I'm concerned that this may go too far. The Irish were brought to America as slaves, and were worth less than a black slave. Can Irish descendants call for the removal of stature/portraits etc. Among the Native Americans, some tribes brutalised others. Who gets to decide which nation gets memorialised? If it weren't for Columbus, the USA may not exist as it does today. If it weren't for Captain Cook, Australia may not exist as it is today. Even though it has a history if brutality and slaughter of the Aboriginal people and all the Irish convicts. Early Chinese migrants were brutalised. Can they call for removal of historical statues? It's a difficult situation that we are heading into. We can't change history, but we can learn from it.
oojagapivy Yes, and that’s why we’re destroying art that praises him, dumbass. He was genocidal, and raped, tortured, enslaved, and murdered thousands of people in a matter of years, and was even condemned by the Spanish monarchy in 1500.
@@Vraptor1 I think my comment was a little more thought out than one that deserved me being called a dumbass. And what is the yes referring to? That "we" can call for the removal of statues, art etc of an historical figure because what they did then? Who is the "we"? Monarchy's are not devoid of bad historical decisions and actions - they often started wars or brutalised and enslaved people. The British Empire didn't become an Empire by being nice. I'm not denying that Columbus was implicit in many bad deeds but show me a leader in world history that wasn't. George Washington owned slaves, are you going to destroy all your money? Tear down the Washington monument? Rename the capital? Like I said, we can't change history, but we can learn from it.
oojagapivy What I’m saying is simple; art is not history. You can put it in a museum, you can read about it in books and online. You aren’t erasing anything by pulling down an artists’ praise for a genocidal maniac. Do I want George Washington to come down? Not really. His legacy is more than just slavery, and he even requested they be freed upon his death. Columbus is not that. He travelled because he was an idiot. He acknowledged that the Taino were friendly and cared for them, and he disregarded that kindness and enslaved them. He raped them. He murdered them. He transported them across the ocean and insisted the King and Queen take them as property. Also I don’t understand where this “British Empire wasn’t built on kindness,” comes from, as if that somehow justifies genocide. You act like it was inevitable, when it was in no way the only option. Look at Carthage, who built their empire off of trading with locals, and influencing them through diplomacy and riches.
Then “accidentally,” raped, tortured, enslaved, traded, and murdered them in the name of the Spanish monarchy, which CONDEMNED HIM in 1500, but not after transporting around 2000 people en masse 5 separate times, acting as the head of the first five instances of the trans Atlantic slave trade.
Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian for whom the US gets it’s name, should be honored. Most Americans don’t know why two continents are called America. He isn’t notorious for his actions. Replace Columbus statue and street with Amerigo Vespucci to embody Italian pride.
