Thursday, May 6, 2021

Alyssa Milano Explains Cancel Culture to Christopher Columbus

      (ALYSSA MILANO is on the SANTA MARIA with CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.)

ALYSSA:  ...And that's why you don't have a day anymore.

CHRISTOPHER:  So you don't like having the day off?

ALYSSA:  No, oh my god, I loooooove having the day off. It's a major mental health asset to have a day where you can reflect, and it's also in October, which is so lovely, because it's too late in the year to take a real vacation, so you can just stay in and plan out your tweets for the next month.

CHRISTOPHER:  So you'll keep the day?

ALYSSA:  No, we can't keep the day. You're a monster.

CHRISTOPHER:  Everybody loves me.

ALYSSA:  Who's everybody?

CHRISTOPHER:  All the guys on the ship. I'm their favorite explorer.

ALYSSA:  Well that might be how they feel now, but they won't always feel that way.

CHRISTOPHER:  They're talking behind my back?  I'll feed them to the sea!

ALYSSA:  No, I'm using a general 'they.' Not the 'they' you know, but the future 'they.'

CHRISTOPHER:  What future?

ALYSSA:  The overall future.

CHRISTOPHER:  Like a week from now? We'll still be at sea. I don't care about the future. I could die before I ever see land. Between you and me, I have no idea how a compass works.

ALYSSA:  No, as in, hundreds of years into the future.

CHRISTOPHER:  So you're an alien?

ALYSSA:  No. I'm a progressive.

CHRISTOPHER:  Is that...like an alien?

ALYSSA:  Sort of. We're very in tune with the Universe.

CHRISTOPHER:  Where do you progress to?

ALYSSA:  That's not how it works. Mainly I'm here to tell you that you're a horrible person.

CHRISTOPHER:  Oh. Well, I know that.

ALYSSA:  You do?

CHRISTOPHER:  Of course. Do you know how many people I've killed in my life?

ALYSSA:  Oh no, you haven't killed anyone yet. That's once you land in the New World.

CHRISTOPHER:  No, I've already killed a bunch of people.

ALYSSA:  What? Why?

CHRISTOPHER:  It's the 1400's. That's just...kind of what we do.

ALYSSA:  You're saying that everybody was a killer in the 1400's?

CHRISTOPHER:  I mean, not the children? Well, no, that's not true. Some kids get a taste for murder pretty early on.

ALYSSA:  Well there's a difference between murder and genocide?

CHRISTOPHER:  What's genocide?

ALYSSA:  It's when you kill an entire group of people that all have something in common.

CHRISTOPHER:  You mean like parrot trainers?

ALYSSA:  No.  Like--Indigenous people.

CHRISTOPHER:  Who?

ALYSSA:  The people who are living somewhere when you get there.

CHRISTOPHER:  But you have to kill those people. They're not just going to let you show up where they live and take the things you want.

ALYSSA:  Yes, because you shouldn't be doing any of that!

CHRISTOPHER:  But if I don't take the things and bring them back home, the King and Queen will kill me.

ALYSSA:  That doesn't excuse you murdering other people.

CHRISTOPHER:  So you want me to be a martyr?

ALYSSA:  No. We don't celebrate martyrs in modern times.

CHRISTOPHER:  Do you still do Christmas?

ALYSSA:  I--Well--

CHRISTOPHER:  Look, I don't care if you want to cancel my holiday, but I think judging me out of the context of my time is uncalled for. It's a kneejerk overreaction.

ALYSSA:  What would you say if I told you I can read?

CHRISTOPHER:  A literate woman?  YOU'RE A WITCH!  WE HAVE A WITCH ONBOARD!

ALYSSA:  There you go.

CHRISTOPHER:  I just think there's plenty to worry about without needing to smear the legacy of a man who's been dead for hundreds of years.

ALYSSA:  But we don't need statues of you. That's how we keep your legacy alive and your legacy is a very problematic one.

CHRISTOPHER:  A statue doesn't keep a legacy alive. That's what sea shanties are for.

ALYSSA:  So we can get rid of your statues?

CHRISTOPHER:  Sure. I don't care.

ALYSSA:  And the holiday?

CHRISTOPHER:  Yes.

ALYSSA:  How about the places we've named after you?

CHRISTOPHER:  You named the entire country after me?

ALYSSA:  No, just a city in Ohio.

CHRISTOPHER:  Do people like Ohio?

ALYSSA:  Not really.

CHRISTOPHER:  Then fine, change it to something else.

ALYSSA:  And will you turn around and not go to the New World thereby avoiding the mass murder and devastation you're going to inflict?

CHRISTOPHER:  No. I'm not going to do that.

ALYSSA:  Well, I think we made progress here, which is what I'm all about. Oh, and I'll need a photo with you so I can tweet that we had a productive conversation and we learned from each other.

CHRISTOPHER:  And then I throw you overboard because you're a witch?

ALYSSA:  I feel like we're taking a step back now.

CHRISTOPHER:  Fine. I'll let you off the boat when we get to India.

ALYSSA:  We're not--You know what, I'm just going to meet you where you are.

CHRISTOPHER:  In India?

ALYSSA:  Sure. Let's go with that.

     End of Play

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