I've written posts before about why Christopher Columbus was a uniquely pivotal person to the history of the world as well as why many people might not see his arrival (and the death and destruction for their people and traditions it heralded) as something that they would want to celebrate. However, I do not believe that I have mentioned that his legacy is a big part of the reason why I left the Knights of Columbus after a single meeting decades ago. Somehow (and I feel foolish looking back on this), it wasn't until that first meeting that I realized that the order celebrated Christopher Columbus himself. I had looked on their charitable works and even their pageantry (they had swords) with admiration (and I still do in some respects), but discovering that it was an order based on the life of a man with a historically infamous and personally questionable past left me cold.
I don't think that the order was formed with any sort of malice in mind, but rather with an almost innocent ignorance about the culture insensitivity the name of Columbus brings to mind. Granted, part of that was due to the intentional remove of indigenous peoples from much of the history books and classes that taught entire generations of Americans. I am still astonished at how little Alaska's school systems deals with the cultures that traditionally lived in this great state (and yes, I am quite cognizant that I am a part of those systems). Sure, all Alaskan teachers are required to take a couple of courses on Alaska and its peoples, and all high school students get a whopping full semester on Alaskan history, but it has done hardly anything to stem the cultural erosion of the many Alaskan Native nations.
... Perhaps my mind was darkened today with these thoughts which led me to be more suspicious of the questions people asked me.