Zimmerman
Active member
I know it's a little late, but here you go. I like this.
I love Columbus Day. Each year, I recall the simple song I learned as
a child about the man who "discovered" America. I still recall the
innocent boy whose imagination was taken by the story of adventure and
discovery.
In fourteen hundred and ninety two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
On Columbus Day, I reflect on the facts of that fateful discovery.
Hispaniola at the time of Columbus' arrival was home to as many as
300,000 people. On seeing the Arawak people Columbus wrote in his
journal, "At daybreak great multitudes of men came to the shore, all
young and of fine shapes, and very handsome. Their eyes are large and
very beautiful." In the same entry he wrote, "It appears to me, that the
people are ingenious, and would be good servants and I am of opinion
that they would very readily become Christians, as they appear to have
no religion." Columbus kidnapped up to 25 people, although only seven or
eight survived the journey back to Spain. By 1496, it is estimated that
one third of the population had been killed or taken as slaves. In
1592, fewer than 200 Indigenous people remained. By 1555, none survived.
I realize every lie and distortion I hold of my country began in that classroom all those years ago.
I love Columbus Day. It reminds me that often, even the most
God-fearing individuals are the most self-deluded. In the spring of
1493, Columbus wrote to a sponsor, "They are artless and generous with
what they have, to such a degree as no one would believe but him who had
seen it. Of anything they have, if it be asked for, they never say no,
but do rather invite the person to accept it, and show as much
lovingness as though they would give their hearts." Later in the letter
Columbus went on to say, "Their Highnesses may see that I shall give
them as much gold as they need ... and slaves as many as they shall
order to be shipped." Though he was aware of their generosity and
selflessness, rather than emulate them, he decided he would subjugate
them. Columbus was the first slave trader in the Americas.
Columbus Day reminds me that my country's origin was based on
violence, subjugation, racism and genocide. As the native population was
decimated, it was deemed necessary to bring slaves from Africa to the
"New World" for cheap, disposable labor. Throughout the years when
America was a slave republic, the wealthiest Americans were those who
owned the most human beings. But we should not forget that slave owners
spanned all classes. This, from America, the country founded on the idea
that all human beings have equal intrinsic worth, value, and rights.
The "land of the free, home of the brave," indeed.
I love Columbus Day. It reminds me that greed corrupts utterly.
Columbus returned to Hispaniola to colonize the island. By 1495 Columbus
and his men were terrorizing the indigenous people, demanding that they
mine for gold and pay tribute to their masters. Those who could not
provide the quota faced dismemberment and were sent back to their people
as an example. There are first-hand accounts of soldiers hunting the
Arawak for sport and feeding people to their dogs. Columbus himself
documented sexual slavery of young children during his reign as
"governor".
Today in America, one in every four African-American men is likely to
be imprisoned. In the "War on Drugs', black and Latino men are
arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned at highly disproportionate rates
than whites. Our prisons are privatized for profit, operations whose
stocks are traded on Wall Street. Whether you are a black man or woman
in one of America's prisons, or you are undocumented and work under the
blazing sun on American farms, you are paid pennies as others enrich
themselves off of your labor.
Foreclosures have separated millions of black and brown Americans
from their property. Of the nearly 10 million people whose homes have
been foreclosed, 40 percent are black and Latino. The net worth in
communities of color has plunged to the lowest level on record. Black
and brown wealth has been transferred to America's largest banks. This
theft has gone unchallenged as the banks have enriched themselves,
received federal bailouts, and now investment companies seek to rent out
the homes to the very people they have been stolen from.
In 1868, the United States signed a treaty setting aside the Black
Hills "for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupancy of the Sioux."
Within years gold was discovered there, and after negotiations to
purchase the land broke down, the United States simply took it. In 1975,
the presiding judge of the United States Court of Claims wrote, "A more
ripe and rank case of dishonorable dealing will never, in all
probability, be found in our history." This "rank case of dishonorable
dealing" did not result in a return of that which was stolen. The Lakota
Nation is currently raising 9 million dollars in order to buy back a
small portion of sacred land in the Black Hills.
I love Columbus Day because the veneration of this man makes clear
how George Bush a self described "compassionate conservative" can
torture people and have a library built in his name. Barack Obama can
win the Nobel Peace Prize as he authorizes summary execution of people
through drone warfare and authorizes indefinite detention without trial
of American citizens. Madeleine Albright, when confronted with the
deaths of up to 500,000 Iraqi children during sanctions, can declare:
"We think the price is worth it." She is now an author and a sought
after speaker on the lecture circuit where she describes her life as
"devoted to human rights." This self-delusion and ideas of grandeur
poison us as we impose the same tough sanctions on Iran and call for
that nations people to be brought to their knees. Medicines dwindle in
Iranian hospitals and prices skyrocket due to hyperinflation, the
currency losing 15 percent of its value overnight. It is only a matter
of time until children starve.
