Rasmussen has the figures on where the American voter stands regarding the observance of Columbus Day:
Intrepid explorer who discovered America or merciless oppressor of the native peoples who already lived here? Some historians paint a darker picture of Christopher Columbus these days…Now you know where you stand in comparison to everyone else.
- nearly a quarter (24%) of adults now don’t think America should honor him with a national holiday.
- 58% disagree and say Columbus should be honored with a holiday.
- 17% are undecided what’s not to decide? Wafflers!.
- 69% of Republicans favor continuance of Columbus Day,
- compared to 52% of Democrats and,
- 54% of adults not affiliated with either party.Democrats are nearly twice as likely as Republicans to think Columbus should not be honored [no surprise there].
- 61% of whites say Columbus deserves a holiday,
- 50% of African-Americans [agree], and
- 51% of those in other racial categories.
I found an old cartoon about Columbus. It was part of the Mel-o-Toon series of simplified history for very young:
The comment section on this You Tube selection isn’t long but that deficit is remedied by the rigor of the vitriol on display. One person claims that the sailors gesturing to Columbus at 3:00 minutes are doing a Nazi salute. Shades of Charles Johnson!
Rasmussen has a surprising category of those who like Columbus:
- - - - - - - - -
…younger Americans are more supportive of the famous Italian explorer than their elders.But, hey, we forgot someone on October 9th:
- 72% of both men and women under 40 believe Columbus should be honored with a holiday;
- 57% of men over 40 and 53% of women over 40 agree.
Leif Erikson Day is an American observance occurring on October 9. It honors Leif Ericson (Leif Eiríksson), who brought the first Europeans known to have set foot in North America. In 1964, the United States Congress authorized and requested the President to create the observance through an annual proclamation. Lyndon B. Johnson and each President since have done so. Presidents have used the proclamation to praise the contributions of Americans of Nordic descent generally and the spirit of discovery.
Poor Erikson. October 9th is the day we all learned of President Obama’s Nobel Prize. Now ol’ Leif has been eclipsed yet again, first by Columbus and now by Obama.
By the way, it says "each President" since Johnson has made a proclamation on October 9th for Erikson. I don't remember seeing it in the news; does anyone know if this dead white male from Northern Europe was given his usual accolade by the new guy?
11 comments:
Both of you have missed the mark, this has been promoted and fascilitated by the Western Left. These groups are just taking advantage of the Western Lefts power and zeitgeist to promote their own peoples well being, courtesy of the perfidy of the Western Left.
Rememberance day for Leif den Lykkelige (Leif the Happy)? That sounds like a great idea. He was a real Norwegian, with courage and entrepeneurial drive. Would - in contrast to some I won't bother to name - make a great American.
This post has been linked for the HOT5 Daily 10/13/2009, at The Unreligious Right
Time to get a grip, guys.
As a black friend of mine says, "all God's dangers ain't a white man"...
iow, all the problems we face in the US do not derive from Muslims. I won't permit this obsession to invade our comment threads.
The disputes about Columbus have nothing, but nothing -- zero, zip, jack, and squat -- to do with Islamists. This particular cultural rot goes back to the era of the 60s, when p.c. claptrap, built on a foundation of Marxist dogma, began to invade our institutions.
The 'soft' Marxist takeover of our media, schools, and governmental bodies is of much more concern than what you propose. Read up on Bill Ayers if you want to know what this conflict is about.
Your comments are off-topic. I find them disturbing in their obsessive nature. Pradoxically, the more you have to keep talking about this, the less people will listen.
When I get the time, I plan to delete any other off-topic Muslim-bashing comments I find.
As Churchill said, "a fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject".
NOTA BENE: This is a warning. NO MORE off-topic comments of this nature.
So this is now officially a pro- religion of peace-blog. Please ban my account if possible. i'm outta here. Bye.
Under the name Ausonius, I wrote an essay at RedState.com on this topic.
Two excerpts:
"In the Middle Ages it was not impossible for a corpse to be disinterred and placed on trial. Today left-wing revisionist historians prevent the truth from staying the truth, putting Columbus’ corpse on trial for crimes he was not responsible for.
We will agree that Columbus was not perfect, but that he was personally and willfully responsible for the aftermath of his discoveries is patently ridiculous. Imagine the inventor of the firecracker being held responsible for every person ever killed in history by gunpowder!"
"If we hold Columbus responsible for the later darker side of American History, then he should also receive credit - and be celebrated - for its positive and enlightened aspects: the end of Aztec cannibalism against other Native American tribes, the spread of ideas on liberty and self-governance, the invention of the American mind and all of its creations, including our entire modern life-style of personal comfort and convenience!"
See:
Ausonius
Robin, step back a moment and think about what you just said. Go have a drink man, chill out for a few hours.
A 4th grade classmate of my son's wished everyone a "Happy Fall Day" on Monday! Wish my son were as assertive as mom (or maybe not...)and come up with some pithy response! Maybe next year?
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