Any schools commemorating Columbus Day?

[Anonymous]

Been a bit disappointed by our school’s approach to it last few years (act like it doesn’t exist) 🇮🇹

[Anonymous]

Columbus isn’t exactly someone to celebrate. He didn’t “find” anything that didn’t already exist.

My school will be talking about Indigenous Peoples day instead

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Columbus isn’t exactly someone to celebrate. He didn’t “find” anything that didn’t already exist.

My school will be talking about Indigenous Peoples day instead

The irony here is that Columbus Day was first celebrated to combat anti-Catholic sentiment and oppression in the United States.

Columbus was no saint, and no he was not the first to set foot in the "New World". And, yes, we should honor those native to this land too, but let's not ignore that the intent of Columbus day was to include a previously marginalized population (i.e. Catholics) and combat the prejudice and discrimination that they faced. You don't need to celebrate the man, but his accomplishments and what they represent set off the chain of events that led to the society we live in today, for better or worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Columbus isn’t exactly someone to celebrate. He didn’t “find” anything that didn’t already exist.

My school will be talking about Indigenous Peoples day instead

The irony here is that Columbus Day was first celebrated to combat anti-Catholic sentiment and oppression in the United States.

Columbus was no saint, and no he was not the first to set foot in the "New World". And, yes, we should honor those native to this land too, but let's not ignore that the intent of Columbus day was to include a previously marginalized population (i.e. Catholics) and combat the prejudice and discrimination that they faced. You don't need to celebrate the man, but his accomplishments and what they represent set off the chain of events that led to the society we live in today, for better or worse.

But now Catholics do an awful lot of the oppressing so the holiday seems outdated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Columbus isn’t exactly someone to celebrate. He didn’t “find” anything that didn’t already exist.

My school will be talking about Indigenous Peoples day instead

The irony here is that Columbus Day was first celebrated to combat anti-Catholic sentiment and oppression in the United States.

Columbus was no saint, and no he was not the first to set foot in the "New World". And, yes, we should honor those native to this land too, but let's not ignore that the intent of Columbus day was to include a previously marginalized population (i.e. Catholics) and combat the prejudice and discrimination that they faced. You don't need to celebrate the man, but his accomplishments and what they represent set off the chain of events that led to the society we live in today, for better or worse.

Not just Catholics but Italian Americans in particular, who were heavily discriminated against. It’s sad that this has been lost in the debate, especially as the history of the holiday is something most of the people wanting to cancel Columbus Day would be sympathetic to.

The Biden White House recognizes this but apparently our schools can’t:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/10/11/a-proclamation-on-columbus-day-2024/#:~:text=In%2520commemoration%2520of%2520Christopher%2520Columbus,year%2520as%2520%E2%80%9CColumbus%2520Day.%E2%80%9D

[Anonymous]

Even back in the Stone Age when I was in school and there was no talk of Indigenous People’s Day and we learned about the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria and the rhyme “in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue,” we still never did anything to celebrate Columbus Day. In some of my schools it was a day off, and in some of my schools it wasn’t, and that was it.

How exactly do you want your school to celebrate Columbus Day? What would those festivities look like?

[Anonymous]

Then celebrate an Italian American day that doesn’t focus on Columbus?

[Anonymous]

What would “celebrating” it look like? Go for a drive, get lost, re-name people and places, kill everyone and steal the land?

It’s hard to fit that into a single day.

[Anonymous]

It’s a big deal in Eastchester, NY. Less so elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Columbus isn’t exactly someone to celebrate. He didn’t “find” anything that didn’t already exist.

My school will be talking about Indigenous Peoples day instead

The irony here is that Columbus Day was first celebrated to combat anti-Catholic sentiment and oppression in the United States.

Columbus was no saint, and no he was not the first to set foot in the "New World". And, yes, we should honor those native to this land too, but let's not ignore that the intent of Columbus day was to include a previously marginalized population (i.e. Catholics) and combat the prejudice and discrimination that they faced. You don't need to celebrate the man, but his accomplishments and what they represent set off the chain of events that led to the society we live in today, for better or worse.

Not just Catholics but Italian Americans in particular, who were heavily discriminated against. It’s sad that this has been lost in the debate, especially as the history of the holiday is something most of the people wanting to cancel Columbus Day would be sympathetic to.

The Biden White House recognizes this but apparently our schools can’t:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/10/11/a-proclamation-on-columbus-day-2024/#:~:text=In%2520commemoration%2520of%2520Christopher%2520Columbus,year%2520as%2520%E2%80%9CColumbus%2520Day.%E2%80%9D

I’m an Italian-American and confident that we don’t need Columbus Day anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Columbus isn’t exactly someone to celebrate. He didn’t “find” anything that didn’t already exist.