We can look to Afghanistan and Iraq to see our imperialist footprint
spreading across the globe. Afghanistan, with its untapped mineral
wealth estimated in the trillions of dollars, and Iraq with its vast oil
fields, its people only considered "collateral damage" if they are
considered at all. Meanwhile, we formulate agreements with the
governments we impose that will allow our corporations to steal the
resources and keep the citizens in penury. The footprint is on the neck
of the people.
And what of Palestine, and her people? It is America that provides
the weapons, the cash, and the cover in all Israel's efforts to
dispossess the Palestinian people of their land and resources. An
Israeli soldier once told me to go home and deal with the dispossession
of the indigenous people in America before I concerned myself with the
plight of the Palestinians. He was correct in considering the parallels
between genocide in America and ethnic cleansing in Palestine.
While countries smolder and survivors walk among the ruins, a
generation lost to violence and destruction, we congratulate ourselves
on "winning" and move on to the next conflagration. Americans are lost
as well. Lost in our deluded imagination of a country that wishes peace
in the world, we remain blind to the horrors of "shock and awe," drone
attacks, night raids and torture while our government sows carnage in
every direction. US threats to attack Iran are part of a century-old
pattern of violence aimed at ensuring US domination. "Freedom!" we
proclaim, "Democracy! How ungrateful these people are! Can't they see we
have liberated them? Why do they hate us? It can only be because we are
free." We wave our flags, paint stars and stripes on our faces and
chant "USA! USA! USA!
Columbus Day is a good day to reconsider who I am. I have been to Big
Mountain, the Four Corners, and Wounded Knee. I have heard the stories
of relocation, theft, poverty and struggle. I have been to too many
funerals in Marwahin, Jenin, Beit Lahiya and Gaza. I have sat in the
rubble in al-Amiriya, in Qana, in Bint Jbeil, in Rafah, and in Kabul. I
have cried with refugee grandmothers whose families have been scattered
like seeds on the wind. I have cried with mothers whose children were
torn to shreds under laser-guided bombs and whose sons have died as foot
soldiers in our wars of conquest. I have cried with men who have dug
the bodies of their wives and children from the rubble of their homes. I
am intimate with this fella Columbus and I know too well that our
national claim of freedom leaves me disgraced and dishonored.
And the blood flows.
I love Columbus Day. Each year, I recall the simple song I learned as
a child about the man who "discovered" America. I still recall the
innocent boy whose imagination was taken by the story of adventure and
discovery.
In fourteen hundred and ninety two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
On Columbus Day, I reflect on the facts of that fateful discovery.
Hispaniola at the time of Columbus' arrival was home to as many as
300,000 people. On seeing the Arawak people Columbus wrote in his
journal, "At daybreak great multitudes of men came to the shore, all
young and of fine shapes, and very handsome. Their eyes are large and
very beautiful." In the same entry he wrote, "It appears to me, that the
people are ingenious, and would be good servants and I am of opinion
that they would very readily become Christians, as they appear to have
no religion." Columbus kidnapped up to 25 people, although only seven or
eight survived the journey back to Spain. By 1496, it is estimated that
one third of the population had been killed or taken as slaves. In
1592, fewer than 200 Indigenous people remained. By 1555, none survived.
I realize every lie and distortion I hold of my country began in that classroom all those years ago.
I love Columbus Day. It reminds me that often, even the most
God-fearing individuals are the most self-deluded. In the spring of
1493, Columbus wrote to a sponsor, "They are artless and generous with
what they have, to such a degree as no one would believe but him who had
seen it. Of anything they have, if it be asked for, they never say no,
but do rather invite the person to accept it, and show as much
lovingness as though they would give their hearts." Later in the letter
Columbus went on to say, "Their Highnesses may see that I shall give
them as much gold as they need ... and slaves as many as they shall
order to be shipped." Though he was aware of their generosity and
selflessness, rather than emulate them, he decided he would subjugate
them. Columbus was the first slave trader in the Americas.
Columbus Day reminds me that my country's origin was based on
violence, subjugation, racism and genocide. As the native population was
decimated, it was deemed necessary to bring slaves from Africa to the
"New World" for cheap, disposable labor. Throughout the years when
America was a slave republic, the wealthiest Americans were those who
owned the most human beings. But we should not forget that slave owners
spanned all classes. This, from America, the country founded on the idea
that all human beings have equal intrinsic worth, value, and rights.
The "land of the free, home of the brave," indeed.
I love Columbus Day. It reminds me that greed corrupts utterly.
