xtcian

"Could you understand how Native Americans feel about celebrating the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in North America? Asking (them) to celebrate this anniversary is like asking Jews to celebrate the Holocaust. (Plous, p 329)"

Heh. I bought a wonderful t-shirt last year after seeing a pic of Johnny Depp wearing it. A group of mounted Indians in full war regalia faces you on the front, with the words "HOMELAND SECURITY" underneath. I should wear it today, come to think of it.

AH HAHAHA!

Forgot to mention I really like the guy with his arms down like he's worshiping Columbus. lol

i love the native's slightly-raised finger...

"ummmmmm...excuse me...who are you and why are you stampeding our burial grounds?"

LMAO
Seriously...followed soon thereafter by "Wow. WE are FUCKED."

Who's brilliant idea was it to celebrate Columbus Day? I am asking this seriously- I have no idea why this is a federal holiday or why we would celebrate this at all. Thanks

We don't celebrate it here in NC. Maybe we're progressive after all?

columbus day is very much alive in downtown charlotte. it's a ghost town here with the banks being closed.....a little history:

United States observance
The first Columbus Day celebration was held in 1792, when New York City celebrated the 300th anniversary of his landing in the New World. President Benjamin Harrison called upon the people of the United States to celebrate Columbus Day on the 400th anniversary of the event in 1892.

Italian-Americans observe Columbus Day as a celebration of their heritage, the first occasion being in New York City on October 12, 1866.[1] [2] Columbus Day was popularized as a holiday in the United States by a lawyer, a son of Genoese immigrants who came to California. During the 1850s, Genoese immigrants settled and built ranches along the Sierra Nevada foothills. As the gold ran out, these skilled "Cal-Italians", from the Apennines, were able to prosper as self-sufficient farmers in the Mediterranean climate of Northern California. San Francisco has the second oldest Columbus Day celebration, with Italians having commemorated it there since 1869.

This lawyer then moved to Colorado, which had a population of Genoese miners, and where, in 1907, the first state-wide celebration was held. In 1937, at the behest of the Knights of Columbus (a Catholic fraternal service organization named for the voyager), President Franklin Delano Roosevelt set aside Columbus Day as a federal holiday.

Since 1971, the holiday has been commemorated in the U.S. on the second Monday in October, the same day as Thanksgiving in neighboring Canada. It is generally observed today by schools, some banks, the bond market, the U.S. Postal Service, federal offices, and most state government offices; however, most businesses and stock exchanges remain open.

I'm working in Denver right now and there was an article in the paper over the weekend about the "Homeland Security" tshirts that Anne mentions above (where, below the picture, says something like "protecting our shores since 1492").

Apparently, the Denver Art Museum was selling them in their gift shop but got some complaints. Their compromise was to stop selling them until after Columbus Day.

Insane.

Sean, you're right. I had forgotten that the T-shirt has a line underneath the Indians. Mine says:

"Fighting Terrorism Since 1492"

I bought mine from an Indian organization out in California (online).

My brother-in-law has a t-shirt that says, "Columbus was a rapist."

male bottom left "at least the religious guy is left handed" !