Augen said:
After strong lobbying from the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic service organization consisting largely of Italian Americans, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Oct. 12, 1937, as the first Columbus Day and “directed that flags be displayed on all government buildings on that date,” according to a front page item in the Los Angeles Times that September. “Each recurrence of Columbus Day brings to all of us a greater appreciation of the heritage we have received as a result of the faith and courage and fortitude of the Genoese navigator and his brave companions,” Roosevelt said to mark the occasion the next year. Congress passed the Monday Holiday Law in 1968, establishing the three-day weekend for some federal holidays and adding Columbus Day as an official public holiday. By then, 45 states were already observing it. Since then, efforts to eliminate or rename the Columbus Day holiday in various states and cities have met strong resistance from Italian Americans, who have said Columbus is an important figure in their heritage and calling such efforts “anti-Italian American.” ------------- People use to think of Columbus as this brave explorer that brought "civilization" to the Americas. Of course, we don't see things from such a Euro centric view these days and actually concede points like the natives lives and culture having value. |
So what ? Amerigo was Italian aswell and the italian immigrants that went to live in the US in the XIX-XX° century were so poor that they were hardly acculturated, that's one of the main reasons why they formed criminal organizations instead of working normally... Imho to correct them while still celebrating some sort of rappresentative from Italy (even if they come from very different bloodlines :v) is the best solution possible...
