CALL TO ACTION! Watertown City Council Meeting to Rename The Columbus Delta in Watertown Square

SPECIAL MEETING OF THE WATERTOWN CITY COUNCIL

TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2022 AT 6:00 PM

Watertown City Council Administration Building: 149 Main Street Watertown, MA 02472 Phone: 617-972-6470 THE WATERTOWN CITY COUNCIL IS MEETING TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2022 AT 6:00 PM IN THE RICHARD E. MASTRANGELO COUNCIL CHAMBE TO DISCUSS AND VOTE TO RENAME THE COLUMBUS DELTA IN WATERTOWN SQUARE. 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. A PREVIOUS EMAIL HAD A BAD LINK, THIS IS THE CORRECT ZOOM LINK FOR THE MEETING: https://watertown-ma.zoom.us/j/92991331344 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 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 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, msideris@watertown-ma.gov Council President Vincent J. Piccirilli, vpiccirilli@watertown-ma.gov Vice President & District C Councilor John M. Airasian jairasian@watertown-ma.gov Councilor At Large Caroline Bays, cbays@watertown-ma.gov Councilor At Large John G. Gannon, jgannon@watertown-ma.gov Councilor At Large Anthony Palomba, apalomba@watertown-ma.gov Councilor At Large Nicole Gardner, ngardner@watertown-ma.gov District A Councilor Lisa J. Feltner, lfeltner@watertown-ma.gov District B Councilor Emily Izzo, District D Councilor eizzo@watertown-ma.gov 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