COlumbus' Calamity

By Grace Azaula, 2020

Published 10/14/19

As I write this today at 9 in the morning, I know that nearly half of my peers are asleep, watching Netflix, or for my fellow seniors, working on college applications. We have busy lives, and a day off is a gift. But, why do we have today off? It is not a Jewish Holiday. It is not Election Day. It is not a snow day. No. Today is Columbus Day. The day I believe should be called Indigenous People’s Day.

“Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492”. This is a quote that every child learns in elementary school. They learn about Columbus and how he supposedly set out to prove that the earth was round, not flat. Well, I have news for you. In 1492, it was already proven that the earth was round. And, on top of that, historians believe that he was not the first European to sail across the Atlantic. The very reasons we celebrate him have been proven to be false.

But, more importantly than the things Columbus did not do, are the things he did do. The terrible things that he did do. He was a known rapist and kidnapper of Native Americans. He sold 9 and 10 year old Native American girls as sex slaves. He cut off ears, took off heads, and tortured the living daylight out of the people who had rightfully been on “his” land first.

Christopher Columbus was no saint. The torture and trauma he put innocent Native American’s through is absolutely disgusting. It is only appropriate that we turn this day into a remembrance for the Indegenous People who were forced to endure the wrath of the man we currently celebrate. Many towns and even states are changing the purpose of this day off, and I believe we should stand up and join them. Columbus did atrocious things. His victims, not the perpetrator, are the ones who deserve to be celebrated.