Robert Winters reports the Cambridge City Council voted 9-0 this evening to change the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day.
Councilor Nadeem Mazen proposed the idea:
Councillor Mazen stated that this issue is very important to him and that the American educational system needs to more accurately depict Indigenous history. He stated that politics is a trying process and good organization is important for making positive steps. He stated that Columbus probably was not Italian, did not discover anything, and was a war criminal. He stated that it is important to understand how our holidays are created and adopted.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!
Ad:
Comments
Oh dear... equating
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 1:29pm
Oh dear... equating indigenous people with dinsosaurs. You're not very bright or very funny. Good luck to you in life.
They were here before the indigenous people and certainly
By bulgingbuick
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 2:10pm
predated the humorless and self righteous.
Make America Mesozoic Again!
By Malcolm Tucker
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 2:22pm
[no surprise, some real hot takes in these here comments. yowza!]
Scientists have looked closely and found a
By bulgingbuick
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 2:42pm
great, really great orange haired reptile that became extinct when a meteor struck the Mesozoic tanning beds.
City claims citizens aren't even entitled to know types of data
By theszak
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 8:50am
City of Cambridge claims citizens aren't even entitled to know what types of data it keeps
https://www.reddit.com/r/massachusetts/comments/4m...
If people had data they could
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 9:30am
If people had data they could ask more questions and prove things which the powers that be don't want happening.
What a 'nice guy'
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 8:53am
About Columbus, an excerpt from The Oatmeal comic about him:
[img]http://s3.amazonaws.com/theoatmeal-img/comics/colu...
November
By BostonDog
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 11:56am
BTW, this is EXACTLY what many people in this country are suggesting we do to immigrants and/or those who belong to a particular religion.
Why the rage?
By lbb
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 9:22am
Even if you don't see this as a positive change to stop honoring Columbus, I'm confused at the level of rage in some people over this change. It just doesn't seem to me like any oxen are being gored here. Maybe one of the people who's enraged at this could explain, in clear concise language, why it affects you so. Do you honestly believe that Columbus deserves to be honored? Will this name change affect your life adversely? If so, please describe how. Please explain how this is any skin off your nose, or anyone else's. If it isn't, why are you complaining?
It's the latest craze
By scollaysq
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 5:51pm
Revising history to pretend you are removed from it. Columbus? I could be an Italian but I want to show that I had nothing to do with THAT particular asshole, 500 years later. Ben Affleck calling up WGBH and demanding they leave out the 'slave owner' part. Stuff like that.
It's just so...trendy.
and I don't actually care, I live in the real world and I've got my own troubles - and so do other people - that are certainly more important to worry about than what to call Columbus Day
I am making fun of the Cantabrigians
I'm more with the 'as long as I get the day off' guy.
Ben Affleck may have asked
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 1:21pm
Ben Affleck may have asked WGBH not to mention his slave-owning ancestors, but Henry Lewis Gates, Jr. agreed to omit it. Regardless, you would be shocked to know that if your ancestors lived in the northeast and were farm owners going back 150+ years ago, they too may have employed slave labor to work the fields. Repugnant, but true. Do your research. Your ancestors may be guilty as well. Are you responsible for your ancestors' shameful deeds? We all have hundreds of fairly recent ancestors... I'm sure there are several you would not approve of, nor would you want to be associated with.
Have done my research, been there, done that
By scollaysq
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 5:40pm
I come from Brits that likely killed colonists and Picts and god knows who else, Pilgrims that breathed on Native Americans and shot turkeys (sorry about that part, TLF). Some of my more recent ancestors were whaling captains that were probably transporting slaves in the off-season.
We also have a witch (found innocent, not hanged or burnt, but still a witch! a witch!).
Am I supposed to change my last name? Does what my ancestors did shock me? No, it was a different time, and I know I wouldn't do that stuff myself.
The point is I don't try to cover the past like a cat in a litter box.
It doesn't change history.
Great! You've done your
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 7:42pm
Great! You've done your research and you just proved my point: you, me and everyone else are not responsible for the actions of our ancestors. Looks like we're in agreement.
