Apparently, I am very bad at explaining myself. I have received some flak about my post on Columbus Day myths. While I’m surprised more people didn’t get upset over my claim that Columbus didn’t circumnavigate the globe (four were injured at the Annual Columbus Historians Conference in 1978), my last point caught the most ire.
“This holiday is racist and nothing more than a celebration of slaughter.”
I went on to explain that this holiday is about more than just genocide and that in comparison to world history, genocides have occurred so often that I don’t know why this one is taken so personally.
I was getting tired by the time I was writing that so I should have done more to fully explain my ideas. I just wanted to make sure this was posted on Columbus Day. I am now fully refreshed and ready to go. I hope I can clarify what I had said.
Columbus is not personally responsible for the deaths of millions of people. Like I said, he was a dick. He was a tyrant. He should be criticized for what he did as governor of Santo Domingo. We should be more critical of him. Should he be personally held responsible for every single death in the New World caused by every European? No. Should Nietzsche be personally responsible for the Holocaust because some racist assholes misinterpreted his work? No. Is Gavrilo Princip personally responsible for every death in World War One and Two? No. I know I’m referencing a comedy article, but even assholes can do good things. You can’t blame Columbus for the actions of those who came after him.
I have to point this out, but 95% of the deaths came from diseases. The Americas were isolated from things like Small Pox and Measles, so when Europeans came over and made contact, it was a disaster waiting to happen. Disease often spread ahead of actual contact with Europeans. I did mention that; small pox was used as a weapon in the infamous “blanket incident” at Fort Pitt. As I will discuss later, how is this any worse than any other biological attack in history? I don’t support any biological or chemical warfare; it’s cruel. But how come I don’t hear a big stink about Germans using Mustard Gas against the English in 1917, but the small pox infected blankets are still widely criticized today? I don’t like calling the depopulation of the America’s a genocide because it connotes an intended and highly organized effort, like for instance, the Holocaust. While there were intentional killings, 95% were unintentional due to America being quarantined from European diseases. I will continue to use "genocide" in this article just for consistency.
Columbus and the following migration and settlement to America is just another chapter in the history of human migration. Modern humans migrated out of Africa. The Bantu Migration. The Germanic Invasions of Rome. Islam’s expansion out of Arabia. The Jewish exodus and resettlement of Israel. The Mongol hoards. The Potato Famine and Irish immigration to the US. Eastern and Southern European Immigration to the US. All throughout history, people have moved and sometimes it created conflicts. Early man wiped out Neanderthals. Jews have been persecuted. The Mongols and Germanic tribes killed a lot of people. The Irish and non Western/Northern Europeans were harassed and discriminated against. Of course, some good (or at least not so much bad) has come out of these. We have our modern nations and languages. Mongols and Muslims spread culture and knowledge through the world. New ideas. New plants and animals. A new opportunity for people (at the unfortunate expanse of another). I do think a lot of good did come from Columbus’ “discovery” of the New World. There was a lot of bad, but there was also a lot of good. I think Canada, the US, Mexico, Brazil, etc. were good things to come from Columbus. Could Enlightenment ideas have flourished in the generally repressive Europe? Would we have modern democracies? “What if’s” that can’t be answered but interesting to ponder.
Those who would later become “Native Americans” migrated to the Americas 10,000 years ago (how they did is debatable). Europeans showed up 500 years ago. What gives “Natives” any more right to the land? They were here first? Neanderthals were here first, but we displaced and got rid of them. The English only go back to about the 5th and 6th Centuries after displacing the locals. Were the Bantu’s native to South Africa? Technically, humans are only “native” to Africa and we migrated to the other continents. It was a clash of cultures and the people with the better weapons won. Inevitable? I don’t know but you can’t blame Europeans for having better technology. Of course, I don’t support colonization. I believe in self-determination (for the most part). Colonialism is (for the most part) dead; we recognized that it was a bad idea. We need to move on.
If we are going to get picky, let’s complain about other holidays for people.
Why should we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day? Why should we celebrate an adulterer and plagiarist?
Washington’s Birthday? More like a celebration of slavery!
Lincoln’s Birthday? Yes, let’s glorify that racist who advocated colonizing slaves in Africa!
President’s Day? Why should we celebrate a bunch of old, white men who owned slaves or started wars or killed millions of people?
