• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Should we abolish Columbus Day?

Abolish Columbus Day, replace it with Bartolomé Day?

  • Total voters
    73
of course we should abolish it.. we shouldn't have any federal holidays to begin with...except maybe for the 4th of July
 
Cephus said:
Times change, views change, when Columbus was alive, what he was doing was perfectly acceptable. We have to view things in a historical context and not gauge things by today's standards. Otherwise, we'd have to do away with most holidays celebrating any individuals.
Click to expand...

That eventually has to happen anyway. Should we celebrate Columbus day for the next 1,000 years? Or should older holidays that no longer represent something special to us be replaced by things that are important?
 
AngryOldGuy said:
Yes my supposed lack of anti-American education, your self-imagined superiority
the left's virulent hatred of my country, you folks are too clever by half

it must be sad to go through life such as you do
Click to expand...

You must be a troll. Even the other conservatives here are saying Columbus was a bad dude, they just disagree that this merits a shift towards 'Celebration of Native Americans Day.'

And I agree -- I'm all for 'Explorer's Day' or something, and teach Columbus, Cortez, Magellan and the lot of them, with the good and the bad mixed in.

I do not see how admitting Columbus in particular was a brute makes you anti-American.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
That eventually has to happen anyway. Should we celebrate Columbus day for the next 1,000 years? Or should older holidays that no longer represent something special to us be replaced by things that are important?
Click to expand...

Important to who? If you don't like it, you're welcome to ignore it. Nobody will care. I think most holidays are pointless and I pay them no mind, that doesn't mean I'm out campaigning to eliminate them. Why does it bother you so much?
 
Excon said:
They are not celebrating any such thing.
That is you twisting what is actually being celebrated.
Click to expand...

Right. What is being celebrated is honoring a guy that accidentally came across a land mass already occupied by people for 30,000 plus years. He then enslaved as many as he could. He never even knew that he had not found land around India. He failed and we honor him...
 
Cephus said:
Times change, views change, when Columbus was alive, what he was doing was perfectly acceptable. We have to view things in a historical context and not gauge things by today's standards. Otherwise, we'd have to do away with most holidays celebrating any individuals.
Click to expand...

It was more more common back then, which probably made it seem less shocking. However, it absolutely was not "perfectly acceptable."

As I pointed out before, the Spanish Crown was absolutely appalled when they found out what Columbus was up to in the Americas, and had him (and his brothers) subsequently dragged back to Europe in chains. They released Columbus after an inquiry (mostly due to his failing health), but they denied him any share of the profits of his expeditions, which lead him to die disgraced and more or less broke just a few years later anyway regardless.

The man was a scumbag loser even by the standards of his own era.
 
Last edited:
Ad_Captandum said:
You must be a troll.
Click to expand...
next you'll tell me there's a good reason to stop calling Christmas, Christmas.
It won't matter yer all bloody anti-American commies, I'd expect nothing less.
 
Gathomas88 said:
It was more more common back then, which probably made it seem less shocking. However, it absolutely was not "perfectly acceptable."

As I pointed out before, the Spanish Crown was absolutely appalled when they found out what Columbus was up to in the Americas, and had him (and his brothers) subsequently dragged back to Europe in chains. They released Columbus after an inquiry (mostly due to his failing health), but they denied him any share of the profits of his expeditions, which lead him to die disgraced and more or less broke just a few years later anyway regardless.

The man was a scumbag loser even by the standards of his own era.
Click to expand...

He was only criticised because he did it to European colonists too... if he had just done it to the natives he never would have been questioned and would have been a hero as Cortez and Pizzaro were..
 
AngryOldGuy said:
next you'll tell me there's a good reason to stop calling Christmas, Christmas.
It won't matter yer all bloody anti-American commies, I'd expect nothing less.
Click to expand...

What does Christmas have to do with being an American?
 
AngryOldGuy said:
hah really?
Click to expand...

Actually I want to know as well.

I get that we celebrate it en masse in this country, but it really has nothing to do with being an American.

Perhaps a small part of the American experience, but Christmas has nothing to do with being American.
 
oh yeah just a teensy teeny tiny little miniscule fraction yeah ok
and the country is more like you 'people' instead? har please
 
Let's end Columbus day and rename the Washington Redskins in one full swoop. And just be done with it. It could be Obama's final **** you to Redneck Nation.
 
And force Ed Henry to wear a FOX/Confederate Flag if he wants to be called on for a question..
calamity said:
Let's end Columbus day and rename the Washington Redskins in one full swoop. And just be done with it. It could be Obama's final **** you to Redneck Nation.
Click to expand...
 
Call it, Discovery day where can learn about different positive discoveries from a variety of explorers. We can also relate this to the early settlers in their enlightened discovery of equality via constitution. Sadly, society is too complacent with the removal of Columbus, giving the economical benefit by that holiday.
 
1tk1na.jpg
 
AngryOldGuy said:
well then what does it matter? Who gives a fig about them other 2nd rate places?
They prolly hate ol Chris too?
Click to expand...

I live in New Zealand. They celebrate Christmas here.

...and Kiwis (13th) are rated happier than Americans (17th) in the latest world rankings.
 
AngryOldGuy said:
oh yeah just a teensy teeny tiny little miniscule fraction yeah ok
and the country is more like you 'people' instead? har please
Click to expand...

And yes small. And it has nothing to do with being American.

Wait, wait, wait... if they Celebrate Christmas as a public holiday in Russia....does that mean we are Russian??
 
Bodhisattva said:
Discovery of what? A land already occupied by humans?
Click to expand...

No. I mean discovery from different cultures of the world from scientific to geographical to whatever that gives different cultures a spot light in what they've done and that which is popular in contemporary society.
 
Hypersonic said:
No. I mean discovery from different cultures of the world from scientific to geographical to whatever that gives different cultures a spot light in what they've done and that which is popular in contemporary society.
Click to expand...

Yeah... fair enough.

His discovery also lead to an important reversal in science. The circumference of the Earth. It was originally done by some guy in Egypt almost perfectly, within a few hundred K's, and then recalculated hundreds of years later by a guy who did in much smaller, 17,000K's or something. He was friends with the Pope, I think, and that became the official version and that is why Columbus thought he could sail to China/India directly.
 
Bodhisattva said:
He was only criticised because he did it to European colonists too... if he had just done it to the natives he never would have been questioned and would have been a hero as Cortez and Pizzaro were..
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Most of the allegations brought against him involved his treatment of the natives.

Cortez may have very well been a conqueror, and Pizzaro may've been a particularly brutal conqueror. Columbus' actions, however; went far beyond any of that. He didn't "conquer" Hispaniola, so much as himself up as the reigning "Kurtz" in his own private heart of darkness.

The Spaniards might not have necessarily been opposed to slavery, and they certainly weren't opposed to conquest. However, that being said, they were not exactly orcs dead set on wanton cruelty and destruction either. Columbus crossed well over the line even by their standards.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom