Editorial
Letter to the Editor: It is time that Massachusetts changes Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day
There is a bill before the Massachusetts legislature asking that Massachusetts join Vermont and Maine in changing Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day. Yet for some reason several of our local state representatives are hesitant to move the bill forward. Perhaps they have forgotten the ugly, brutal history associated with the discoverer of the New World, Cristoforo Colombo, otherwise known as Christopher Columbus.
In the Fifties every kid could recite the poem, “In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue…” We learned that Columbus had made an astounding “discovery” of “America” — although it was hardly new to the Arawak and Taino people who had lived there for millennia. For them it was simply home.
We learned that Columbus was a Genoan explorer who finally persuaded a Spanish queen to underwrite his voyages in exchange for a cut of the plunder. Accompanying Columbus in the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria were 87 men. Encountering the Arawak people on what is now the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas, Columbus dubbed them “indios” and noted:
“They ought to make good and skilled servants, for they repeat very quickly whatever we say to them. I think they can very easily be made Christians, for they seem to have no religion.”
Whereupon Columbus immediately enslaved several, forcing them to show where they had obtained the gold in their earrings. Columbus explored a few more neighboring islands, including what is now Cuba and Haiti. Upon his return, the Portuguese royalty were unhappy at the Spanish royalty’s incursion, so four Papal Bulls (Vatican decrees) were issued to specify how the two Christian kingdoms would divvy up the spoils.
The following year, a second voyage of 17 ships explored a dozen other islands. On the island of Santa Cruz Columbus encountered Caribs, whom they murdered, gutted, and beheaded. The historical record also includes an account of the rape of a Carib woman by one Michele da Cuneo, a childhood friend of Columbus.
Spanish troops remaining on the various islands Columbus visited killed indigenous people at will, forcing them to carry the new slaveholders on litters, like royalty. As King Leopold of Belgium later did in the Congo, the Spanish gave native people quotas of gold to bring to the colonizers. The consequence for failing to deliver was being maimed or murdered.
By now we all remember the breach of the U.S. Capitol Building by insurrectionists on January 6, 2021. One of these breaches occurred at the Rogers Doors on the east entrance to the Capitol. The two doors are almost 17 feet high and 10 feet wide, made of bronze, each weighing 5 tons. Completed in 1861 by sculptor Randolph Rogers, the doors tell the story of Christopher Columbus.
The semicircular panel “Landing of Columbus in the New World” depicts the terror of native people encountering the heavily armed Spanish. Another panel “Columbus’ First Encounter with the Indians” depicts a rape like the previously mentioned one.
Howard Zinn may have upset more than a few people when he recounted the grisly details of European conquest in his history books, but all this was old history when the Rogers Doors were cast in bronze. At the time, 1861, the mistreatment, colonization, and enslavement of native people was seen as inevitable — if not desirable — when creating an American empire. And 1861 was the very moment in American history in which the government itself was involved in the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Native American people.
So here we are in 2022. Rather than continuing to honor Columbus for what in modern times can only be regarded as war crimes, it’s time we honored the indigenous people whose old world became our New World.
Please sign the petition to persuade your representative to get behind H.3191 — or just call them.
David Ehrens
-
Community7 years agoNational Shrine of La Salette Festival of Lights 2017 set to begin
-
Community6 years agoMassachusetts State Police looking for good home for retired dogs
-
Crime7 years agoFall River ranked most dangerous city in Massachusetts according to report
-
latest7 years agoDurfee student allegedly overdoses on marijuana
-
Community6 years agoVideo of Fall River Police goes viral
-
Causes6 years agoMissing Fall River woman found deceased
-
Crime7 years agoFall River Police add names to most wanted list
-
Causes6 years agoFall River teenager reported missing has been found
Twitwanger
June 18, 2022 at 6:09 pm
NO!
David
June 18, 2022 at 11:30 pm
This letter/narrative is a complete misrepresentation of the amazing achievements of the brave explorer Christopher Columbus. The movement to discredit Columbus is typical left-wing propaganda and revisionist history to degrade the Judeo-Christian values that built advanced western culture.
‘Indigenous Peoples were certainly mistreated by some of the European explorers but make no mistake; the ‘Nobel Savage’ is a myth. The indigenous peoples were highly tribal and were often engaged in bloody territorial wars with each other and often enslaved their captured foes. They severely mistreated and subjugated their own women and inflicted the most horrible punishments on each other. What Columbus achieved in those days was akin to landing on the Moon. Never give in to these Marxist fascists who seek to erase history
Alexander Crowe
June 19, 2022 at 9:45 am
More lies from David Ehrens, the same guy who tried to cram his lies and radical leftist lunacy down the throats of the people of Dartmouth earlier this year. Ehrens’ lies weee exposed when the people of Dartmouth overwhelmingly voted against Ehrens’ petition to do away with a non offensive mascot. We must now do the same and protect our state and our country from these rabid anti-American woke authoritarians. You want indigenous peoples day? Choose a different date on the calendar. The lies about Columbus are getting ridiculous.
Ken Massonic+CatPissPatty
June 19, 2022 at 4:38 pm
Should change Christmas to Luciferase day! Since Jesus was a one way street for love, all of the haters have been marginalized!
Ken Masson
June 20, 2022 at 9:10 am
Wow we learned that Columbus was a piece of shit that enslaved, raped and killed Caribbean islanders yet we still want to celebrate him as a hero.
I guess humans will never evolve to be civilized. Just look at the comments to post on this website. Fall River seems to be a city of knuckle draggers that want to stay ignorant and hateful.
And the person saying we should change the name of Christmas, Christians change the name from Yule. Christmas was originally a pagan holiday called Yule. That’s why it’s called the Yule log and the Yule tree. Then the fake God Christians came along and made it their own holiday.
MortisMaximus
June 20, 2022 at 11:46 am
You are the real hate monger! If it were up to you all Christians would be eliminated. There is little difference between who you say Columbus was and who you are. Get a grip on yourself and your uni-party propaganda. 7 billion people know of Jesus, only 7 know of Ken Massonic, that my friend is one hell of a fairy tale. Jesus the New Testament between God and Man, left behind the Old Testament,lest we’d all be blind. Stop being so foolish.
🤣🤣🤣
June 21, 2022 at 10:34 am
You should pray to God that your warthog wife wins at the county fair.
Ken Masson
June 21, 2022 at 11:21 am
Yes we should stop celebrating as a nation fake religious holiday from a fake religion. They’re all fake but people are suckers because we’re indoctrinated at birth. And people like MoronMaximus can’t think for himself and only believes what he’s been told is evil but can’t recognize true evil like hate and racism that his side supports and projects on others.
And still a chicken shit that’s afraid to post under his real name because he knows it isn’t popular and his friends and family would probably disown him.
Yes let’s cancel fake gods that hate their own because they’re not perfect unlike the teachings of Jesus.
MortisMaximus
June 21, 2022 at 1:29 pm
Ken Moronic Massonic and Patty Catty Piss hound me like abandoned dogs as everyone on this message board can see. We know your faith is placed with troglodytic men and women. The Democrat Party is the party of the KKK and little Massonic can’t argue that fact. Just keep living in your satanic bubble with your 7 friends. If you want to know who I am it’s because you want to send your satanic dogs against me! I am not afraid of you and I don’t care what you think of me because your ideas are complete lies and failure. Ken Massonic and Patty Catty Piss are nothing but antifa dogs looking to piss on everything that is good! You meaningless clowns should get a life and a clue. Get off of my coat tails and stop tying yourselves to my comments. You two are total failures and couldn’t survive without the satanic “Covet Means” system that was implemented by your daddy Lucifer!
THOU SHALL NOT COVET THY NEIGHBORS SANCTITY!
🤣🤣🤣
June 21, 2022 at 2:09 pm
Wow what a whiny bunch of drivel….. No surprise coming from an impotent clown like you.
MortisMaximus
June 21, 2022 at 2:35 pm
Patty Piss Mattress, your comments are 2nd grade level at best! Anything better you can offer, perhaps on the fake Jan 6th commission? Otherwise shut up you filthy recycling bin!
🤣🤣🤣
June 21, 2022 at 3:41 pm
Awwww the inbred retard is triggered once again. Go whine to your warthog Morty…..
Lucille
June 21, 2022 at 2:36 pm
I am with Morty!
Cat Piss
June 23, 2022 at 11:31 am
So you’re with stupid? The most triggered hate filled commenter on this site?
MortisMaximus
June 23, 2022 at 2:41 pm
Thanks for spreading your love!