St. Patrick’s and St. Valentine’s Day? Why should we celebrate two people who were forcing religion on the lives of others?
And what about Christmas? How dare we celebrate the birth of a man whose name has inspired the deaths of millions!
If you really feel this nasty about Columbus and everything he has done, if you are a non-Native, find your ancestral homeland and go back there. You would not be here if it wasn’t for him, either voluntarily or involuntarily. Are you going to leave to go “back home” to Europe or Africa or Asia? No, you aren’t, thus you are not doing anything to right the wrongs of Columbus. Which means deep down, you are grateful for Columbus and his accomplishments.
Speaking of trying to right wrongs…
Giving tribes some of their land back I think is a nice gesture, but why does this always have to include gambling? I don’t like what appears to be a way for Native Americans to use guilt to exploit their past and make money off of it. It seems like every time there is a dispute, casinos are always involved. Why do they feel the need to exploit their ancestor’s suffering for profit? And this isn’t just ignorant whitey’s opinion either. Casino’s are divisive in Native American communities. Go here, here, or here. Why do you think people got so upset when they wanted to build a casino in Gettysburg near the battlefield? Because re-enactors, historians, and people with common decency saw it as a way to cash in on the name “Gettysburg”, a name that was created by the deaths of thousands. Of course, Gettysburg’s entire economy is about cashing in on their name. Tell me how women’s underwear with a rebel flag and the words “Rebel Chick!” on it are preserving the memory of the fallen dead.
“We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have not come to dedicate a portion of that field, but to sell cheap crap to tourists.”
If the Gettysburg Casino was a bad example, just look at any time Wal*Mart wants to build near a battlefield or some sacred location. People think it is tasteless to try and cash in on past suffering. I bring this up in a discussion talking about Columbus because I think it is relevant to this discussion. It feels hard to feel bad for a group of people who are trying to make money off of the suffering of their people. Using past injustices to milk people of their money is right but celebrating Columbus Day is wrong?
I would like to make a statement. All Europeans are not evil. Just as much as Europeans are not the only ones who can be evil. As I said before, the Iroquois were very brutal warriors. The Aztecs captured and enslaved their enemies, which helped the Spanish get allies to take them down. Natives clashed with each other for years. Powhatan’s “Confederacy” may have been created out of force and coercion. I’m not bringing this up to make the Natives look bad and try to legitimize the actions taken against them by Europeans. I am bringing this up to point out that even the Natives could be jerks. They are human beings, just like Europeans. Why is a European’s actions worse than that of a Native American? Why do we give Aztecs a free pass on slavery but continue to dwell on it here in the states?
I was criticized for stating “What’s the big deal about genocide? It’s happened so many times before and since!” I’m not saying that, because genocide is so common that it lessens the impact of genocide and legitimizes it. I’m saying all genocide is equally bad. Acting as if one genocide is so much worse than another isn’t fair. “Those poor Native Americans! Those Russians? Who cares?”. But here’s the thing, we can’t focus on every injustice that has ever happened in history. What I see are people who want to be in a perpetual state of mourning and constantly make everyone feel personal guilt over what had happened. That is not healthy for any individual or society. We cannot harp on the past. We need to learn from our mistakes from the past and move on. If we ever become a space faring race and we meet another planet that is “primitive”, I hope to God we do not treat them the same way Europeans treated the Natives. We should be doing more to stop current genocides. Of course that brings into questions of if it’s feasible, if we should be butting in, would more violence help, and so on and so forth. It’s an interesting ethical question.
We shouldn’t feel guilty about what happened, because we didn’t do it. I feel bad that it happened but no amount of self hate is ever going to undo what happened. We shouldn’t treat one horrible act as worse than any other; they are all equally bad. We shouldn’t act as if Europeans are all horrible people and the only ones who are horrible people. We shouldn’t act as if Columbus is personally responsible for every death. We shouldn’t get bent out of shape over a stupid holiday. People are thinking way too much into it. It’s the day Columbus changed the world forever, for good and bad. That’s the thing; you need to take the good with the bad. You can’t completely criticize this day as nothing but pain and suffering. A lot of good did come out of this discovery. I, and hundreds of millions of people, wouldn’t be here without it. Am I happy that millions had to die for that to happen? No.
But that’s life.
It sucks.
Move on.
No comments:
Post a Comment