I guess that earns hero worship in some quarters. It certainly predates ‘Italian pride,’ since the push to name every fucking thing after Columbus predates waves of Italian immigration.

It seems like he should have been overshadowed by any number of other explorers, conquerors, and political leaders who came not too long after.

If Lief Erickson had established colonies and set up a genocidal system to exploit the resources of North America, we may be celebrating a day in his honor every year. He didn’t benefit the plutocracy, so he gets ignored.