San Jose city council votes to remove Columbus statue.

[just Warren]

Because of certain folks' fee-fees.

I get that Chris wasn't a bundle of enlightenment when it came to his treatment of natives but he's a huge part of our history.

Now he wasn't the first European to find these shores, my people, the Norse get that credit but still his voyages sparked a whole wave of voyages to the New World without which America would not be a thing.

Of course if you're the sort that hates America you'd want to remove as much of it's history from public as you could, I suppose.

[Angel Eyes]

Replace it with a Leif Erikson statue and see how the Brown Berets like it.


(I'm sure they would have preferred Che Guevara)

[makattak]

Because of certain folks' fee-fees.

I get that Chris wasn't a bundle of enlightenment when it came to his treatment of natives but he's a huge part of our history.

Now he wasn't the first European to find these shores, my people, the Norse get that credit but still his voyages sparked a whole wave of voyages to the New World without which America would not be a thing.

Of course if you're the sort that hates America you'd want to remove as much of it's history from public as you could, I suppose.

If I recall, he never found "these shores" anyway. I believe, his largest initial discovery was Hispaniola (and Cuba) and then eventually South and Central America.

To claim his discovery wasn't massively significant in a way that the Viking trade outposts weren't is foolish. He changed the world. (Like it or not.)

As to the other controversy, I have to recall something a wise man once said: "It's my estimation that every man ever got a statue made of him was one kind of sumbitch or another."

[White Horseradish]

I get that Chris wasn't a bundle of enlightenment when it came to his treatment of natives but he's a huge part of our history.

Actually, he isn't a huge part of our history. Up until a successful marketing campaign about 100 years ago he was pretty much a footnote as far as North America was concerned.

Now he wasn't the first European to find these shores

Makattak correctly notes - he never set foot on these shores at all.

The only reason Columbus has a national holiday and all the statues is that Italian Catholics felt they needed a hero to make them look better. He really had absolutely jack to do with this country.

[Ben]

I think San Jose is one of the dozens of CA cities that have outlawed Columbus Day and replaced it with "indigenous peoples day", so no surprise at the statue removal.

[Triphammer]

Nevermind. Not very aPs

[MillCreek]

I think San Jose is one of the dozens of CA cities that have outlawed Columbus Day and replaced it with "indigenous peoples day", so no surprise at the statue removal.

Seattle, too, celebrates Indigenous People's Day.