Seattle to Celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day
As Phuong Le writes, some disagree with the change:
Columbus Day is a federal holiday that commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus, who was Italian, in the Americas on Oct. 12, 1492. It’s not a legal state holiday in Washington.
“We don’t argue with the idea of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. We do have a big problem of it coming at the expense of what essentially is Italian Heritage Day,” said Ralph Fascitelli, an Italian-American who lives in Seattle, speaking outside the meeting.
“This is a big insult to those of us of Italian heritage. We feel disrespected,” Fascitelli said. He added, “America wouldn’t be America without Christopher Columbus.”
Arguing what Columbus Day ‘essentially’ is or isn’t; that’s not a good enough reason to oppose the change. If you want an Italian Heritage Day, that’s an entirely worthwhile endeavor. Such heritage can be honored much more effectively when not naming it after a genocidal maniac.
via NPR