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It's Columbus Day! Does it make you angry?


Pong Messiah
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I have never cared about Christopher Columbus, even though today is a national holiday or something. But some people seem really annoyed by it -- even angry! OMG how crazy is that?!

I have mixed feelings on this. There are a lot of people with a reflexive need to deconstruct and/or throw poop at "traditional" American holidays (President's day, 4th of July, etc.). These people are stupid and should be ridiculed. But on the other hand, while I'm glad to be living where I am today, Columbus seems more than a little douchey -- even when held up against the standards of his day.

 

Thank goodness it is possible to dislike Columbus and the people who feel a need to ineffectually complain about the holiday

 

Whew, glad I got that out of the way. Now, I'm off to the post office... oh, wait.

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I rolled my eyes at the Indigenous People's Day (hey guys, we named a holiday for you, thanks for the land! We're good, right?), but I agree that Columbus was a doosh and there's no reason to have a national holiday for him. Let's just ditch one of these lame Monday holidays and find something else to take it's place, like September 11. But let's keep Columbus Day sales. I'm all for those.

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He was a brutal tyrant, a religious fanatic, and not only did his "discovering" by blind luck, but did so centuries after the Norse were already here. What exactly about any of that is cause for celebration? I can't say it makes me angry, but I certainly don't understand it and I'm not a fan. Especially since I always have to work, anways, and don't think I've ever gone to a Columbus Day sale in my life. Meh, I say - MEH!

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How does one even celebrate Columbus Day? Do you just walk into your neighbors house and take whatever you want before claiming it to be your second home?

I've read some variation on this at least three times already today. You fail.

Yeah and this wasn't even a good one, I couldn't remember exactly how I heard it earlier. I definitely fail.

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He was a brutal tyrant, a religious fanatic, and not only did his "discovering" by blind luck, but did so centuries after the Norse were already here. What exactly about any of that is cause for celebration? I can't say it makes me angry, but I certainly don't understand it and I'm not a fan. Especially since I always have to work, anways, and don't think I've ever gone to a Columbus Day sale in my life. Meh, I say - MEH!

Serious question: was he a religious fanatic, or a religious opportunist?

 

This could be my own bias b/c I always have a hard time understanding how people can believe in such stuff, but it seemed like he used spreading Jeezus/casting out non-believers as a means of getting support and propping himself up rather than a genuinely held belief.

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Pretty good holiday as far as I'm concerned. I mean, Destiny is absolutely correct- let's talk about the sales. Got some pretty good steals today.. there are few things I love more than some good old fashioned online shopping.

 

As far as the man himself.. I mean... meh.. honestly, who gives a f-ck?

 

 

And guess what, that's what everyone else thinks too. Except I can admit it. Anyone that's strutting about with your pretend outrage, seriously- get the f-ck outta here with that. You ain't foolin anyone with your bullsh-t.

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Moreover, his voyages had an undeniable historical impact, sparking the great age of Atlantic exploration, trade and eventually colonization by Europeans. In a very real way, this era reshaped the world, the languages we speak, the religions we follow, the foods we eat and the diseases we catch.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/10/opinion/perry-columbus-day-what-to-tell-your-kid/index.html

 

This is how I'm handling the Columbus thing with my kid. Though I tried like hell to ignore it completely.

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Guest El Chalupacabra

I have never cared about Christopher Columbus, even though today is a national holiday or something. But some people seem really annoyed by it -- even angry! OMG how crazy is that?!

It's not crazy, if you are Native American. It's like Gauls celebrating Julius Caesar Day, Iranians celebrating Alexander the Great Day, or Jewish people celebrating Hitler Day.

 

I am not personally bothered by Columbus Day, but I never understood it, either. The guy was an Italian who explored for Spain, and preceded the birth of the US by nearly 300 years. So unless one was of Italian ancestry, it doesn't make sense to me to even celebrate it to the extent that it is\was. Why isn't there a Lewis and Clark day, Kit Carson Day, Robert Peary Day (North Pole), Zebulon Pike (Rocky Mountains & Mississippi River) Day, or a Jedediah Smith Day (Rocky Mountains and the Mojave Desert)? These were American explorers, after all, and none of them had the baggage of Columbus.

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Serious question: was he a religious fanatic, or a religious opportunist?

 

This could be my own bias b/c I always have a hard time understanding how people can believe in such stuff, but it seemed like he used spreading Jeezus/casting out non-believers as a means of getting support and propping himself up rather than a genuinely held belief.

 

 

 

Based on what I've watched & read (which include parts of Columbus' journals), his beliefs were sincere. He often wrote about conversion, which certainly looked good, but it was also the duty of "good Christians". He wrote about praying, the gifts God gave him, and even about his divine inspiration. Hell, he was the original Blues Brother - he thought he was on a mission from God. :cool:

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Based on what I've watched & read (which include parts of Columbus' journals), his beliefs were sincere. He often wrote about conversion, which certainly looked good, but it was also the duty of "good Christians". He wrote about praying, the gifts God gave him, and even about his divine inspiration. Hell, he was the original Blues Brother - he thought he was on a mission from God. :cool:

Thanks, Lohr.

 

I have always wondered about that. He was uneducated (i.e. likely religious), but he wasn't stupid, either (likely non-religious), so bigtime mixed signals there. Haven't cared enough to read too deeply, but always wondered about that angle.

 

I am not personally bothered by Columbus Day, but I never understood it, either. The guy was an Italian who explored for Spain, and preceded the birth of the US by nearly 300 years. So unless one was of Italian ancestry, it doesn't make sense to me to even celebrate it to the extent that it is\was.

b/c we were still having a tiff with England at the time, so he was chosen as the intrepid hero of our story, rather than one of their many explorers. It was a conscious decision about shaping our national identity, about setting us apart from mom and dad.

 

Kind of like a teenager getting a septum ring to stick it to their stuffy folks, only instead of looking back and laughing at our silly choice after college, we held onto it for hundreds of years and named our capital after him. That's why I'm proud to be an American.

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