To wit: This most recent is Columbus day. A very polarised holiday originally marking Columbus' arrival in the "New World", and most recently the subject of backlash over European colonialism and the fates of American aboriginal peoples expressed in a growing movement to call it "Indigenous Peoples Day".
Without pointing out that, if I was an indigenous person, I would be insulted having my "day" land on the date Columbus arrived, I submit the whole thing should just be removed from the calendar. A holiday that just causes divisiveness by its existence rather defeats the purpose and just shouldn't exist.
Though a crappy photo snatched on the fly, I enter this into evidence:
Our local branch of my Credit Union was closed for the day, yet realised the landmine that announcing that closure presented. Not wanting to piss off one side or the other they neither called it Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day on the card (which would otherwise say "Veterans Day" or "New Years Day" on any other holiday). They just filled in the blank with the lower-case "the federal holiday" and shut.
Sorry. If we can't even name the day without arguing, we have no ability to celebrate, so just ditch it. Although the sign attracted my attention to this lunacy (and I found it so darkly hilarious I had to get a snap of it in evidence), I don't want to zero in on 09OCT or this social argument in particular.
I really think the entire array of holidays needs review. Those that cause social angst should be quietly dropped; funny how adding them is good but no-one will drop a day off on principle, which might tell us how spurious the debate really is.
A day off to argue and hate each other is not a holiday. End it, rehash the calendar while you're at it and decide if there is no collective reason to come together in celebration anymore that its a normal day and go to work.
Message Thread 
The case for getting rid of this holiday in America - sarge October 11, 2023, 6:56 am
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