Are you really this dense?
By lbb
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 8:42am
Are you really so dense that you don't see any daylight between ceasing to honor a genocidaire, and "try[ing] to cover the past"? Calling Columbus what he is is the OPPOSITE of "try[ing] to cover the past", you dope.
"I am making fun of the Cantabrigians"
By lbb
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 8:40am
Because you've got absolutely nothing useful to do with yourself.
Got it.
You really think this? You really think putting up with the kind of bullshit that people like you sling is "trendy"? You're such a...dumbass.
hmmm
By scollaysq
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 11:04am
Speaking of rage - I didn't call anyone dense or a dumbass or dope or someone with nothing useful to do with my life except bullshit-slinging.
Is this anger because I went to BU?
A sense of humor can sometimes be a useful attribute.
Anger is
By bulgingbuick
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 11:43am
the sign of intellectual inferiority. See Donald Trump.
Cambridge still has places named after Columbus, though
By Ron Newman
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 9:27am
Columbus Avenue
Columbia Street
Columbia Terrace
Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts
By theszak
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 6:16pm
Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts
http://dantemass.org
North End Columbus Day Boston
https://www.google.com/search?q=north+end+columbus...
Not relevant
By Ron Newman
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 7:16pm
The Dante Aligheri Society isn't named for Columbus, and the North End isn't in Cambridge.
Update the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts!
By theszak
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 9:49am
By Yvonne Abraham
It’s no Confederate flag, but our banner is still pretty awful
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/06/24/abrah...
This is just ignorant. Truly ignorant.
By MassMouse
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 12:38pm
From the secretary of state's website: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf1a.htm
The STATE SEAL, adopted by Governor John Hancock and the Council on December 13, 1780 and made official by the General Court on June 4, 1885, is circular and bears a representation of the arms of the Commonwealth encircled with the words, "Sigillum Reipublicae Massachusettensis" (Seal of the Republic of Massachusetts). The final form of the seal was determined by a statewide contest.
From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_of_Massachusetts
The shield depicts an Algonquian Native American with bow and arrow; the arrow is pointed downward, signifying peace. A white star with five points appears next to the figure's head. A blue ribbon (blue, signifying the Blue Hills of Quincy, Canton and Milton) surrounds the shield, bearing the state motto "Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem" This comes from the Book of Mottoes in the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen, Denmark; written about 1659 by Algernon Sydney, English soldier and politician. It was adopted in 1775 by the Provincial Congress and the literal translation is, "With a sword, she seeks quiet peace under liberty." Although the looser English translation more commonly used is, "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty." Above the shield is the state military crest: a bent arm holding a broadsword aloft. The sword has its blade up, to remind that it was through the American Revolution that independence was won.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this seal. If people did their homework, maybe they would learn something about our Commonwealth.
Agreed
By perruptor
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 1:10pm
The worst part is, she apparently DID do her homework, but still dismisses the meaning of the flag and seal's symbolism because it's old, or something.
The "nuance...drained away." WTF does that mean, other than that people jump to erroneous conclusions, and they must be right, because they're too lazy to find the readily-available truth.
heraldry nerds
By roadman
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 3:54pm
Is that the politically correct term for people who post comments on the Boston Herald website?
Trumpian-Americans
By Trump-Baker 2016
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 4:11pm
I think the PC term for Herald readers is Trumpian-Americans.
I wonder if the commenter
By chaosjake
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 3:20pm
I wonder if the commenter forgot that this was no longer our seal?
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/q7zusAqbDTHzLTAX...
soundtrack
By Ishmael Jones
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 9:54am
The song was stuck in my head, I have to get it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGerL1-MpSU
Fake holidays in general
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 9:58am
I've been saying for years that certain fake holidays need to go.
Columbus Day, a celebration of a questionable navigator who apparently committed atrocities. Italian-Americans celebrate Columbus, either ignoring or simply misinformed that he was an outcast in his own country and sailed under the Spanish flag.
St. Patrick's Day, a solemn religious holiday in Ireland, but used as an excuse in this country for the worst kinds of drunken, loutish behavior.
