insulting as the white washing of the Spanish conquest. The world was different 500 years ago. Vastly different. It's very likely we all seem like unimaginable savages to people 500 years in the future.

[Ferrets are Cool]

29. So, by your way of thinking we should have no problem with the KKK because it was acceptetd practice

to hang people in the first half of the 20th century.

Just going by your comment. "You see, that’s why it’s foolish to judge the past based upon the worldview of the present."

[wnylib]

35. Columbus' peers viewed him as a despicable tyrant.

When he was governor and viceroy of the West Indies, complaints about him were investigated and he was recalled to Spain and stripped of his titles.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/aug/07/books.spain

[thucythucy]

18. Are you actually equating Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with Columbus?

How many people did MLK enslave? How much territory did he "claim" in the name of a violently racist and antiSemitic regime?

I'm hoping this isn't what you meant.

[Scrivener7]

27. Yes. Yes he is equating them.

[Emile]

13. Years ago I use to celebrate Columbus Day by going fishing.

I worked in a union shop at the time and Columbus Day was one of our recognized holidays. My wife had to work on that day and our children had school. Most of the time I had the whole lake to myself.

[Jirel]

15. As always, with Angry Mayonnaise.

Wherever people claim they didn’t know what atrocities Columbus committed, but love his imperialist, racist, genocidal actions, they have always celebrated Columbus Day to “teach history” that they deny.

In other words, anywhere with rethuhlucans.

[Wounded Bear]

16. Americans have never been really good at thinking about what is behind our holidays...

[ProfessorGAC]

19. It's Italian Americans

I've been seeing this sentiment since the true story of Columbo started to surface.
People of my ethnic background celebrate C Day more as Italian day.
But, instead of saying that, it's simpler (and simple minded) to just celebrate Columbo himself.
I don't celebrate it, or any other holiday important to us italiani but I think that shirt is about that.
I'd rather celebrate Fermi, Iacocca, Ferraro & Marconi, but nobody cares. Geez, Luciano was more a peacemaker & innovator than Columbo.

[electric_blue68]

32. Living in NYC plenty of Italian Americans in my life ...

so yeah, Columbus Day in school.

Later on several years ago since we have a Columbus Circle - Southwest corner of Central Park and they were cleaning the the tall column and Columbus statute on it - I was thinking can't the Italian Americans ask to have a different famous Italian substituted?! There's plenty! 👍

[wnylib]

36. Agree. There are many people that Italians can celebrate

with great pride. Columbus is not one of them.

[underpants]

23. The right thinks it's a clever bit of defiance. But it's really a racist dog whistle.

Part “don’t tell me what to do” part “anti-woke” but I take the underlying theme to be white supremacy/western civilian.

[Ferrets are Cool]

45. This

[doc03]

26. Things were different in those days, he wasn't the only one that was a monstrous, slave-mongering

genocide-supporting pile of shit. It took a lot more than Columbus to do all that damage. How many of our
presidents and Congress owned slaves? Are we going to blast Washington and Jefferson off of Mount Rushmore?

[LeftInTX]

30. I know! Hello! Right???

There was also a whole crew called the Conquistadors...

My husband is the descendent of a few and let me tell you, they were bad.

[wnylib]

37. See the link in my #35.

No comprison between Columbus, Jefferson, and Washington.

Even Columbus' peers thought he was disgusting. After complaints about him reached Spain and were investigated, he was recalled to Spain in chains stripped of his titles.

[live love laugh]

31. In the wake of the War on XMAS.

[electric_blue68]

33. The best Snarky Thing said about Columbus Day was a post in '21

photo of Supermarket isle.

How are you going to celebrate Columbus Day?
Get lost in the Supermarket and try to find the Spices section?!

[KY_EnviroGuy]

39. Rethugs gotta have a new boogey man at least once a month.....

to keep makers of blood pressure meds in good profits and to keep Faux Snuz in adequate air time....

Next up will be the "Biden makes White House turkey walk the plank on Thanksgiving" and soon thereafter the "New Woke War on Christmas".

We really, really need to work harder to give Republicans some shit to really be pissed about like legislation to revoke TFG's citizenship....

[Dorian Gray]

40. My Italian friends

in NYC celebrated it. Some still do, and I don't think it makes them terrible people. It's a cultural awareness day, somewhat like St. Patrick's Day is. (I am Irish and I never personally celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but I know a ton of people who do.)

But I am recognize how colonialism was bad for the indigenous people and calling the holiday something that reflects that damage.

Canada is lucky as they celebrate their own Thanksgiving on the day that is our Indigenous Day/Columbus Day/Fall Federal Holiday celebration.