Editor’s note: This commentary is by Don Keelan, a retired certified public accountant and resident of Arlington.
I recently chatted with my granddaughter and mentioned that the town of Manchester had a significant number of tourists over Columbus Day weekend. She immediately corrected me: “Grandpa, it is not Columbus Day anymore but Indigenous People’s Day, and you need to get with the program.”
My granddaughter was right: the holiday weekend’s name was changed to Indigenous People’s Day. When, I am not sure. In mentioning that she was correct, I also called her attention to the fact that those of us who graduated high school when President Eisenhower was still in office might need a bit more time to adjust to the new state designation for the second Monday in October.
It took me forever to get used to the change of President Lincoln’s Birthday (Feb.12) and President Washington’s Birthday (Feb.22) to Presidents Day. The revised date for the celebration is the third Monday in February. These two dates were so ingrained in our thinking and, oftentimes, would appear on our grade school quizzes. Of course, it helped to remember by having two days off from school within 10 days.
Another sensitive expression is to wish folks “Merry Christmas.” If you are seeking to be possibly politically correct, you might wish the addressee “Happy Holidays.” This became a cause-celeb when Vermont was to deliver the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree in 2007.
The committee working on the delivery had to wait months before the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (the speaker is in charge of the program) ultimately decided to refer to the tree from the Green Mountain National Forest as “The U.S Capitol Christmas Tree” rather than “The Holiday Tree.”
In 2014, Gov. Peter Shumlin skirted a similar issue when I was present at the Statehouse for the Christmas tree lighting. My wife and I had donated the tree to the state. During the lighting ceremony and audience address, the governor leaned towards me and asked, “Should I refer to it as a ‘Holiday Tree’ or a ‘Christmas Tree’?” I told him the latter.
I have found the distinction issue interesting because it is not so among my Jewish colleagues and friends. According to them, the tree title really doesn’t matter.
Another area of reference that takes a bit longer to adjust to, although not an everyday utterance, is how we, “old folks,” have to be sensitive not to use the words Indians or Eskimos anymore. Native Americans or Alaska Natives are the proper referral, and rightfully so. But once again, it will take time, and, in the meantime, I hope others will not think my generation is in any way disrespectful, indifferent, or insensitive.
When dealing with how one needs to be more cognizant of others’ feelings, it can be disturbing to be reduced to being considered racially insensitive when, in fact, that is not so.
I believe my generation has come a long way in a short period of time adjusting to the numerous new word descriptions. A decade ago, I don’t believe the acronyms of BIPOC or LBGTQ were part of the dialogue, but today, they have significant meaning.
At another recent event, I waited to be corrected. I had mentioned a news story to a small gathering of family. I described how the firemen ran into an office building that had a fire on its ninth floor. This time, a daughter without hesitation said, “Dad, not firemen but firefighters.”
It did not end there: A son-in-law, a seasoned firefighter, informed us that firefighters don’t rush into burning structures. They walk. It surely will take time to get it all right, but we are trying. Or maybe, it would be best to do what is expected of an 80-plus-year-old grandparent, just sit and be quiet.