Columbus returned to Hispaniola to colonize the island. By 1495 Columbus
and his men were terrorizing the indigenous people, demanding that they
mine for gold and pay tribute to their masters. Those who could not
provide the quota faced dismemberment and were sent back to their people
as an example. There are first-hand accounts of soldiers hunting the
Arawak for sport and feeding people to their dogs. Columbus himself
documented sexual slavery of young children during his reign as
"governor".
Today in America, one in every four African-American men is likely to
be imprisoned. In the "War on Drugs', black and Latino men are
arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned at highly disproportionate rates
than whites. Our prisons are privatized for profit, operations whose
stocks are traded on Wall Street. Whether you are a black man or woman
in one of America's prisons, or you are undocumented and work under the
blazing sun on American farms, you are paid pennies as others enrich
themselves off of your labor.
Foreclosures have separated millions of black and brown Americans
from their property. Of the nearly 10 million people whose homes have
been foreclosed, 40 percent are black and Latino. The net worth in
communities of color has plunged to the lowest level on record. Black
and brown wealth has been transferred to America's largest banks. This
theft has gone unchallenged as the banks have enriched themselves,
received federal bailouts, and now investment companies seek to rent out
the homes to the very people they have been stolen from.
In 1868, the United States signed a treaty setting aside the Black
Hills "for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupancy of the Sioux."
Within years gold was discovered there, and after negotiations to
purchase the land broke down, the United States simply took it. In 1975,
the presiding judge of the United States Court of Claims wrote, "A more
ripe and rank case of dishonorable dealing will never, in all
probability, be found in our history." This "rank case of dishonorable
dealing" did not result in a return of that which was stolen. The Lakota
Nation is currently raising 9 million dollars in order to buy back a
small portion of sacred land in the Black Hills.
I love Columbus Day because the veneration of this man makes clear
how George Bush a self described "compassionate conservative" can
torture people and have a library built in his name. Barack Obama can
win the Nobel Peace Prize as he authorizes summary execution of people
through drone warfare and authorizes indefinite detention without trial
of American citizens. Madeleine Albright, when confronted with the
deaths of up to 500,000 Iraqi children during sanctions, can declare:
"We think the price is worth it." She is now an author and a sought
after speaker on the lecture circuit where she describes her life as
"devoted to human rights." This self-delusion and ideas of grandeur
poison us as we impose the same tough sanctions on Iran and call for
that nations people to be brought to their knees. Medicines dwindle in
Iranian hospitals and prices skyrocket due to hyperinflation, the
currency losing 15 percent of its value overnight. It is only a matter
of time until children starve.
We can look to Afghanistan and Iraq to see our imperialist footprint
spreading across the globe. Afghanistan, with its untapped mineral
wealth estimated in the trillions of dollars, and Iraq with its vast oil
fields, its people only considered "collateral damage" if they are
considered at all. Meanwhile, we formulate agreements with the
governments we impose that will allow our corporations to steal the
resources and keep the citizens in penury. The footprint is on the neck
of the people.
And what of Palestine, and her people? It is America that provides
the weapons, the cash, and the cover in all Israel's efforts to
dispossess the Palestinian people of their land and resources. An
Israeli soldier once told me to go home and deal with the dispossession
of the indigenous people in America before I concerned myself with the
plight of the Palestinians. He was correct in considering the parallels
between genocide in America and ethnic cleansing in Palestine.
While countries smolder and survivors walk among the ruins, a
generation lost to violence and destruction, we congratulate ourselves
on "winning" and move on to the next conflagration. Americans are lost
as well. Lost in our deluded imagination of a country that wishes peace
in the world, we remain blind to the horrors of "shock and awe," drone
attacks, night raids and torture while our government sows carnage in
every direction. US threats to attack Iran are part of a century-old
pattern of violence aimed at ensuring US domination. "Freedom!" we
proclaim, "Democracy! How ungrateful these people are! Can't they see we
have liberated them? Why do they hate us? It can only be because we are
free." We wave our flags, paint stars and stripes on our faces and
chant "USA! USA! USA!
Columbus Day is a good day to reconsider who I am. I have been to Big
Mountain, the Four Corners, and Wounded Knee. I have heard the stories
of relocation, theft, poverty and struggle. I have been to too many
funerals in Marwahin, Jenin, Beit Lahiya and Gaza. I have sat in the
rubble in al-Amiriya, in Qana, in Bint Jbeil, in Rafah, and in Kabul. I
have cried with refugee grandmothers whose families have been scattered
like seeds on the wind. I have cried with mothers whose children were
torn to shreds under laser-guided bombs and whose sons have died as foot
soldiers in our wars of conquest. I have cried with men who have dug
the bodies of their wives and children from the rubble of their homes. I
am intimate with this fella Columbus and I know too well that our
national claim of freedom leaves me disgraced and dishonored.
And the blood flows.
R
