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Since childhood, the notion that Christopher Columbus is a man to be celebrated has been forced into all our heads.
Many people hail Columbus for his discovery because from it evolved modern civilization and the United States, with its glorious past of liberty, equality and the invention of microwave ovens.
Some of Columbus' supporters scoff at Native American activists and
"politically correct" liberals for protesting the celebration of Columbus Day. Those who scoff prove how naïve they are. We celebrate a day dedicated to a man who encouraged racism and oppression and who committed the worst atrocity that can ever befall mankind — genocide.
In some respects, Columbus can be compared to Hitler. Both encouraged racist, violent acts against groups they considered inferior. American Indian activist Russell Means has said, "Columbus makes Hitler look like a juvenile delinquent." Certainly, Columbus' ideas killed millions of more people then Hitler's ever did.
From almost the moment Columbus landed in the New World, he and his men committed horrendous acts against the Native Americans, igniting the beginning of racism in the Americas. In A Short Account Of The Destruction Of the Indies, Bartolome de Las Casas describes the slaughter: [The Spaniards] forced their way into native settlements, slaughtering everyone they found there, including small children, old men, pregnant women, and even women who had just given birth. They hacked them to pieces, slicing open their bellies with their swords... They even laid wagers on whether they could manage to slice a man in two at a stroke... they grabbed suckling infants by the feet... and dashed them headlong against the rocks.
The way they normally dealt with the native leaders and nobles was to tie them to a kind of griddle...and then grill them over a slow fire, with the result that they howled in agony and despair as they died a lingering death.
The United States should abolish Columbus Day. It is a symbol of ignorance. It is a symbol of racism. And, it is a symbol of Native American genocide.
To me, celebrating Columbus Day is like celebrating "Hitler Day." Some might argue that Hitler did great things for Germany despite the killings and atrocities he committed. And for other reasons, some might believe that Columbus himself was a great man. I think the day should be abolished because of the racism, oppression and genocide that it stands for.
Columbus was not the only person who believed the world was round nor was he the first to venture out into the unknown. If we celebrate Columbus Day based solely on the fact that he accidentally discovered the Americas and from this discovery evolved the United States, we prove how closed-minded we are. How can we ignore everything else?
We should be proud of the United States and all that it stands for. But we should not cover up the mistakes it took to get here. Celebrating Columbus Day does just that. It glorifies the good and covers up the bad.
Holidays in this nation should be reserved for people who really deserve them. They should not recognize a man whose actions and ideals killed more people than Adolph Hitler. Christopher Columbus is no comparison to George Washington, Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King, Jr.
We need to abolish Columbus Day. In doing so, we take step toward acknowledging our past, no matter how bad our mistakes may have been.
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