Editorial

QUESTION #3: AN END RUN AROUND TOWN MEETING:

            In this year’s town election, voters will be asked to approve or reject a bid to establish October 12th as Indigenous People’s Day, superseding local references to Columbus Day (Question # 3).  In October 2020, this issue raised its head at fall town meeting.  A petitioner brought forth an extended resolution, representing it as, a “counter-celebration” intended to morally condemn Columbus Day, both internationally and domestically.   In essence, the resolution sought to turn the commemoration of Columbus’s discovery of America, an event directly linked to the founding of our nation, into a condemnation of European settlement on this continent.

            The resolution met strong opposition.  While opponents acknowledged the injustices done to indigenous people, they also recognized and objected to what was clearly an attempt to discredit the founding of the United States, by irreparably associating it with slavery and genocide. Columbus Day should be recognized because it was one of the most significant discoveries in human history, a discovery that ultimately led to a nation, which threw off its own chains of imperial oppression, sacrificed considerable blood and suffering to end slavery, and then saved the world from greatest white supremacy threat in history, the Third Reich.

            During the town meeting, the petitioner’s resolution was defeated but a follow-up resolution was immediately offered by one of the opponents, recognizing indigenous people’s day, but on a different date. The new resolution sought to celebrate it on March 4th, Andrew Jackson’s birthday. Jackson, as President, orchestrated the infamous “trail of tears” forcibly relocating the Cherokee people and other tribes west of the Mississippi river. This blatantly racist policy was initiated after a hard-fought debate in Congress, in which our own John Quincy Adams led the opposition.  It should be Jackson, whose name should be linked to racism.

This resolution was referred by Town Meeting to the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee for review and action. The committee disingenuously ignored the resolution and with the Select Board’s ascent, exploited the referral to resurrect the original measure through an unprecedented end run around town meeting. This question is not by citizen’s petition. Some DEI committee members have openly admitted their intent is to confront Columbus Day. Is it really necessary to recognize one people by dishonoring another? Question # 3 was conceived in bad faith and should be rejected.

Submitted By Dennis Galvin

Please take the time to listen to a common sense discussion on why there’s no need to replace this traditional holiday, hosted by the Westford CAT Second Opinion program.

A MUST WATCH After Skool Special!

Exposing the Government Gangsters should Unite the People behind Trump, similar to the history of Andrew Jackson’s Re-Election

We encourage you to vote NO on ballot question 3, which proposes to remove Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day.

As an immigrant who escaped communist China, I am concerned about the increasing trend of cancel culture, which echoes the destructive Chinese Cultural Revolution that took place in the last century. During those tumultuous years, historical monuments were destroyed, and traditional holidays were banned. This movement seems to have found its way to the US, with ballot questions like this one arising from a very biased perspective on history.

It’s important to acknowledge that when Columbus arrived in the Caribbean, slavery was already practiced by the indigenous peoples[1].

Columbus’s logs reveal his insistence on fair treatment for the people he encountered, and he even established policies to enforce this[2].

Columbus was brought back to Spain in chains for punishing Spaniards who failed to comply with these policies.

The conquest of the Americas by Spanish conquistadors, often cited as a genocide, began 13 years after Columbus’s death. If he were alive, he might have condemned these actions.

Our country was built on the principles of truth and forgiveness, not lies and hatred.

We invite you to support our efforts to preserve Columbus Day by signing our petition at:

https://ourfight.online/SaveColumbusDay01886

To contribute to our campaign, 
please send a check payable to:

Save Columbus Day 01886
135 Westview Drive
Westford, MA 01886

Don’t forget to vote on May 2nd.

Submitted by Raymond Xie
Former State Rep Candidate of Massachusetts
Current Member of the Westford Republican Town Committee

References:
[1] The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016), By Dr. ANDRÉS RESÉNDEZ, professor of history, University of California, Davis. This book was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award and winner of the 2017 Bancroft Prize from Columbia University. 
[2] Christopher Columbus, "Journal of the First Voyage of Columbus," in Journal of Christopher Columbus (during his first voyage, 149293), 
and Documents Relating to the Voyages of John Cabot and Gaspar Corte Real, edited and translated by Clements R. Markham 
(London: Hakluyt Society, 1893), 15-193.

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