Cinco de Mayo, all but unheard of in Mexico. Talk about a made up holiday. It is intended to celebrate the victory of the Mexican Army over French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. For what reason do we need to celebrate that in this country? Some people also confuse it with Mexico's Independence Day, which is actually in September.
No... I don't think people
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 10:06am
No... I don't think people confuse Cinco de Mayo with Mexico's Independence Day. Just you. Sorry if people with Mexican heritage celebrate Cinco de Mayo bother you. Enjoy voting for Trump.
It's not the people of
By Scratchie
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 1:08pm
It's not the people of Mexican heritage who are annoying when they celebrate May 5, any more than it's the Irish people who are annoying when they celebrate March 17th. It's annoying when white Americans take a holiday from another country and use it as an excuse to get shitfaced in public while wearing funny hats.
Huh? Oh, I'm sorry you are
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 1:24pm
Huh? Oh, I'm sorry you are confused. My comment was specific to people with Mexican heritage celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Try re-reading my comment and making a coherent reply, Trump voter.
So...
By Anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 1:29pm
It's OK to get shitfaced while wearing a sombrero, but not OK to get shitfaced while wearing a funny green hat?
I don't care who gets
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 2:33pm
I don't care who gets shiftaced in whatever hat of their choosing on any given day. If your great-grandmother was from Finland and your great-grandfather was from Thailand and you want to wear a green hat on March 17th and a sombrero on Cinco de Mayo and get shitfaced on both days, I really don't care! I wasn't the one casting judgment... that would be Scratchie.
Facts
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 1:14pm
It has nothing to do with voting for Trump or with people's opinions .It has to do with facts.
Wikipedia says:
"In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is sometimes mistaken to be Mexico's Independence Day—the most important national holiday in Mexico—which is celebrated on September 16."
They source it with the following:
Lovgren, Stefan (May 5, 2006). "Cinco de Mayo, From Mexican Fiesta to Popular U.S. Holiday". National Geographic News.
Lauren Effron (May 5, 2010). "Cinco de Mayo: NOT Mexico's Independence Day". Discovery Channel.
In addition, Cinco de Mayo, a celebration of the Mexican defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, is not celebrated as a national holiday in Mexico.
This.
By mediaseth
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 10:54am
All of this. It's not political correctness to alter the names of these holidays or the holidays themselves. It's being technically correct. The internet has taught me that this is the best kind of correct.
Also, given that all the Americas are named after an Italian explorer, I think folks can stand to go without Columbus day, a comparatively very minor thing for guy people should not be so proud of in the first place.
Have you ever been to Ireland on St. Patrick's Day?
By Neal
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 11:47am
I have. It's celebrated more like our Independence Day; with parades, fireworks, street parties, and some drunken loutish behavior. While I am sure some people do go to church that day, I saw nothing there that indicated that the majority, or even a large minority of the Irish treat it as a solemn religious holiday.
In recent years, yes
By Some
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 1:02pm
More recently St Patrick's Day in Ireland has, in fact, emulated the festivities the day sees in the US. Prior to that it was a pretty minor holiday. (Source: Dubliners of multiple generations I have asked) It became big in the US because of boosterism to show the local power of the Irish community in various cities.
I have.. in Dublin, and it
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 1:26pm
I have.. in Dublin, and it was nothing like you described. It was a huge celebration and party. People were most certainly imbibing. Actually, on any weekend night Dublin is pretty crazy.
Where were you? Dublin?
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 2:20pm
Where were you? Dublin?
The overt celebration is relatively new. When I lived in Ireland, pubs closed for 2 hours on St. Patrick's Day and indeed, Mass was celebrated. The recent celebrations are a tourist attraction, because the Irish understand that they need tourism, and that holiday is their opportunity. They got the idea for the party, and for that matter, Irish Coffee, from the US.
Can they come up with a shorter more easy flowing name?
