EDITORIAL
It’s time to rethink
Columbus’ voyage
Next year will mark the 500th anniversary of Chris
topher Columbus’ "discovery" of America; this preced
ing year should be a time for re-evaluating ingrained
perspectives — specifically, the ones surrounding this
disputable hero.
Chapter 1 in most American history books is usual
ly an inspiring blow-by-blow account of Columbus'
"finding” of the "New World." From that glorious in
troduction on. elementary, junior and high school stu
dents are inundated with the wonders of the sailor and
his daring journey — the first in search of the Ameri
can dream.
And so our collective memory of history is formed.
Fed the beautiful details about Columbus from day
one, few of us know the marred truths.
From his first arrival in the Americas, on a Caribbe
an island, he led the enslavement of native islanders
for trade back in Spain, for slave labor on island estates
or for work in area gold mines and fields.
Of course, he had good reason to work the Arawak
people to their extinction: Gold. Profit. Money. And
should there be any nagging doubts, Columbus’ search
for the New World and all its riches was justified as
"God’s work.”
These two motivating factors continued to serve
well those following Columbus in their treatment of
America’s first inhabitants. (Yes. there were people
here before Columbus' "discovery." and, no, they
weren't savages or heathens.)
Those living here B.C. 1 (Before Chapter 1) and
their descendants would be exploited, "civilized" and
Christianized non-stop over the next few hundred
years, all in the name of money or God, or both.
The details of this still-continuing saga, not sur
prisingly, escape America's white-biased textbooks, re
maining untold so the images of heroes like Columbus
may remain intact.
American history has typically been written and
taught from a Euro-American, male perspective. Wom
en and non-whites have either remained unmentioned
or in the background, as if these groups didn't have a
story to tell.
Truth is. American history is a synthesis of a varie
ty of race and gender-related histories, each holding
equal value in its own right and each deserving to be
heard.
This nation’s history needs to come clean by telling
the bad with the good — even when it comes to treas
ured champions like Columbus, and by acknowledging
all its participants' versions of how we got where we
are today.
We’ve been taught to revere the man who "found"
America, but now it's time to learn the flip side. In a
nutshell, the coming of Columbus and all who came af
ter wreaked irreparable havoc on this country’s first in
habitants. This fact needs to be incorporated into the
memory that encompasses Christopher Columbus.
YOU KNOW,
IF PEOPLE
FIND OUT ABOUT
THIS, THEY'LL LOSE
WHAT LITTLE
RESPECT THEY HAVE
LEFT FOR YOU.
GEE,
OFFICER,
I JUST
CANT WAVE
TWAT
HAPPEN..
I MAS
TALKING TO
THE PROSTITUTE,
MR SNAGGART
-sjgci
u
\m
LETTERS
Jump in
So 1 soo that annual protes.s
ol polarization has onto again
emerged in the Oltli loiters col
umn. Well, allow me to jump
right into the fray.
The flip of .1 com helped me
decide my topic of choice
Please allow me to deal with
the issue of homophobia,
whose spokesman clearly must
ho Jon Wollander
Listen up. Jon! Wo should
not care about what makes a
poison gas, anymore than we
care about the causes of hetero
sevuality Wh.it we should care
about is ensuring that Individu
als feid -.ale in our society, free
to live lile fully in whatever
lashion that is comfortable to
them
1 personally consider the
greatest threat to "the family"
to In those people w ho seek to
strictly define Us meaning
I firmly believe our society
can only survive insofar as our
ability to lie open and respon
sive to all who belong to our
human community The natu
ral world is filled with diversi
tv As humans we should seek
to emulate nature.
It is easy lor some to speak
from a pedestal of moral purity
Jon. try to imagine il nature, or
late, had dictated conditions
opposite of what they are to
day In other words, come
down from your pure altar of
"truth," and try to imagine lift:
from (fit; point of view you at
tack so unfairly.
Try to become a member of
the larger, more diverse world
outside your sheltered haven of
righteousness. It isn't so bad
out here!
Pu squab* Anolfo
i listory
Why scream?
Dear Sharon Snow {ODE.
Oct 1H). why would 1 scream at
you when your point of view is
so logical? Obviously you've
heard the phrase "Live simply
so that others may simply
live "
Rronda Adair
Student
Highs and lows
On ,i scale of 1 to Hit), the
I rohnmayer appointment de
serves a score of 100 On a
scale of 1 to 100, the elimina
tion of the College of Human
Development and Performance
deserves a score of 0
Ji>lin W. Hen hard)
Kmeritus
Othello is
Regarding "Shakin' " {ODE.
Oct lit), lago is not a person of
color in Shakespeare's Othello'.
Othello is
Iago is not a nice person in
Otholla. Othello is
Amy Christine Thompson
Theater Arts
Keep quiet
Regarding the editorial titled
Conservative group pushes
views ugnin (ODE, Oct 21): It
seems like a snowball, with ev
eryone getting on the Oregon
Citizens Alliance.
You criticized the petition tor
"lumping together homosexual
ity" with other behavior that is
typically viewed as " unac
ceptable
Yet, you must admit tb.it all
ot those behaviors you listed
are "sexual preferences" ol
some kind And ol course, peo
pie all over are screaming that
people should be able to enjoy
their own preference
You also stated that the OCA
is trying to push its ideas down
our throats Well. 1 ask you,
what is the motive of the homo
sexual community in promot
ing such things as "Gay Pride
Week" and "Coming-out Day "'
They want us to at cept their
behavior as acceptable and OK
And talk about being militant! 1
think OCA should keep quiet
and all homosexuals should
keep quiet Then the rest of us
could live in peace.
Ron Williams
Eugene
Mi,
IF r^T^AS OlS? JH-i
SiSM fttOSOCM
m wswis