October 12th is quickly approaching. Do we or don't we? Should we or shouldn't we?

You might want to read this.

Cher

It's not a real holiday unless you get the day off. So I think it's kind of a moot issue anyways.

It is an abomination that we celebrate such a horrible historical figure as Christopher Columbus.

But I guess viewing the United States' own imperialistic view and its view of how it feels it has the god-given right to devastate other people (indians, iraqis, et cetera), I guess it goes without surprise that it's a governmentally-endorsed holiday even to this day...

"God bless the USA... and no one else."

It's bullshit.

~fff

read orson scott card's _the redemption of christopher columbus_. amazing book.

that's all i have to say about that.

I'm not American, but I know my American history very well (thanx Smithy, wherever u are...my English teacher from Ct in Australia!!) and I voted YES because I have Italian heritage, but I don't like what Columbus started afterwards..only the discovery bit. I love America/USA, mind you, BUT, to all the people who think that CC was horrible, why don't we start to think (again!) of some other HORRIBLE people like RONALD REAGAN and MARGARETH THATCHER who in just 1 decade destroyed Western life as we knew!!!!!
'Nuff said!!

We don't have Ronald Reagan Day (yet) or Margaret Thatcher Day.

Sure, CC isn't the worst person in history, but he doesn't deserve a national holiday. Only two people on a U.S. calendar have their own governmental holiday with their name attached. Martin Luther King Jr & Christopher Columbus. Which one of these deserves it, which one doesn't?

Christopher Columbus was more criminal than anything, and his main trade that he brought back to Europe instead of gold/spices were slaves/human lives. Furthermore, from what I understand, Christopher Columbus never even stepped foot in what is now the United States. He was primarily in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Why do we celebrate him?

~fff

I think it's because they (whoever "they" are) decided we (not me, actually; I only got a day off on CC Day when I was a student or a teacher) needed an October holiday.

I get the day off.

We're not celebrating HIM. We're (incorrectly) celebrating the founding to the New World.

And, yeah, we need an Oct. holiday.

It's called Thanksgiving.

Down here, it's called Halloween. Oh, but it's not a government holiday; well, we don't have one in August...

see, that's something i never understood...how could he be credited for founding a place that was already inhabited. anyone ever hear of the NATIVE AMERICAN????

peace,
zayne

I wonder what would happen if we stopped celebrating Columbus Day and used it as a day of remembrance, as we do for the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. It might be a good opportunity to learn from history ... to remember the consequences of invading other countries for nothing but our own benefit.

But why would we want to do that?

It's funny how our Columbus day is Canada's Thanksgiving. Maybe our Thanksgiving should be their Bonaparte day?

doesn't really matter to me....

though, Happy Thanksgiving, canadians.

(I can remember an American woman on our Holy Land tour some years ago who could not understand how the buildings etc seemed much older than 500 years - "BC IS BEFORE COLUMBUS - RIGHT?" - oh, for a camera to photograph our guide's face - talk about incredibly stupid!!!)

LMAO

which is another reason why we changed BC to BCE and AD to CE. *rolls eyes*

Fortunately those 2 criminals are NOT celebrated!!! Concerning Martin Luther King...logically out of the 2 (him and CC) I'd firmly say that MLK deserves a govt.l holiday!!

(so we called her Columbus to her face thereafter, much to her disgust but - wtf - she deserved it)