I blew all my liberal outrage on other, noble causes, so I've got nothing for today. It's just a day in October that I can't mail a letter. So let me refer you to this post which not only competently makes the usual anti-glorification of colonialism points, but also convincingly argues that Italian-Americans need to drop Christopher Columbus as their hero, thus explaining in this process this map of Italy as seen by elite Italians:
I nominate Joe DiMaggio's birthday to replace Columbus Day. It falls at the end of November, and by replacing Thanksgiving as well, would increase the productivity of federal employees while simultaneously taking out another holiday that commemorates the screwing over of Native Americans. It gives liberals and conservatives a reason to vote for it. That's change we can believe in!
I wouldn't mind if Columbus Day went away, along with Confederate Heritage Month, the Washington "Redskins," and many other dubious cultural symbols, but I find the conflict over the symbols per se a bit tedious. I think it's more advisable to try to change the ground level conditions that such symbols are tethered to. Then they either fall of their own weight, or they're compelled to mediate a different reality.
An analogy: Congress' failure to do right by black farmers, who as recently as the 1990s were subject to federal discrimination, is far more egregious than Governor McDonnell's failure to mention slavery in his Confederate Heritage Day proclamation, but guess which omission has garnered more media coverage?
There are similar pending and long overdue actions that could right wrongs and change American Indians' material conditions for the better--like this bill, which would fix the strange problem that there are no federally recognized Indian tribes in Virginia, a problem created in part by a state official in the last century who changed the race on Native American birth certificates from "Indian" to "black."
So, less Columbus Day grumpiness posted on Facebook and more emails to your Congressman, please.
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