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Columbus announced last week that he would not close his doors, saying he preferred to focus on Veterans Day. Here, we see a statue of Christopher Columbus on an archival photo in front of the Columbus City Hall.
Joe Sohm / Visions of America / UIG via Getty Images
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Joe Sohm / Visions of America / UIG via Getty Images
Columbus announced last week that he would not close his doors, saying he preferred to focus on Veterans Day. Here, we see a statue of Christopher Columbus on an archival photo in front of the Columbus City Hall.
Joe Sohm / Visions of America / UIG via Getty Images
Columbus, Ohio, is open for business on Columbus Day, as the city does not observe the day that honors its controversial namesake. This decision will help raise awareness of Veterans Day, the city said.
The capital of Ohio announced its decision late last week by issuing a short press release stating that its offices are open on Mondays and that garbage collection and parking laws will be treated as D & D. # 39; habit.
The statement concluded: "In honor of those who served in the military, the city of Columbus will be closed on Veterans Day on Monday, November 12, 2018."
Columbus has not yet celebrated Veterans Day as a holiday, says Robin Davis, director of media relations for Mayor Andrew Ginther.
"Columbus is home to 110,000 veterans," Davis said in an email to NPR. "We are pleased to honor those who have served our country by celebrating Veterans Day this year."
When asked how the city had made the change and if it had done so through a process open to public debate, Mr. Davis said the decision to stay open on Columbus Day had been approved by all unions representing city workers at regular meetings. contractual negotiations during the last year ".
The city of Ohio has stopped the initiatives taken by Phoenix, Denver and others who are celebrating Aboriginal Peoples Day on the second Monday in October. The WVXU member station announced that when Cincinnati had followed suit last week, it was doing "to celebrate the flourishing culture and value that all indigenous peoples add" to the city and to recognize "the annexation of their ancestral lands ".
The idea of changing the traditional holiday has often sparked intense disagreements. As Julie Carr Smyth, Associated Press reports, Columbus hopes to make an "enlightened decision to link the transition to a politically secure demographic: veterans".
The change provoked strong reactions in Columbus, as shown on the Facebook page of the local news channel 10TV. A message about the move prompted a variety of reactions:
"Socialism in action, our capital is even named after Christopher Columbus, how stupid mayor Ginther is to perpetuate this embarrassment for our city!" – Larry W. Hutcheson
"It's great, it's bad enough that the city is named after a genocidal racist maniac, but it's a step in the right direction." – Erin Nash
But one of the most appreciated comments about the message came from Jesse Bobo, who wrote: "I can not understand people getting upset about it … I would much rather have veterans honored ".
In the middle of the controversy, another person wrote that if the name Columbus is so polarizing, the city should not stop at the holidays: it should change its name completely.
Columbus Day has been a federal holiday since the 1930s, but by 2015, less than half of the US states had decided to give their employees a paid day off. Several states, including Alaska, Hawaii and Oregon, have never recognized it.
Critics in Columbus complain that the feast mythologizes a man accused of bringing slavery and death to the "New World". Its sponsors celebrate its place in history and its Italian heritage. In the middle of the debate, many also note that on October 12, 1492, the explorer landed in the Bahamas, not in the United States.
A search in the social media accounts and web pages of Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and several City Council members revealed no mention of this change on Monday.
Columbus is preparing to open the new National Veterans Memorial and Museum on October 27, anticipating Veterans Day next month.
Despite the change, the youngest residents of the city may not be aware of it. The Columbus Public Schools are open on Columbus Day and Veterans Day, according to the school district calendar.
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