ALERT
by Dominic Amara PhD, Chairman, Italian American Alliance.
Watertown City Council Meets to Rename Columbus Delta
TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2022 AT 6:00 PM
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE WATERTOWN CITY COUNCIL at the Watertown City Council Administration Building 149 Main Street Watertown, MA 02472 Phone: 617-972-6470 on
TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2022
AT 6:00 PM
RICHARD E. MASTRANGELO COUNCIL CHAMBER ADMINISTRATION BUILDING,
149 MAIN STREET AGENDA
to DISCUSS AND VOTE to RENAME COLUMBUS DELTA.
We ask that you attend the meeting at the City Council Chamber or access it remotely ( see below) and voice your opposition to the petition to rename Columbus Delta.
In accordance with the provisions of Rule 2.6 of the Rules of the City Council, and pursuant to the Call of the Council President, the members of the City Council of the City of Watertown are hereby notified of a Special Meeting of the City Council to be held on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 at 6:00 p.m., in the Richard E. Mastrangelo Council Chamber, Administration Building. The public may also participate remotely using any of the public access methods listed below: ACCESS INFORMATION: A. The meeting will be televised through WCATV (Watertown Cable Access
Television):http://vodwcatv.org/CablecastPublicSite/?channel=3 B. The Public may join the virtual meeting online: https://watertown[1]ma.zoom.us/j/92991331344 C. Public may join the virtual meeting audio only by phone: (877) 853-5257 or (888) 475-4499 (Toll Free) and enter Webinar ID: 92991331344 D. Public may comment through email:vpiccirilli@watertown-ma.gov 1. ROLL CALL 2.
- Discussion and Vote on a Petition to Rename the Columbus Delta
- Discussion and Vote on a Petition to Designate from 98-224 Main St. and Other Parcels a Historic District
- Discussion and Vote on Two Proposals from the CPC for Funding
The action to change the name of the Delta is being initiated by a group calling themselves the Pighsgusste Initiative and apparently is being led by a Mishy Lesser.
Please e-mail the Councilors below. How they vote is an indication of just how much they value your opinion.
LS: Mark S. Sideris,
Council President Vincent J. Piccirilli,
Jr., Vice President & District C Councilor John M. Airasian
,
Councilor At Large Caroline Bays,
Councilor At Large John G. Gannon,
Councilor At Large Anthony Palomba,
Councilor At Large Nicole Gardner,
District A Councilor Lisa J. Feltner,
District B Councilor Emily Izzo, District D Councilor
Below is a letter by Rafael Ortiz written some time ago in defense of Christopher Columbus and the recognition he has earned. It addresses the issue of Columbus as an antagonist of Native Americans. Mr. Ortiz is outspoken on the subject and has repeatedly said he is willing to openly debate the issue.
One must realize that in truth, the issue is not about indigenous people . The objective is to bring the American house down by destroying its foundations…including Christopher Columbus. When one honestly examines the evidence, one has to conclude that those who speak to erase Columbus have either been duped or lack the courage to stand against America’s enemies.
My name is Rafael Ortiz. I’m a Puerto Rican Hispanic author of Indigenous descent. I wrote three books defending Christopher Columbus. My 4th is coming soon and I’m writing my 5th right now. The fact is that the same activists who want to rename Columbus Day are the same who want to rename Thanksgiving Day as UnThanksgiving Day. In other words, this is not really about Columbus, but about demonizing America in general. The reason why these activists (so far) have been successful (to some degree) in convincing some people that Columbus “was evil” is because most people know little or nothing about him.
Since Spanish is my mother language, I took the time (years ago) to read every primary source and document in regards to Columbus to find out that the modern day accusations against him are all false. In other words, Columbus was not racist, genocidal, rapist or pedophile. The so called “sources” for these kinds of accusations are modern day revisionists, including the late Howard Zinn, a self proclaimed anarchist, whose book (“A People’s History of the United States”) was labeled as a “work of fiction” by many of his own peers, both liberal and conservative scholars.
Among the tactics revisionists often used are to misquote Columbus, including using mistranslations, or quoting him out of context, or putting different things he said at different timeliness in order to create false narratives. Another one is, blaming him for things he never did, in places he never visited, long after he was dead.
Another tactic is to use a document written by a political enemy of Columbus, claiming he was a “cruel man” toward the Spanish colonists. Activists like to remind people that this was the cause Columbus was removed from office. But they failed to disclose that the accusations against him were false and the accusers were charged with mutiny.
Another tactic is to diminish his accomplishments, or give the credit to someone else.
There is no reason to replace Columbus Day. There are already two Indigenous Peoples Day on the calendar: One in August and the other the Friday after Thanksgiving. November is Indigenous Peoples month.
If Columbus Day means “a celebration of war, conquest and slavery” then by the same reasoning Indigenous Peoples Day means the same and we should not celebrate it, since they were doing the same, with the addition of cannibalism and human sacrifices.
Note- I don’t oppose Indigenous Peoples Day, since I myself am one. What we oppose is to rename or eliminate Columbus Day when there is no legitimate reason for it, except for political opportunism or racial discrimination against Italian Americans.
If you still have doubts about Columbus’ behavior, I’ll be more than happy to answer you through email, phone, text, zoom, etc.
I’m available for discussions or debate.
Rafael Ortiz
