Hands off Columbus Day: Italian-Americans can only take so much

[Omaha Steve]

http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/029198.html

November 17, 2008

And now, what at first appears to be a visit from early and mid-20th century identity politics:

Cavala: Another Slap at California's Italian-Americans as Schwarzenegger Seeks Elimination of "Columbus Day" Fete

By Bill Cavala

Why Columbus Day? It's not a holiday celebrating the discovery of the 'new world', but of the achievement of Italian-Americans beginning with the sailor from Genoa. Why would the Governor single out that particular holiday for extinction?

Because he's an Austrian immigrant?

Because he disdains the contributions to Americas culture of its hard-working Italian American community?

Or is it a personal slap at Democratic Senate leader Don Perata? Speaker Bass doesn't have to fight to maintain Martin Luther King's birthday as a Holiday. Nor did Speaker Nunez have to struggle to maintain our celebration of the birthday of Cesar Chavez - although Chavez would certainly have swapped his birthday for the legislation vetoed by Scharzenegger to allow the UFW to sign up members via "card check".

Why not eliminate the "football" holiday (New Years)? Or the "shopping holiday" (the day after Thanksgiving?!).

That's from a piece by Cavala, a veteran Democratic strategist, on the California Progress Report web site. The "another slap" part got me -- who knew that there's a perception of ongoing anti-Italian-American sentiment among Italian-Americans?

I think Olive Garden is more of an assault on the Italian contribution to this country than anything else.

But I poked around a bit and found out what appears to be the biggest reason Italian-Americans are feeling aggrieved: "The Sopranos." A-ha.
Posted by Chris Reed at November 17, 2008 12:29 PM

[Bobbieo]

1. Ask Native Americans what they think of Columbus Day.

Google Knows!!!

[jwirr]

2. As long as I get a day off I don't care who found this country when!

[Bobbieo]

3. I hope someday (soon) when you get that day off - it will be Native American Day

[Bobbieo]

4. Georgina Lightning - Native actress and film director, 'Sounds Off' on Columbus Day

"The white guy comes over on the boat and wants to conquer the Indians and rule the country.

First take away our land, then our ceremony's, then our right to use our medicine, then our buffalo which had been our staple food since we began, then our language, then our songs, then our children to the government.

Boarding schools for brainwashing or should we call it white washing, then our pride and dignity in exchange for a number from the BIA deeming us wards of the government, kept dependent on them for low quality commodity food, contaminated water, and vaccinations to keep us from dying from all the diseases they brought here for us, like the thousands of lives we already lost from sickness.

"Then they relocate and take our land again for our gold and oil and if that's not enough they almost succeeded in taking our souls which put our people in a long period of darkness."

'Georgina Lightning Sounds Off'
Native Unity, October 13, 2003