Posted on 10/17/2003 8:29:33 AM PDT by Jakarta ex-pat
Columbus Day was the product of the Italian population of New York City, which organized the first celebration of the discovery of America on October 12, 1866. In 1869, the Italian – American population of San Francisco celebrated October 12, as Columbus Day. It was not until 1905, that a state, Colorado, observed a Columbus Day and in 1937 FDR proclaimed October 12 Columbus Day.
Today Columbus Day is disparaged by liberal multiculturalists who distort the history of Christopher Columbus and has been since 1992.
An October 2, 2003 post to the Portland Independent Media Center addressed the issue of Columbus Day by saying “Columbus was a slave trader (he kidnapped them and then sold them to the portugese (sic)... he was also responsible for the deaths of over fourteen MILLION carribean (sic) islanders while he was the governer (sic)....” (italics mine)
The references to the kidnapping of slaves and the fourteen million deaths while Columbus was governor are anti-American shibboleths. Africans sold slaves to Europeans. The figure of fourteen million was not from any census data I could locate. Historian David Henige’s book “Numbers from Nowhere” addresses this issue of the fantastic number of Native American deaths attributed to Columbus. Essentially these figures are more from anti-European and anti-American bias than scholarship.
If Portland Indy Media were as fair and balanced as say – Fox News Channel – it would mention that Columbus never owned slaves
A decade earlier in 1993, in Philadelphia, a leaflet was distributed to an elementary school class by their teacher. It was titled: “Gifting the White Man..Despite the Betrayals. " The document stated: “Far from being the savages Christopher Columbus described in his log, native peoples of the Americas were advanced in many ways -- and were more civilized than their discoverers. From the moment Europeans set foot in the West, the world has been enriched by Indian achievements and wisdom. In return, native peoples have been paid back with five centuries of cruelty, betrayals, and relentless attempts to take their lands and destroy their culture. “
The paper then lists in two separate columns: “ Indian Gifts to White Men “ and “ White Man’s Gifts to the Indians.” Under the column of Indian Gifts is government. According to the leaflet’s authors, “ The American Federal system derives not from Europe -- whose nation's knew nothing of democracy -- but Indian tribal organizations..”
Europeans knew nothing of democracy? Obviously, these revisionists did not know that democracy is a Greek word. They obviously never heard of Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Burke, deGroot, or Plato.
Under the column of “ White Man’s Gifts,” there is a chronology of atrocities and betrayals. Consider the following: “ 1492 -- Columbus discovers America and immediately enslaves native peoples. On Haiti Indians over 14 were required to bring a certain quota of gold or their hands were cut off.”
The whole paper is rife with distortions. It is designed more to incite than to inform-- more propaganda than history. The proof is in the identity of the authors. This is revealed in the last paragraph that refers to a political action group known as the Native American Rights Fund. Obviously, the handout is nothing more than a fund-raising letter distributed to elementary school students by a Philadelphia schoolteacher as a history lesson.
The multiculturalists would rather perpetuate the myth of the Noble Savage. This is deceitful. Warfare and conquest of foreigners was a common practice among Native Americans – even those with whom Columbus first came into contact.
If the multiculturalists wanted to be fair and balanced they should teach about the practice of human sacrifice by the Aztecs and the practice of cannibalism by the Caribes. Indeed our modern word “cannibal” is derived from the mispronunciation of the name Caribe by the Spanish.
The Taino Indians of Cuba had conquered and enslaved the Ciboney, who had displaced the Gauanhatabey. The Tainos in turn dreaded the Caribs, who had already conquered the Igneri. Yet, the multiculturalists do not teach such things in school. If they did it would discredit their actual objective, which is to demonize Western culture.
If multiculturalists really want to educate students about slavery, then they should teach not only about the enslavement of Native Americans and Africans by Europeans, they should teach about the enslavement of Native Americans by other Native Americans. They should teach that slavery was practiced among the Aztecs, the Incas, and the Mayas, as well as Tlingit, the Haida, and other tribes.
If multiculturalists really want to educate students about slavery, then they should teach about the African roots of the transatlantic slave trade. They should teach that slavery was a well-established practice in Africa before the Europeans were involved. They should teach that Africans enslaved one another.
The Roman Cicero once said “ The first law of the historian is that he shall never dare utter an untruth…there shall be no suspicion of partiality in his writing, or of malice.”
If multiculturalism is intent on elevating some cultures at the expense of others, it should be abolished. Until multiculturalist historians heed the words of Cicero, the PC torchbearers will continue to the divide rather than unite.
It is now postulated that the Clovis tribes, probable predecessors of the navaho, were the first humans in North America. Tracing haplotype X mitochondrial DNA, they may have been relatives of the Solutreans, neolithic people along the Iberian coast, known today as portugal.
So the europeans were simply taking the continent back from those asian interlopers.
That goes a long way towards explaining the previously discovered evidence of cannibalism among the Clovis tribes. :)
Corrections welcome.
Here's a GGG ping without the fancy footer, because I've found a couple of old-style FR urls to add to the list, was well as this one which was missed.
SAVE KENNEWICK MAN !
Culture/Society News
Source: N.Y.Post
Published: October 9, 2000 Author: John J. Miller
Posted on 10/09/2000 22:44:47 PDT by Colonel Chabert
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a39e2accf2163.htm
A CONSIDERATION: WAS AMERICA DISCOVERED IN 1170
by PRINCE MADOC AB OWAIN GWYNEDD OF WALES?
Culture/Society Editorial Editorial
Keywords: WHO DISCOVERED AMERICA? EVERYONE?
Source: BARSTOW
Published: 9/21/95 Author: Nancy Olson / By: Jayne Wanner
Posted on 07/12/2001 15:42:04 PDT by vannrox
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b4e27bc1741.htm
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All three ships
An entire elementary school district in central California is using a new reading program this year, called Open Court, in which there is NO TIME for history or science (except for a simple card which is read every other day). There is only time for about 30 minutes of math a day.
If I were a parent in that district, I would get my child out of there so fast!
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That must be why the Aztecs were so loved by the surrounding tribes that the tribes allied themselves with the conquistadors.
Multiculturalists are incredibly ignorant of history.
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