But in some places they’re trying to do away with Columbus Day altogether.
On Monday, the Seattle City Council unanimously voted to rename it Indigenous People’s Day to acknowledge that Native Americans were already living in the Americas before Columbus’ arrival and that Seattle, named after a Native American tribal chief, was built atop indigenous peoples’ homes.
While some people — notably concerned Italians and federal government workers who get the day off — still think it’s day worth celebrating, its detractors point out that Christopher Columbus had certain character flaws, such as murdering, plundering and disease-spreading. If we’re going to honor a guy like that, they argue, why not have an Attila the Hun Day? Or perhaps a Vlad the Impaler Day Parade on Fifth Avenue.
Seattle’s action comes on the heels of a similar move in April by Minneapolis, where they prefer to believe that Vikings got here first. Although both cities lag far behind Berkeley, Calif., the world headquarters of political correctness, which stopped observing the holiday in 1992. And four other states (Hawaii, Alaska, Oregon and South Dakota) ignore it entirely.
So far there’s no move in Ohio to do away with Columbus Day. But if you agree that it’s not a holiday worth observing, feel free to contact your state legislature.
You can address your letters to: The Ohio Statehouse, 1 Capitol Square, Indigenous People, Ohio 43215.
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