Victory Day
By Today is Victory Day, a Rhode Island state holiday.
The only state to celebrate the day, it commemorates the victory over Japan in World War II. It is a state holiday only, meaning that the university is closed, but the post office is still open.
The day used to be celebrated in other states as well (I understand New Jersey got rid of it relatively recently), but over the years, the specific references to Japan became uncomfortable as it became a major ally and business partner of Americans. However, here in the Ocean State, we clearly have no problem celebrating our victory over the dirty inscrutable rats (or monkeys or cockroaches or whatever racist animalistic imagery of the 1940s you care to add, perhaps drawn by Dr. Seuss. Also, this one). I do like that in 1990, the state legislature passed a resolution noting, “stating that Victory Day is not a day to express satisfaction in the destruction and death caused by nuclear bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” Which is for a lot of people, I’m sure was not true.
I also want to note that Victory Day has affected me deeply. This morning, I went to a very good bakery here in Providence to buy some bread for my sandwiches. I sure do love sandwiches. And I wanted the best bread. But the bakery was using Victory Day for a staff party and was thus closed. Because of this, I had to go to an inferior bakery for my bread.
I now wish Japan had won the war.