I wanted to speak out about the little paper mashay ships in the foyer. I assume they are the The Piña, the Minta, and the Santa Maria, and I assume somebody put those there to celebreate Columbus Day?
FYI, according to Wikipedia, Christopher Columbus was a religious fanatic with an obsession of eliminating non-Christians, by means of murder, conversion, or at the very least, enslavement.
Consider this message me raising my fist against the shame and outrage at Columbus Day.
Replies
Miriam Kinkheune at
10:17AM
Yes, I put those ships there, Nick, to celebrate Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the United States. Thanks to him you and I are both here with good jobs and freedom. Regarding outrage, it is an outrage that we have to work on this important holiday, so the least we can do is have some tiny papier-mâché boats in Columbus’ honor.
Pieter Voorhees at
10:27AM
OK, let’s not inflate this stupid holiday. You are both halfway correct, Cristobal Colon was a hero on par with a Neil Armstrong or a Henry Ford and he also may have massacred some folks. So let’s call it a draw. The tiny ships can stay in the foyer.
Aidan Weinglas at
10:45PM
I am on the fence about this one. In a way I think it’s weird timing because tomorrow is actually the beginning of an important holiday in my religion (Judaism), called
Sukkot which is a Biblical pilgrimage festival that occurs in autumn on the 15th day of the month of Tishri. I wasn’t going to say anything about having to work on Sukkot, but it is interesting.
Miriam Kinkheune at
10:49AM
Hi Aidan, it looks like you left the links to the description you copied and pasted from Wikipedia. I’m not at all questioning your level of Jewishnesh, but is this holiday something you know a lot about and normally celebrate? Just wondering because didn’t you once joke with your friends in the conference room that you wanted to change your name to something less “Jewy”?
Aidan Weinglas at
11:08AM
My point is that when you are part of the dominating cultural group (aka Christianity in this case), it is often hard to see the plight of those less fortunate.
Nick Carcallo at
11:31AM
Dropping in here to second Aidan’s point. It’s called Hemegony, something I learned about in my very first community college class (“Alternative Histories, from Ishtakaba to Ralph Nader”). I have many Jewish friends who feel belittled by Christmas and all of the huge crosses on hills, etc. They should be painted with blood.
Sarah Madrick at
11:40AM
I followed your Wikipedia links Aidan! I had no idea that holiday even existed, but I read about the little huts called sukkot that the Jewish people use to have snacks and take naps in. They are so cute! I was brainstorming if there is a way to make these little houses part of our Hobbit show?!
Aidan Weinglas at
11:57AM
Sarah I am sure you did not intend it as such, but your message could be read as condescending.
Nick Carcallo at
12:15PM
I agree with Aidan. We need to watch what we say in these dangerous times.
Pieter Voorhees at
12:18PM
Pokkenlijder! I am having the sensation that I just exited a fucking time machine in Beirut 1976. Trust me that you do not want to know what the Lebanese Civil War look like from the ground level. Let’s swallow down our axes, folks: who cares about the Jews, Christian, muslim or the other one. Everybody do what he want to do, and just arrive to work on time. OK?
Miriam Kinkheune at
12:42PM
I think the point is, what holidays does Wonder Glen observe?
Pieter Voorhees at
1:07AM
Easy one: Christmas, Veteran day, July 4th, Thanksgiving. I think that should do it, ya?
Nick Carcallo at
1:11PM
Martin Luther King, Jr. day is a federal holiday. I think we would be making a huge statement to neglect it.
Aidan Weinglas at
1:25PM
I am fine coming to work during Passover, although Dean has hinted that he wants to take me to an early dinner to celebrate (He is in the process of converting!) so I may duck out early on that day, as well as Purim and Hanukkah.
Miriam Kinkheune at
2:07PM
There are several other federally recognized holidays, including Labor Day, Memorial and Washington’s birthday — and Columbus Day, by the way, is one of those.
Pieter Voorhees at
2:23PM
Let’s just stick with the normal holiday that everybody take off. Wake up and if you feel confusion about coming to work, call the post office – if it’s closed, you stay home. Simple enough. Miriam, get a calendar together with some X’s on those day-offs.
Miriam Kinkheune at
2:52PM
Since Columbus day is on that list, and we have now worked almost half of it, I would politely request to leave early today.
Pieter Voorhees at
3:27PM
Let’s start with the Columbus day next year in order to make the payrolls tidy. Half-days can gum up the accounting systems. Please stay all the way until dusk falls today. Cheers.
Miriam Kinkheune at 1:52PM
Sarah Madrick at 2:00PM
