• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • Close

Dig Bos

The Dig - Greater Boston's Alternative News Source

NEW WORLD ODOR: A BELATED NOTE FOR BOSTONIANS ABOUT COLUMBUS DAY

Written by CHRIS FARAONE Posted October 12, 2015 Filed Under: COLUMNS, Media Farm

AH BOSSES

 

We know that it already takes a lot of their minimal mental capacity every October for Columbus Day fanatics to put another round of exhilarating festivities behind them and move on with the rest of the year, but before they fold up their Italian flags or Gucci wife-beaters or whatever they wave in the air to commemorate genocide and white privilege, I have an uncomfortable message for my celebratory paesans: You’re some serious dummies for more reasons than you realize.

 

It’s not just that Christopher Columbus was a homicidal racist, and nothing to be proud of, though it would be nice if local news outlets noted such things (and the demonstrations against parades in his name) instead of printing sappy trash about how former Boston Mayor Tom Menino worshipped the occasion. More important though is that anyone who digs Columbus Day should probably consider another one of our past municipal honchos, namely John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, maternal grandfather of President John F. Kennedy. The only reason that Columbus Day means spit in Boston is because the likes of Honey Fitz, who served six years as mayor between 1906 and 1914 and as a state lawmaker before that, turned the holiday into a blowout in order to—as author Marisa Abrajano describes such pandering phenomena in her book, Campaigning to the New American Electorate—“gain the support of the Italian immigrants.”

 

As years went by, the true and superficial meaning of Columbus Day in these parts was forgotten, while human meatballs like Buddy Cuozzo, grand marshal of the parade back in the 1990s, went on honoring their boy in ignorance. In 1992, Cuozzo told the New York Times, “We’re Italian-Americans, and they’ve taken all our heroes away from us.” Summarizing the position of every embarrassment to prop Columbus since, Cuozzo said that Frank Sinatra had been vilified in the press, and called Columbus “the last hero we have.” “He discovered America,” claimed Cuozzo. “Why don’t they leave the guy alone?”

CHRIS FARAONE
+ posts

A Queens, NY native who came to New England in 2004 to earn his MA in journalism at Boston University, Chris Faraone is the editor and co-publisher of DigBoston and a co-founder of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. He has published several books including 99 Nights with the 99 Percent, and has written liner notes for hip-hop gods including Cypress Hill, Pete Rock, Nas, and various members of the Wu-Tang Clan.

  • CHRIS FARAONE
    https://digboston.com/author/chris-faraone/
    Justice Department Completes Vetting Of Rachael Rollins
  • CHRIS FARAONE
    https://digboston.com/author/chris-faraone/
    AG Investigating BPD To Determine If “Gang Unit” Engages In “Unconstitutional Policing”
  • CHRIS FARAONE
    https://digboston.com/author/chris-faraone/
    Little, Yellow, Different, Delicious: Håvn Sativa Lemon Gummies
  • CHRIS FARAONE
    https://digboston.com/author/chris-faraone/
    Meet The Cartoonist Who Lampooned Mass Cannabis Regulators

Filed Under: COLUMNS, Media Farm Tagged With: Boston, Columbus Day, history, Honey Fitz, Ignorance, Italians, Kennedy, North End, parade

WHAT’S NEW

Massachusetts Bill, Victim Advocates Call For Coordinated Date-Rape Drug Response

Massachusetts Bill, Victim Advocates Call For Coordinated Date-Rape Drug Response

Report: Fewer Youth Transition Out Of Massachusetts Foster Care System

Report: Fewer Youth Transition Out Of Massachusetts Foster Care System

State Wire: Activists Urge Congress To Raise Debt Ceiling, Resist Spending Cuts

State Wire: Activists Urge Congress To Raise Debt Ceiling, Resist Spending Cuts

Dancing On Banana Peels: Life On Lifetime Parole In Massachusetts

Dancing On Banana Peels: Life On Lifetime Parole In Massachusetts

Justice Department Completes Vetting Of Rachael Rollins

Justice Department Completes Vetting Of Rachael Rollins

AG Investigating BPD To Determine If “Gang Unit” Engages In “Unconstitutional Policing”

AG Investigating BPD To Determine If “Gang Unit” Engages In “Unconstitutional Policing”

Primary Sidebar

LOCAL EVENTS

AAN Wire


Most Popular

  • AG Investigating BPD To Determine If “Gang Unit” Engages In “Unconstitutional Policing”
  • Over Yondr: Are Cell Phone Pouches At Shows Liberating, Dangerous, Or Annoying?
  • Deep Cuts Brings Sandwiches, Craft Beer, And Live Music To Medford
  • Daring Greatly: TikTok Star Alden McWayne (aka Gucci Pineapple) On Scheming And Dreaming
  • Dead As Ever: Meet The Rising Dark Star Of Boston’s Jam Band Scene

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Customer Service

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an email blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: sales@digboston.com To reach editorial (and for inquiries about internship opportunities): editorial@digboston.com