By bulgingbuick
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 11:03am
Traffic is a mess on Indigenous Peoples Ave every morning. Can a Trump rally be held at Indigenous Peoples Park? Is Indigenous Peoples High still open? Is it true that the Washington football team is moving to Indigenous Peoples Ohio?
First Nations Day!
By louielouie
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 11:53am
First Nations Day!
How about..
By lbb
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 11:56am
How about you grow up, get a job, leave your mommy's basement, and take on all the responsibilities of an adult life? I think you'll find that you have enough real problems without inventing imaginary ones like OMG THE NAME'S TOO LONG.
But I'm in your mother
By bulgingbuick
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 12:35pm
's basement.
You are?
By lbb
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 8:43am
My mother's dead, asshole.
p.s. you snot-gobbling idiot.
1bb
By bulgingbuick
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 10:26am
You are the Trump of Uhub.
*golf clap*
By erik g
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 12:03pm
Well played.
CTRL+F "Amherst"
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 11:40am
CTRL+F "Amherst"
Jeffrey Amherst and his legacy are next?
As a matter of fact...
By adamg
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 12:37pm
Yes.
It was only a matter of time...
By MassMouse
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 12:42pm
... before Amherst College got rid of that horrific mascot! Besides, I heard a Minuteman beat him up...
/UMass '97
Sounds good to me.
By Scratchie
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 1:09pm
Sounds good to me.
Okay, that blanket conspiracy
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 1:27pm
Okay, that blanket conspiracy theory was never proven.
Columbus' birthday
By Refugee
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 12:41pm
Columbus' birthday is October 31. Instead of having Columbus Day on October 12, let's make October 31 an observed holiday instead. Our children can celebrate the day by dressing up and venturing to faraway places, seeking treasure.
one edit
By Michael
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 1:15pm
"Our children can celebrate the day by dressing up and venturing to faraway places where someone already lives, seeking treasure."
Nah. Let's just skip Columbus
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 1:22pm
Nah. Let's just skip Columbus Day. Halloween is on Oct. 31st. I think we're good.
Celebrate Juliette Gordon Low instead of Columbus
By KellyJMF
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 3:51pm
Her birthday was on October 31st so we Girl Scouts of the US celebrate that.
Halloween is the next thing that's got to go...
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 3:53pm
Grown people wearing silly costumes and acting like idiots. Halloween was fine when it was a children's event, but ever since it got rebranded as an adult "holiday", and in fact became an entire "season", it's a joke. Lame.
Your history is backwards
By Jeff F
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 5:15pm
Lots of written documentation dating back to around 800ad that many of our current traditions of Halloween(aka Samhain aka Calan Gaeaf etc) had been even back then celebrated by grown-ups for centuries, if not thousands of years. The holiday itself is quite possibly our oldest and most consistently celebrated yearly festival.
The Church did their regular co-option schtick and made it a high holy day sometime before 1000ad, so in many parts of Europe the merry-making calmed down a bit. But most places held onto at least part of the old traditions. In the US, Halloween was mostly a religious holiday through the Civil war era. After that, it became more secular, and predominantly an occasion for adults to party at night.
Trick-or-treating for kids didn't become a big thing here in the US until the 1930s. It's an import of the old Celtic mumming tradition - again, mostly a grownup activity until the modern era.
Why do you need a holiday anyway?
By lbb
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 8:45am
Why do you need a holiday anyway? Do you really get all those "observed holidays" off from work? Must be nice. Don't ever try and get a job in the private sector, you won't like what happens.
I'm reading everyone's blog
By anon
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 1:13pm
I'm reading everyone's blog during my lunch hour and I'm laughing my ass off. In fact, we are all laughing. Some of these posts are insanely hilarious!!
The script writers at Faux Newts thank you for the
By bulgingbuick
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 2:16pm
month of programming. "Can Donald Trump save America from the re-namers?"
I can see it now
By roadman
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 4:27pm
"Special Report - The War On Columbus."
Billy Falafel already has Killing
By bulgingbuick
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 5:15pm
Columbus in draft.
How is this still a thing?
By Eighthman
Tue, 06/07/2016 - 8:24pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rvz_aTY0NE
Pages
Add comment