By Terry Orr
G Rebecca Dobbs in 1997 wrote “Why We Should Abolish Columbus
Day” – an excellent account of Columbus and celebrating this date is
simply wrong.
The following is from
her paper:
We should cease to
celebrate Columbus Day, first because it is ludicrous to say a place already
inhabited can be "discovered"; second because Columbus failed to add
anything new to the pool of European knowledge; and finally because the celebration
of Columbus sends a message of hostility to the very peoples who have paid most
dearly to establish the great nation of which we are a part.
Whatever the mystery
and controversy may surround the story of Columbus, there can be no doubt about
the results of his voyage for both the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas
and for the peoples of Africa, and these constitute the most pressing arguments
for ending Columbus Day.
What is important
here is not so much to blame Columbus, but to understand what we are doing when
we celebrate such a man. The message being sent to Native Americans and to
African-Americans by Columbus Day is not merely one of irrelevance, but one of
active, overt hostility. Celebrating the father of genocide and slavery in the
Americas tells the groups who were victims of those crimes that we as a nation
think those things were good and that as a nation we neither respect nor value
the peoples so victimized.
Should
be continue to celebrate Columbus Day?
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