I had the day off for Columbus Day and I stayed at home. The weather was poor so I slept, did some laundry, made tomato sauce...In Denver they went fucking nuts. They poured fake blood in the streets, they called foul and genocide at the memory of Christopher Columbus and generally disrupted the parade. People were arrested and spent their day off in prison on civil disobedience charges, alleging that this holiday celebrates the first trans-atlantic slave trader and murderer of indigenous people. Not my idea of a relaxing long weekend.
Now I won't pretend that I know anything about Christopher Columbus, I only just learned that he was Italian a few years ago (He was financed by the spanish court, I just assumed he was from Spain or Portugal) and honestly - I can't be bothered. Protesting bullshit holiday's? Seriously people... Seriously.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good protest, but it should be creative and have a goal. Protesting the past is a waste of time since you can't change the past, and worse, many of these frivolous protests strip credibility away from whatever cause you might be fighting for. The protesters didn't seem to have any demands, they just wanted to make assholes out of themselves and spoil a parade. Which they did. I have a sneaking suspicion, however, that every one of them took the holiday pay without any crisis of conscience.
I am active in my government. I vote, I know my representatives but more importantly, they know me. I go to town hall meetings and ask relevant questions or make reasonable suggestions. Going to such events spoiling for a fight, so that you can hear yourself say something clever won't solve anything. Many a neighbor steps up to speak with clenched fists and comes away sounding like an idiot because they didn't know an issue or didn't desire a resolution. Protests are similar, know what you want and why you want it. Be able to make a case and be open to the perspective of others, but above all be reasonable and intelligent. Pouring blood on the street or laying down to block people from entering a building, what is that? I think of a child in the bank rolling around on the rug and screaming for attention.
The minimalist moral for today:
There is a right way to do things and a wrong way, and if you wind up in prison on your day off? You have chosen badly.
