Happy Indigenous People’s Day
That’s right, Fuck You Christopher Columbus. Gee, let’s name a holiday after an explorer who “discovered” a new continent and murdered millions of its inhabitants. I hate to ask a dumb question, but how in the fuck can a place be “discovered” when millions of people are already living there???
Just wondering.
We haven’t named any national holidays after famous skinheads or Ku Klux Klan leaders (yet). But once a year we roll out the red carpet for the 15th Century’s version of Adolph Hitler.
I first learned about our history — blemishes and all — from this book about ten years ago. And this book has similar information. This is knowledge that every American should have. Sorry folks, but your high school history teacher was so full of shit it was coming out of his/her ears.
And now, for whatever reason, this information has started to “trickle down” (God I hate that expression) to a few public schools here and there. Better late than never.
This can only be a good thing. America’s racist “patriot” community will have a mass tantrum over these commie politically correct history lessons. But the rest of the country — the ones whose IQs are HIGHER than their shoe sizes — are finally heaving a sigh of relief. Every country — every tribe, every region — needs to learn their history as accurately as possible. There’s nothing “negative” or “unpatriotic” about people acknowledging the dark side of their history. There were never any saints; no good guys or bad guys. Nothing is black and white.
Americans have long been appalled that Japan and Germany have kept their own people in the dark about the Rape of Nanking, Pearl Harbor, and the Holocaust (respectively). (These mistakes have been rectified in recent years.) But somehow it’s different when American history textbooks are interchangeable with a John Wayne movie.
So learn everything you can about Christopher Columbus “discovering” America and every other chapter of our history. Like every country, our history has a dark side. How could it not? Ignoring it — or yelling out unprintable insults at people who try to acknowledge this — will not accomplish anything.
As the famous saying goes: “Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it.”
25 Comments:
Tom did you know that Christopher Columbus was atheist and gay?
So what would make you happy if England Terrorists of the world took over America?
I wonder where you would be had CC not discovered America. I bet not typing on your computer that's for sure.
Hey I have a great Tepee for rent if you're interested.
Don't worry Tom we have been spending years making reparations and will be forever as long as there are white Europeans inhabitating this land. And see how well that has worked out?
I say Christopher Columbus should get the Nobel Peace Prize after all his intentions were "Nobel".
I was equally misinformed as a youngster by the education system. The kindly British colonizers going around the world, showing the locals the "right" way to do things, the right sort of government, the right games to play, oh by the way could borrow all your natural resources. It takes self education to finally understand the way the world really is.
"So what would make you happy if England Terrorists of the world took over America?" WTF? Do you have an English translation for that sentence?
"I wonder where you would be had CC not discovered America. I bet not typing on your computer that's for sure." I guess we'll never know. Then again, if CC hadn't "discovered" America, the Edsel would have never been invented.
Holte: I'm sure all countries do this. No doubt those noble British colonizers were helping those poor savages to find the right way of doing things. And all they wanted in return was their natural resources. What a deal.
I guess the natives got their revenge. Columbus died of VD. Betcha didn't know that bit of info.
All your worries are over Tom because we now have a president who is gpoing to level the playing field once and for all.
And you're not exluded.
Yeah we defeated the British otherwise they would have been the ruling class here.
I have a couple of book recommendations for further reading on how badly this country acted toward our native brothers and sisters:
"Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown. This book, by an author out of the historical genre blue in the 1970's, is still considered the seminal work on the plains indians and the wars waged against them by the US government.
"Lakota Woman" by Mary Crow Dog relates her life on the Pine Ridge reservation, which is still a third world toilet smack in the middle of this country. She talks at length about her involvement with the American Indian Movement in the 1970's. Fascinating reading, and her life will horrify you. Forced sterilizations of women after the birth of a baby, an Indian Bureau run amok, racism so blatant that it was, and is, comparable (and then some) to Jim Crow. Not all tribes have reservations.
Tom, I think your right-wing stalker should take a trip to Pine Ridge.
Lisa: once you do, let's see if you can get your head out of your ass for a minute or two. Don't worry, we'll let you put your head right back where you pulled it from once you've had a good look around.
Tom what I like best about your site is we can always count on Lisa and her inane ramblings. Lisa...you...are...full...of little turdys. Sorry, Tom...sometimes civil discourse just doesn't get it.
Demeur: You're right, I didn't know that. Serves him right :)
Lisa: Actually, if Columbus hadn't "discovered" America, the British might never have come here. All bets are off.
Bee: I know of both those books but I haven't read them. I remember all the controversy during the early '70s about Wounded Knee and the FBI charges against Indian activists.
Here's a link to the description of Columbus' impact on the original inhabitants. This is what we celebrate every year.
Good answer to Lisa.
jadedj: She certainly has upped my blog comments and sitemeter stats. There's a rightwing blog I look at periodically where they have one or 2 liberal commenters who are constantly commenting and getting dissed and called names. I used to think the blogger was writing these comments herself just to liven things up and get more readers. But Lisa is real; or it isn't me in any case.
