Re-Brand (part 1 of 2)
“That was a good thing you did. A real good thing.”
(from the Twilight Zone episode: It’s a Good Life -1961)
Good,
very good indeed!
The second October Monday
is now recognized by the City of Seattle
as Indigenous Day to honor Native Americans
on the day formerly belonging to the wrongfully
credited, discoverer of the United States, and murdering
enslaver of Native Americans, Christopher Columbus.
Columbus’ 4 voyages were actually to places now known
as the Bahamas, Cuba, Puerto Rico and
South America ( not North America t’all)– but I digress. . .
Political correctness is also now officially
indigenous to western Washington and that’s
also a very good thing;
so let the ceremonial dancing of this win-win
Indigenous Day proclamation, that costs
tax payers almost nothing, begin!
Tell the post office, libraries and banks
they can continue to take the day off
but schools will stay open, most of us will still work
and you still have to pay for parking on city streets
because Indigenous Day is not an actual fully vested legal holiday
with all the benefits one might enjoy if it were say; Memorial Day.
The Casino’s remain open
to serve free red lemonade to slot players
and perhaps will offer special discounts
to Italian-Americans who previously
borrowed Columbus Day to celebrate their Italian heritage.
That was admittedly an ill fit,
but they were making the best of the situation and now
will appear politically incorrect as they grumble
loudly for at least half a news cycle for wanting to hold
onto a dated tradition at the expense of Native Americans.
The original Americans certainly deserve a special meaningful
day of recognition and since Columbus never deserved such
honor, it was good thing the Seattle City Council did;
a very good thing. . .
Author Christopher J. Jarmick is a former TV producer and screenwriter who relocated to Seattle in 1994 and became a poetry activist. He continues to organize, host and publicize poetry reading and events throughout Washington State involving locally and nationally known writers. His latest book, Not Aloud has just been published by MoonPath Press and is available directly from the author or from Amazon. Follow his PoetryIsEverything blog (google it).
Copyright © 2015 by Christopher J. Jarmick
Cover Photo by Staci Leigh
