I agree wholeheartedly that “Columbus Day” should be retired, and a day instead set aside to honor and remember the indigenous people of this continent. And yes, our teaching of history must be as unbiased and as accurate as possible.

In support of said accuracy, I think it counter-productive to mention Columbus as a “lost sadist” and to heap up pejoratives regarding his initial voyage. The effect is to demonize him and (by inference) elevate the natives’ status in both cases beyond what they actually were. It is somewhat hyperbolic either way.

Columbus’ actions were certainly awful, but no more so than any other adventurer of his day. And they did not differ substantially from the practices of the people he found here. Various native populations throughout the Americas practiced slavery, were in near-constant conflict with neighbors, routinely raped as part of their warfare, butchered infants in ways I won’t detail, practiced cannibalism and human sacrifice, and inflicted the most horrific tortures imaginable upon those unfortunate enough to be taken alive.

In short, they acted as all human beings everywhere have acted at one time or another.

So we should be careful before condemning Columbus, and that history, without some serious soul searching. As U.S. citizens, we are a part of, and benefit from, our nation’s founding upon slavery and genocide and the warmongering we’ve committed, especially during the 20th and 21st centuries. With hundreds of military bases scattered around the globe, our premier status in arms sales and drone killings, practitioners of torture and indefinite imprisonment without trial and our cozy relations with some of the world’s most despotic leaders, the U.S.A. is in no position to defame the character of anyone.

Simply put, we are now acting very much as Columbus did in 1492.

— Michael Shook