Columbus: hero or villain?

[Valley Oak]

People Claiming "#ColumbusWasAHero" Are On The Wrong Side Of History

Columbus' legacy is on its way out. #RightSideOfHistory

Nadya Agrawal
Editorial Fellow, The Huffington Post
Posted: 10/12/2015

Christopher Columbus was a cruel colonizer who enslaved thousands of people and decimated the native populations he met. He killed, raped and plundered his way through the New World but his story has given rise to pervasive myths, like that he proved the Earth is round.

Regardless, people are out today in abundance to celebrate Columbus Day and a hashtag
#ColumbusWasAHero is trending.

The commentary that accompanies the hashtag is mostly self-righteous and affronted -- people are upset that Columbus' great contribution to America, namely that he brought a bunch of Europeans to the American continent, is being overlooked.

Other Tweeters compare the current immigration discussion around Columbus Day.

A handful of cities, including Seattle and Minneapolis, have already ousted the holiday, which was established in 1968, in favor of "Indigenous Peoples Day," and more cities are following suit.

Columbus' legacy is on its way out and a half-hearted hashtag -- which is mostly populated by white supremacists with a tenuous grasp on history -- is the best indicator of it.

[bill shearer]

Maybe start calling it Cristobal Colon Day (His real name) and perhaps people will give it a bit more thinking time.

I think it is petty of us to look back at the brutal way that people lived and be judgmental about how government and human beings conducted their affairs. We have to judge a person by the time and place they lived in.

That said,there are—every now and then—crimes so egregious and treatment so horrific that it goes beyond any degree of allowance we should give those in the past.

Even by the standards of his time Columbus was considered unacceptable.

De Las Casas wrote in horror about the brutality & slaughter; other Spaniards were shocked about the trade in young girls; even the Spanish court removed Columbus from office for the abuses he did. These were contemporary opinions - and they were appalled.

So happy Cristobal Colon Day and may we celebrate end of manifest destiny and imperialism.

Cheers all,
Dodie

[bill shearer]

Here is a nice piece from the Oatmeal about Columbus.
Enjoy!

https://theoatmeal.com/comics/columbus_day

[Valley Oak]

The REAL History Of Christopher Columbus

The Young Turks

Published on Oct 6, 2015
Monday, October 12th is Columbus Day, which we have celebrated in this country since the eighteenth century… and that’s probably long enough. When you find out the actual facts of what Columbus did when he got to America, you’ll find one of the darkest chapters in American history. Cenk Uygur and John Iadarola (Think Tank), hosts of the The Young Turks, break it down. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

"Second, Columbus wasn't a hero. When he set foot on that sandy beach in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, Columbus discovered that the islands were inhabited by friendly, peaceful people called the Lucayans, Taínos and Arawaks. Writing in his diary, Columbus said they were a handsome, smart and kind people. He noted that the gentle Arawaks were remarkable for their hospitality. "They offered to share with anyone and when you ask for something, they never say no," he said. The Arawaks had no weapons; their society had neither criminals, prisons nor prisoners. They were so kind-hearted that Columbus noted in his diary that on the day the Santa Maria was shipwrecked, the Arawaks labored for hours to save his crew and cargo. The native people were so honest that not one thing was missing.

Columbus was so impressed with the hard work of these gentle islanders, that he immediately seized their land for Spain and enslaved them to work in his brutal gold mines. Within only two years, 125,000 (half of the population) of the original natives on the island were dead.”*

Read more here: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-ka...

[Shepherd]

Christopher Columbus was one of the meanest, worst persons ever to set foot on the soil of this land. The 1st chapter of historian Howard Zinns' book "A People's History of the United States" documents this:

"Total control led to total cruelty. The Spaniards 'thought nothing of knifing Indians by tens and twenties and of cutting slices of them to test the sharpness of their blades.' Las Casas tells how 'two of these so-called Christians met two Indian boys one day, each carrying a parrot; they took the parrots and for fun beheaded the boys.'"

Appreciations to the Santa Rosa Junior College for re-naming this day Indigenous Peoples Day.