My school will be talking about Indigenous Peoples day instead

The irony here is that Columbus Day was first celebrated to combat anti-Catholic sentiment and oppression in the United States.

Columbus was no saint, and no he was not the first to set foot in the "New World". And, yes, we should honor those native to this land too, but let's not ignore that the intent of Columbus day was to include a previously marginalized population (i.e. Catholics) and combat the prejudice and discrimination that they faced. You don't need to celebrate the man, but his accomplishments and what they represent set off the chain of events that led to the society we live in today, for better or worse.

Not just Catholics but Italian Americans in particular, who were heavily discriminated against. It’s sad that this has been lost in the debate, especially as the history of the holiday is something most of the people wanting to cancel Columbus Day would be sympathetic to.

The Biden White House recognizes this but apparently our schools can’t:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/10/11/a-proclamation-on-columbus-day-2024/#:~:text=In%2520commemoration%2520of%2520Christopher%2520Columbus,year%2520as%2520%E2%80%9CColumbus%2520Day.%E2%80%9D

I’m an Italian-American and confident that we don’t need Columbus Day anymore.

I’m going to guess your not first-generation Italian.

[Anonymous]

Tl;dr

Ours celebrates Columbus' discovery of the new world as a history lesson. Italians might be a little disappointed though, as it mostly is a lead-in to how Spain colonized the Americas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Columbus isn’t exactly someone to celebrate. He didn’t “find” anything that didn’t already exist.

My school will be talking about Indigenous Peoples day instead

The irony here is that Columbus Day was first celebrated to combat anti-Catholic sentiment and oppression in the United States.

Columbus was no saint, and no he was not the first to set foot in the "New World". And, yes, we should honor those native to this land too, but let's not ignore that the intent of Columbus day was to include a previously marginalized population (i.e. Catholics) and combat the prejudice and discrimination that they faced. You don't need to celebrate the man, but his accomplishments and what they represent set off the chain of events that led to the society we live in today, for better or worse.

Not just Catholics but Italian Americans in particular, who were heavily discriminated against. It’s sad that this has been lost in the debate, especially as the history of the holiday is something most of the people wanting to cancel Columbus Day would be sympathetic to.

The Biden White House recognizes this but apparently our schools can’t:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/10/11/a-proclamation-on-columbus-day-2024/#:~:text=In%2520commemoration%2520of%2520Christopher%2520Columbus,year%2520as%2520%E2%80%9CColumbus%2520Day.%E2%80%9D

I’m an Italian-American and confident that we don’t need Columbus Day anymore.

Okay, well I am too and all of the Italian American organizations disagree with you.

I’m fine if people want to make it about someone or something other than Columbus, but the holiday itself has an important history (ethnic/national discrimination) that should be preserved and taught.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Columbus isn’t exactly someone to celebrate. He didn’t “find” anything that didn’t already exist.

My school will be talking about Indigenous Peoples day instead

The irony here is that Columbus Day was first celebrated to combat anti-Catholic sentiment and oppression in the United States.

Columbus was no saint, and no he was not the first to set foot in the "New World". And, yes, we should honor those native to this land too, but let's not ignore that the intent of Columbus day was to include a previously marginalized population (i.e. Catholics) and combat the prejudice and discrimination that they faced. You don't need to celebrate the man, but his accomplishments and what they represent set off the chain of events that led to the society we live in today, for better or worse.

Not just Catholics but Italian Americans in particular, who were heavily discriminated against. It’s sad that this has been lost in the debate, especially as the history of the holiday is something most of the people wanting to cancel Columbus Day would be sympathetic to.

The Biden White House recognizes this but apparently our schools can’t:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/10/11/a-proclamation-on-columbus-day-2024/#:~:text=In%2520commemoration%2520of%2520Christopher%2520Columbus,year%2520as%2520%E2%80%9CColumbus%2520Day.%E2%80%9D

I’m an Italian-American and confident that we don’t need Columbus Day anymore.

Okay, well I am too and all of the Italian American organizations disagree with you.

I’m fine if people want to make it about someone or something other than Columbus, but the holiday itself has an important history (ethnic/national discrimination) that should be preserved and taught.

And celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day would certainly never offer any lessons about ethnic or national discrimination.

/sarcasm

[Anonymous]

Were Italian Americans discriminated against? Yes. Were they able to eventually blend in and be the boring, generic American version of whiteness? Yes. Says this second gen whose family refused to let them learn Italian in order to be more ‘American’ and blend in. I could. And we did. Columbus is not the Italian hill to die on for this. Move along.