I wonder where you would be had CC not discovered America.
I think that's the whole point of this post, idiot, Columbus didn't discover America, it was always already occupied by the people who were here first. I realize it is impossible to rationalize with the irrational, but every once in a while, you have to try.
I suppose there is a bright side to all things.
Believe me, I never thought it was you.
Tom,
"lies my Teacher Told Me" was written by Dr James Loewen whom I have met and count as a friend (thinking of sending him this link) He regrets the title because it put the immediate blame on the teachers when it's really the textbook manufacturers who are to blame. So this year he came out with a new book to make it up to the teachers
"Teaching What Really Happened" (How to avoid the tyranny of textbooks and Get Students exited about doing history!)
Student involvement - what a concept
Here's the link
http://store.tcpress.com/0807749915.shtml
I have already received and read my copy.
Bee I also would add on to the list "God is Red" by Vine Deloria. Sorta picks up in the 20th century and talks about being native American in today's society.
Erik
I've had the Zinn book on my shelf and never finished it, now I see he's done a new edition.
Damn
Erik
I was one of the very few people who had a teacher (8th grade) who questioned Chris baby's "discovery." I'm suprised the holiday has stood for so long.
I say do away with it and move it to the Monday after Superbowl. I take that day off every year anyway. ;-)
Lew: Well, you gave it a good try at least. That's all any of us can do.
Erik: That's a good point. You can't exactly blame the teacher for what's in the textbook.
That name Vine Deloria rings a bell. I think I read an essay by him/her (I forget) for a college English class, about a million years ago.
I think the entire Zinn book is online. The link I have in the post just brings up the table of contents, but when you click on a title, the entire chapter comes up. At least I think it's the whole chapter.
Carlos: Yes, that would be one good use for Columbus Day -- make a 3-day weekend out of it.
Okay correction Columbus occupied America.
Canada has Indian tribes in the same situation if not worse.
Not to condone the situation of those here but in history and today there are many cultures who are unscrupulous.
We may not be perfect and we never will be.
I agree with Carlos I prefer a 3 day Superbowl weekend.
Maybe you should write to the president about it being we finally have a "good" government who is looking out for all of us and that we can finally trust.
Earlier link not good
Try this
HERE
Lisa: "Not to condone the situation of those here but in history and today there are many cultures who are unscrupulous. We may not be perfect and we never will be." There you go, that's pretty much what my post was saying. There's no need to wallow in things or beat ourselves up (I guess I was a little scathing toward CC), but every country should acknowledge their history without trying to whitewash things.
Holte: Thanks. I left a comment there.
Erik: Thanks for the recommend, I'll check it out. I'm familiar with Deloria, but haven't read it yet. I'll have to keep an eye out for Loewen's new one, too. What is his other popular work...something like Lies Across America? it takes on those little historical markers you see on the side of the road.
lisa drooled,
Not to condone the situation of those here but in history and today there are many cultures who are unscrupulous.
The problem with great white dopes like yourself is that you have the same mentality that your forbears who wiped out my ancestors had. If Iraq didn't prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt, what would?
lisa shat,
Hey I have a great Tepee for rent if you're interested.
Let me guess.... your mom and dad grew up in the same house, didn't they?
C'mon tom, admit it, you're posting as 'lisa,' for no one could be that crazy.
JR don't be blaming me for what was done to the Indians.
My ancestors came here well after Columbus did.
Oh and no one in my family was a slave owner either. We always lived in the Northeast.
lisa backpedaled,
JR don't be blaming me for what was done to the Indians.
Then stop making a joke out of it. Some of my kind still live in pretty shitty conditions (although some of them are doing just fine for themselves these days, relieving old white women of their money down at the casino.)
And FYI, without us, white people would have (1.) starved to death, and (2.) been without log cabins.
Wa-Do
What would you prefer me to do JR keep blaming something that happened 600 years ago for situations today?
Yes it was tragic. Many people live in shitty conditions and not because of what happened 60 years ago.
But yes your people are getting their due by way of places like Mohican Sun.
I know Indians did teach the occupiers how to hunt,grow ,ect.
I just think the blame game does nothing mainly because none of us were here at the time. To me it just stirs up old anger and is counter-productive. It's not "progressive"
Bee
I read "Lies across America" and "Sundown Towns" and highly recommend both.
As for Lisa
It the always the conservative belief that everything happened 400 years ago and "don't blame me for it!"
Reservations and Stealing of Native American funds are quite more recent then Columbus (don't even get me started on broken treaties - legal documents - by the government). Just as Southern Jim Crow and Default Segregation was the norm for the rest of the country WELL past slavery.
Not to mention the Conservatives and Republicans via the Southern Strategy welcomed the Southern racist and their policies as their own and the fight continues today as they chip away at all the Civil Rights advancements made over the past 50 years.
Google Reagan Bush and Bob Jones University.
Ideas and People breed and continue.
Erik
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