Why in God's Name Are We Celebrating Columbus Day?
By Jim Vail
The big question everyone should be asking is why are we celebrating Christopher Columbus Day?
It is an absolute travesty that the so-called explorer Christopher Columbus "discovered" America, when in fact the indigenous people were living here for thousands of years until this European bloodthirsty colonialist came to destroy their population.
Columbus immediately upon arrival enslaved the natives, treated them like workhorse animals and sex slaves, fed them to his dogs and cut off the hands of those who did not work hard enough. He slaughtered tens of thousands, beginning a process of ethnic cleansing across the continent.
When he demanded that the Lucayan people give him food and gold, and allow them to have sex with their women, and they refused, he ordered that their ears and noses be cut off to serve as a warning to others.
And we celebrate this monster?
Columbus Day was established in the 1930s by the male-only Catholic organization known as the Knights of Columbus who wanted a male role model for their kids, so they pressured President Franklin Roosevelt to make Columbus a federal holiday, according to the website theoatmeal.com.
Many indigenous peoples of North America do not celebrate Columbus Day and cities are renaming Columbus Day as Indigenous People's Day. Those cities include Albuquerque, Seattle, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Berkeley, Portland, Lawrence, Santa Cruz and many cities in Oklahoma. Alaska, Hawaii, Washington and Oregon do not recognize Columbus Day.
So all social studies teachers out there, please teach the kids who Columbus really was. (I recommend showcasing the following website which a good power point presentation for the children: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/columbus_day)
And all activists and people of common sense, lobby our government to stop celebrating this war monster, and instead give this day back to the people from whom we stole their land.
By Jim Vail
The big question everyone should be asking is why are we celebrating Christopher Columbus Day?
It is an absolute travesty that the so-called explorer Christopher Columbus "discovered" America, when in fact the indigenous people were living here for thousands of years until this European bloodthirsty colonialist came to destroy their population.
Columbus immediately upon arrival enslaved the natives, treated them like workhorse animals and sex slaves, fed them to his dogs and cut off the hands of those who did not work hard enough. He slaughtered tens of thousands, beginning a process of ethnic cleansing across the continent.
When he demanded that the Lucayan people give him food and gold, and allow them to have sex with their women, and they refused, he ordered that their ears and noses be cut off to serve as a warning to others.
And we celebrate this monster?
Columbus Day was established in the 1930s by the male-only Catholic organization known as the Knights of Columbus who wanted a male role model for their kids, so they pressured President Franklin Roosevelt to make Columbus a federal holiday, according to the website theoatmeal.com.
Many indigenous peoples of North America do not celebrate Columbus Day and cities are renaming Columbus Day as Indigenous People's Day. Those cities include Albuquerque, Seattle, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Berkeley, Portland, Lawrence, Santa Cruz and many cities in Oklahoma. Alaska, Hawaii, Washington and Oregon do not recognize Columbus Day.
So all social studies teachers out there, please teach the kids who Columbus really was. (I recommend showcasing the following website which a good power point presentation for the children: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/columbus_day)
And all activists and people of common sense, lobby our government to stop celebrating this war monster, and instead give this day back to the people from whom we stole their land.
What he did to the Taino Indians was unspeakable! I don't celebrate this day...ignorant teachers perpetuate the myth...Always teach Native history from the point of view of Native scholars...Dee Brown is a great scholar on the truth of what happened to the indigenous people of our land.
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