Reconsider Columbus Day

Today is the "observed" Columbus Day in the U.S., and an appropriate day to ask ourselves why we continue to celebrate this man who is so directly responsible for the annihilation of native peoples, among other crimes against humanity. As the Transform Columbus Day web site says:

• Columbus is responsible for the murder of millions of indigenous people.
• Columbus was a slavetrader in Africa before invading America. He began the slave trade in the Americas. He deserves no holiday, no parades, no statues.
• Columbus Day celebrates the doctrine of discovery – the legal process that stole Indian people's territories, and that continues today.
• Columbus brought a philosophy of domination to the Americas that persists today – domination of other peoples, domination of the environment, domination of other belief systems, domination of women by men.

 The creative minds who developed these e cards had fun expressing their thoughts:

Last year some folks developed this still-relevant video and propose changing the day to honor indigenous peoples:

 

Transcript of video:

Columbus Day: a day that our government has deemed worthy of remembrance. And with all due respect — with all due respect — with all due respect — there’s an ugly truth that has been overlooked for way too long. Columbus committed heinous crimes against the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and millions of natives throughout the Americas, and Columbus set the stage for the slave trade in the New World. So please — please reconsider — if this is a man you want to honor. Reconsider if you want to celebrate the crimes of Columbus? It’s not your fault, it happened a long time ago, but remaining neutral and pretending like it didn’t happen or that it doesn’t still impact us today. So please take the day to learn the whole story. Celebrate the people who were here first. Petition for a nationally recognized indigenous holiday. So please reconsider how you plan to spend October 12th. Reconsider the story of Columbus.