By in Rhode Island’s Future
Christopher Columbus was a monster.
He saw people as commodities to be
bought and sold. He destroyed lives for personal gain. His crimes include rape,
murder, torture and genocide.
And today, many of us get to enjoy a
beautiful Autumn day in celebration of the man who didn’t actually discover
America.
Across the country people are also
celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day, with Seattle Mayor Ed Murray signing
the holiday into law Monday. The predictable cries of “going too far in terms of
political correctness” are being heard, especially from the
Italian-American community in Seattle. They are upset not because Columbus Day
is being cancelled, (it isn’t) they are upset because Indigenous Peoples’ Day
and Columbus Day are happening on the same date.
But let’s face facts: Columbus was a
monster, and he doesn’t deserve to have a day of celebration in his honor.
Really, this day off should celebrate any of the many great and positive things
we enjoy about this world… but not historical monsters. We can certainly do
better.
I know that this post will fall on many deaf ears.
People will defend Columbus and Columbus Day the same way people defend the
Confederate Flag and the antebellum South. Reality is inconvenient and history
is fungible.
Realistically confronting the legacy of Columbus opens up all
sorts of questions about the exploitative nature of commerce and the erasure of
indigenous cultures. It pries open the wound of first-world guilt: our wealth
is built on the backs of slaves working stolen land.
For me, Monday is a day of
contemplation, not celebration.
I’m going to take this day off to go
apple picking with my family, catch the Pronk Parade, and be with friends. Along the way I’ll
reflect a bit on the horrors people are willing to inflict on others in the
name of profits, with a hope that we can work together to advance the fight to
see inherent rather than economic value in others.
And I’m going to reread this awesome comic.
Steve Ahlquist is a writer,
artist and current president of the Humanists of Rhode Island, a non-profit
group dedicated to reason, compassion, optimism, courage and action. He also
maintains the blog SteveAhlquist.com where almost all his writing can be found.
The views expressed are his own and not necessarily those of any organization
of which he is a member.
His photos and video are usable under
the Creative Commons license. Free to share with credit.
Email: atomicsteve@gmail.com
Twitter: @SteveAhlquist
Twitter: @SteveAhlquist