Why is it we celebrate Columbus Day??
They 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 as though they were so many sheep herded into a pen.
They even laid wagers on whether they could manage to slice a man in two at a stroke, or cut an individual's head from his body, or disembowel him with a single blow of their axes. They grabbed suckling infants by the feet and, ripping them from their mothers' breasts, dashed them headlong against the rocks. Others, laughing and joking all the while, threw them over their shoulders into a river, shouting: 'Wriggle, you little perisher.'
Ya' know, I was afraid someone would ask that question.
No doubt, there's no call for celebration in the Father's testimony of the shameful deeds that occurred during that chapter of human history, or in the years that followed on this continent. As a member of the Pagan community, reading them drives home the point of how important it is to respect and honor the preservation of all native cultures.
There's also the fact that Columbus wasn't the first to 'discover' the New World. Far from it.
But...I think most people celebrate the spirit of the holiday, which marks the first voyage across the Atlantic. At least that's how I look at it.
If anyone were to ask me, and I'm sure that won't happen, I'd suggest the holiday be revamped into a memorial day instead of a celebration...for the plight of our Native Americans and a truthful understanding of their 'history' and culture. - That's an excellent idea! I'd suppport it. Should we write to our congressmen? Seriously. - That's a good idea as I was serious.
Especially IF you have any congressmen in your state that care. Unfortunately there are none of those sorts here. But I would gladly write to others---if there are any of that nature left in Congress thesedays. I only know of one or perhaps 2 that might consider it and the gathering of support of their peers (for the little people) has been what they did well in the past...perhaps you are aware of others?
Why not try?
