St. Patrick’s Parade Returns With Pride

It was cold and windy but spirits were high.
I particularly liked the inclusiveness of this parade. How wonderful to see so many diverse organizations and ethnic groups creating special memories for all of us.
Thank you to all who marched, as well as to those who cheered them on.

It is in fact sad and a little amusing that a society that mostly mocks and condemns all religion and Catholics in particular suddenly celebrates a Catholic saint. The Irish were oppressed here , then they turned on other ethnic groups, particularly Italians, who are now forbidden from celebrating an icon of Italian-American heritage who discovered America for Europe- Christopher Columbus. That parade does not celebrate the destruction of the indigenous peoples but rather the discovery of our great country-- why no mercy to allow that celebration?

Faking Gong was supposed to be beaded upon Taoist principals and yet they were big supporters of all things Trump including cockamamie QAnon conspiracies. I wonder if they wondered what the heck the Star Wars guys were doing in an Irish parade?

CY2, I guess you were out of school when your class studied Columbus' voyages. He never set foot in what is now the U.S., much less discovered the country. And he was, by the standards of his own time, a tyrant.

CityYankee2, I agree that the protests around Columbus are often polarizing and not accurate. There's a lot to discuss about how we honor the wide range of cultural/historic traditions in our country, and that should be done respectfully and thoughtfully. Understanding historical figures in context is complex business. No reason to stir that pot further through blame or inaccuracies. In the spirit of furthering understanding: Patrick was not Irish. He was one of the world's first anti-slavery activists, having been captured and forced into slavery in Ireland in his youth. Early Christianity in Ireland was not Roman Catholic, but was practiced in a manner that many authors now refer to as "Celtic spirituality" or "Celtic Christianity." Many Anglican/Protestant churches honor Patrick as their patron saint, alongside the Catholic tradition. I have an Irish heritage (many of them teachers) among other nationalities in my family tree. I am respectful/admiring of Italian and Native American Indian cultures, as well as the wide array of heritages represented in Connecticut. I found the New Haven parade to be an inclusive, joyful event. Peace out.

Take from the IrishCentral

Columbus was a mass killer and the father of the slave trade
It's an uncomfortable truth, but it's time to recognize that Christopher Columbus was responsible for over 3 million deaths.
Owen McCormack
@IrishCentral
Oct 09, 2021

It's time to recognize other great Italians on Columbus Day and not a founding father of the slave trade responsible for over three million deaths.

Firstly, they were docile and trusting in nature; and, secondly, they wore gold jewelry. Columbus' own words from his personal journal capture the ominous fate that awaited the Arawaks:

"They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane. They would make fine servants. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want."
The death of 3 million people
A young, Catholic priest named Bartolomé de las Casas transcribed Columbus’ journals and later wrote about the violence he had witnessed.

The fact that such crimes could potentially go unnoticed by future generations was deeply troubling to him. He expanded upon the extent of Columbus’s reign of terror within his multi-volume book entitled the "History of the Indies":

"There were 60,000 people living on this island, including the Indians; so that from 1494 to 1508, over 3,000,000 people had perished from war, slavery, and the mines. Who in future generations will believe this? I myself writing it as a knowledgeable eyewitness can hardly believe it."
Christopher Columbus: What Really Happened
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF_unlvjccA&t=174s

https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/columbus-mass-killer-slave-trade

Thank you, Kevin. You would think, by this time, everyone would have at least a minimum understanding of where Columbus went and what he was up to.

No need to be resentful of Saint Patrick being chosen to represent Irish American pride because Christopher Columbus was a lousy choice to represent Italian American pride, and has fallen out fashion and been removed from his pedestal.
Simply embrace an Italian American Pride Of Heritage Day celebration with a festival like the town of North Haven did to replace their Columbus Day parade and celebration, and move on from there.
(It’s not an anti-Italian thing, it’s an anti-Columbus thing.)