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Happy Bartolomé Day!
Oct. 14th, 2013 06:08 pmIf you haven't already seen The Oatmeal's Columbus Day comic, I suggest you go read it now. It's stomach-churning but informative.*
Mom had read Lies My Teacher Told Me and other such books, and when I was still in grade school she set the record straight on just how enthusiastic a participant Columbus was in the Worst Genocide In Recorded History. It made sitting through that bullshit cartoon about his heroism ... awkward, at best. (Also as it turns out, raising your hand and confidently asking your teacher when we were going to address how Columbus was a Very Bad Dude and everyone already knew the Earth was round and also he DIDN'T discover America because dude there were already natives and anyway Leif Erikson, is going to make her panic. Poor lady shut me down like the next sentence I uttered would unleash Cthulhu.) I also really hated learning about the Conquistadors, because it was, let's be frank, A Fucking Awful Story. So Columbus Day was always a bit uncomfortable for me.
But no more! For now The Oatmeal has educated me about Bartolomé de las Casas, who was actually a Spaniard who (eventually) decided that mass murder/enslavement/rape/plunder/cultural eradication/pretty much bringing on the New World Apocalypse were NOT cool and tried to stop all that shit from going down. Which is much more worthy of celebration.
So happy Bartolomé Day, everyone! And let's learn our lessons from the past and try not to let any more mass murdering fuckheads get holidays, shall we?
*Minor nitpick: Abraham Lincoln technically does not have his own federal holiday; the official title of Presidents' Day is Washington's Birthday. Many states have changed it to "Presidents' Day," in honor of Lincoln, but the federal holiday remains Washington's.
Mom had read Lies My Teacher Told Me and other such books, and when I was still in grade school she set the record straight on just how enthusiastic a participant Columbus was in the Worst Genocide In Recorded History. It made sitting through that bullshit cartoon about his heroism ... awkward, at best. (Also as it turns out, raising your hand and confidently asking your teacher when we were going to address how Columbus was a Very Bad Dude and everyone already knew the Earth was round and also he DIDN'T discover America because dude there were already natives and anyway Leif Erikson, is going to make her panic. Poor lady shut me down like the next sentence I uttered would unleash Cthulhu.) I also really hated learning about the Conquistadors, because it was, let's be frank, A Fucking Awful Story. So Columbus Day was always a bit uncomfortable for me.
But no more! For now The Oatmeal has educated me about Bartolomé de las Casas, who was actually a Spaniard who (eventually) decided that mass murder/enslavement/rape/plunder/cultural eradication/pretty much bringing on the New World Apocalypse were NOT cool and tried to stop all that shit from going down. Which is much more worthy of celebration.
So happy Bartolomé Day, everyone! And let's learn our lessons from the past and try not to let any more mass murdering fuckheads get holidays, shall we?
*Minor nitpick: Abraham Lincoln technically does not have his own federal holiday; the official title of Presidents' Day is Washington's Birthday. Many states have changed it to "Presidents' Day," in honor of Lincoln, but the federal holiday remains Washington's.
