Columbus
It's past time to recognize that we shouldn't have a holiday celebrating this guy.
posted by Infidel753 at 8:07 AM
17 October 2019
It's past time to recognize that we shouldn't have a holiday celebrating this guy.
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- Name: Infidel753
- Location: Portland, Oregon, United States
Individualist, pro-technology, pro-democracy, anti-religion. I speak only for myself and not for any ideology, movement, or party. It has been my great good fortune to live my whole life free of "spirituality" of any kind. I believe that evidence and reason are the keys to understanding reality; that technology rather than ideology or politics has been the great liberator of humanity; and that in the long run, human intelligence is the most powerful force in the universe.
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11 Comments:
Columbus was one of the most appalling examples of brutal, racist colonialism and certainly should not be commemorated.
I fully agree - let's not celebrate this disgusting individual any longer.
I read something somewhere this week about how we shouldn't be judging ol' CC by today's standards. That somehow all the horrible things he did and caused are somehow made more palatable by the fact that he lived a long time ago.
I ain't buyin' it.
I can tell you that most of 'my' kids react to the mention of his name with disgust and commentary about what an awful person he was and how he 'doesn't even deserve to be famous.'
So perhaps the word is finally getting out?
I know when I was in school (a LONG time ago) we celebrated CC as if he were the equivalent of the messiah of the explorers.
I have a book somewhere entitled Lies My Teacher Told Me.
It's interesting.
They put him in jail for his crimes but they let him go because he claimed it was done in the name of Jesus.
An early deplorable.
Colonialism, genocide and on top of that we learn more and more about Christopher. I’m not surprised.
La Conquista’s foundation was greed, blood and lust. You know what I think about Chris, no?
XoXo
Debra, Lady M: It seems like more and more states are switching over to Indigenous People's Day instead.
Ami: In some cases it's a tough call whether to judge people for things that were not deemed wrong in their own time, but mass killing and child rape were not accepted as normative in Columbus's time either. The fact that he was removed from office for brutality shows that he went far beyond what any such allowances could excuse.
Adam: There are still people who use that excuse -- see Gerencser's post which I linked to.
Krayolakris: If he were alive today, Trump would get along well with him.
Sixpence: Indeed, I read your post on the subject.
Holy Crap - I'm shocked, and I'm embarrassed I wasn't aware of this. Columbus isn't celebrated in Canada like he is (or was) in the USA; hopefully history books in school now include at least a general description of his brutality.
Columbus? ... good you and Bruce brought that up here! I didn't have much favour for the spanish colonizers anywayz, even though we credit them to making America what it is, whether Columbus or Cortes, or the rest. I remember when my daughters were little in grade school, and we would chat about stuff they learn ... telling them it's importante for school, knowing about Columbus and stuff, but alot of stuff is a crock of shit too (of course they got a laugh out of that), but told them they will learn much truth out of school, too. Anywayz, thanx for the reads ....
Jenny_o: A lot of people aren't aware of the extent of it, I think. They just know that Columbus reached the Americas -- his later career isn't so widely taught in schools.
Ranch: Yes, it's important to know history -- but it's also important to have an accurate picture. A lot of the time, inconvenient details are left out.
Columbus in his own words:
In his journal, Columbus didn’t mince words about his intentions after meeting the Arawak natives in the Bahamas in 1492. He described the encounter thusly: “They ... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things ... They willingly traded everything they owned ... They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features .... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane. ... They would make fine servants. ... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” Columbus would add: “As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts.”
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