A Word About Columbus

LIA Board members Dan Moceri and Louis Palestini were in the piazza speaking to people about Columbus

Today is still Columbus Day in some parts of the country. Right or wrong, many Italian Americans feel that the opposition to Columbus is a personal attack on their community. While it is true that Columbus wasn't perfect, he truly was a "man of his times," the facts that can't be disputed are that what Columbus did was a huge changing point in World history, re-uniting mankind of both Hemispheres who had been separated for tens or even hundreds of thousands of years and setting the stage for what would eventually become the United States of America. Many Italian Americans therefore look at him with pride. I, personally, see him as a major player in history, but I do not approve of everything he and the Europeans after him, did here in the Western Hemisphere. I recognize the good and the bad, not ignoring the good, nor glossing over the bad. But recognizing history for what it is and a pledge for me personally and for us humans to do better in the future, particularly in how we treat each other.

Have a good Columbus Day to those who celebrate it, an awesome Italian American Heritage Day, and a happy Indigenous Peoples Day with my pledge not to forget the suffering you (Indigenous Peoples) faced and the injustices you still face today. We as Italians faced prejudice in this country as well at one time and of course suffered thousands of years of conquest and colonization back in Europe. I don't agree with everything today's Native American activists fight for or say, but I am with you.

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Posted by Christopher Forte. All opinions in this article are mine personally and do not reflect those of The Italian Californian.