Christopher Columbus deserves his day back in San Francisco
The 20 year process of renaming San Francisco’s Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day culminated in 2018 when the city council made the name change official. Activists cheered and socialites clinked their glasses while most San Franciscans nodded along in acknowledgement that it was the right thing to do.
Nobody stopped to ask: Who are these Indigenous People and why is it so important to celebrate them instead of Christopher Columbus?
It may come as a shock, but the Indigenous People are not actually Indigenous to America. The day would be more aptly branded as “descendants of a people that migrated across the Bering Strait from Siberia to reach Alaska Day”.
That’s a bit of a mouthful, so I think “People who were here before the Europeans day” is the better option, although that doesn’t flow trippingly on the tongue either.
Misnomer aside, the purportedly “Indigenous People” are widely construed as an abstract group of people who were victimized during the European conquest of America. It is bizarre to dedicate a day to a nebulous group of people mostly known for being conquered by the Europeans, but these are the times we live in.
The vague nature of the term Indigenous People is effective for the cause. No individuals or tribes are identified. The nuanced history of the Iroquois cannot be dissected nor can the moral transgressions of a particular chief be exposed.
There is nothing specific to criticize. There is nothing specific to celebrate either.
Sure, on Columbus Day—ahem—Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a mimosa drinking, brunch having girl who has become very serious about social justice will repost something about this tribe or that chief. Yet for the rest of the year most people cannot describe the actual accomplishments we celebrate during Indigenous Peoples’ day.
That is the point. The Indigenous People are not being celebrated. Christopher Columbus, America and The West are being condemned.
In the eyes of the left, Christopher Columbus represents an evil, illegitimate culture. The iconoclasm of tearing Columbus down liberates America from her oppressive past. Maligning Columbus is less about the man and more about the desire to destroy America’s ‘white supremacist culture’.
Once this is understood, the debate over the renaming of Columbus Day can be seen with clarity.
A dishonest debate
Debates usually play out in the following way:A liberal(or leftist or progressive or whatever term you prefer) will watch a ten minute Youtube video EXPOSING Columbus and then use the talking points to lambast and smear him.
They will proceed to educate people on why it is sooo stupid (and obviously ‘white supremacist’) to celebrate the man who laid the foundation for the country we all live in.
The debate is lost at the outset because conservatives waste time delving into the details of the arguments.
“Columbus’s history was written by his enemies”
“Columbus’s offenses are exaggerated”
“Columbus is unfairly blamed for actions undertaken by other men”
These arguments don’t matter because liberals are not arguing in good faith. They don’t actually care about the “egregious” acts Christopher Columbus committed. If they cared about the “crimes” then they wouldn’t give the American Indians a pass.
The focus is solely on Christopher Columbus and the American Indians are transformed into an amorphous idea of a virtuous victim. An afterthought at best.
Historical context is stripped away and the “Indigenous People” are elevated over Columbus without a real comparison of the two groups. And so…what about those Indigenous People?
I know, I know I’m using whataboutism, the silly concept which holds all parties to the same standard and provides context to arguments.
History is complex
The American Indians were not living embodiments of the Rousseauian noble savage, as much as the modern liberal would like them to be. The various tribes did not live amongst each other smoking peace pipes, sharing land and stories while singing Colors of the Wind.
Instead the gentle, pure Indians raided villages and “stole” the land of enemy tribes. They took members of enemy tribes captive and sometimes tortured and enslaved them. The Erie, if there were any of them left, would attest to the cruelty of the inter-Indian wars.
The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole held slaves, African Slaves at that. African Slavery was so entrenched in the Indian culture that the tribes forced the slaves to accompany them on the Trail of Tears to help rebuild their civilizations in Oklahoma territory.
This all sounds very familiar…
Cruelty, slavery, conquest pervade the condemnations of Columbus and justify the denigration of one of the greatest explorers of all time. The American Indians engaged in all the same practices.
The American Indians are not criticized for their heinous acts and moral transgressions. Nobody is leaning back in a chair at the Marina Starbucks Reserve saying, “Let’s be honest, American Indian history should be rejected entirely. Period.”
The American Indians are good. Columbus and the Europeans are bad. It’s just that simple.
This Manichean perspective which pits Columbus against the Native Americans is a seductive view which provides that warm flush of moral superiority we all secretly crave. It is also the incorrect view.
History is replete with conquest and cruelty. Great men and great civilizations have major successes and major flaws. Each individual case must be viewed with context and judged with prudence.
Columbus and the Europeans should not be rejected. The American Indians should not be rejected.
But now it’s time to be brutally honest.
Yes, he is more important
Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the Americas was more consequential to the development of the human race and the modern world than anything the American Indians did.
Columbus opened the New World to the Europeans and ushered in an era of exploration, conquest, and colonialism. He embarked on four voyages from Spain to the New World leading the first European expeditions to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.
These expeditions created the Columbian Exchange where goods, animals, ideas, and plants were transferred between the Old World and New World. This changed the course of history.
Columbus never, contrary to popular belief, landed in the United States. However, his discovery of the Americas allowed for the staggering technological, economical, and medical advancements which succeeded him. Columbus laid the foundation for the most prosperous and free country in the history of the world.
The United States of America does not exist without Columbus’s discovery of the Americas. San Francisco does not exist without the European conquest of the American Indians.
If the Europeans (or any other empire) did not conquer the American Indians, this giant plot of land we call the United States would be divvied up into small territories controlled by semi-nomadic tribes. Warring tribes.
Coffee shops wouldn’t exist. There would be no local “watering holes” or restaurants for “good eats!”. And without their opulent condos, where would those poor glitterati go to lament the ‘cruelty’ of our forefathers?
I am not dismissing the historical contributions of the American Indians. They can have their own day. Or maybe certain tribes can have their own days.
One thing is certain: Christopher Columbus deserves to be celebrated. For God’s sake give him his day back.
