No longer living in the US, I had forgotten about Columbus Day, which I am remembering is near and about, this time of year. This is the second article in a row I was reading that was about Columbus. The other is in Haaretz and is about claiming Columbus as a Sephardic Jew. As far as any judgment of what he did, they say he is "a divisive figure." He's not someone I'd be wanting to claim, but maybe the Italians will be grateful to have him taken off their books.
I made a few videos a some years ago of my trip to Seville. The one in the cathedral ends with a view of that statue of Columbus. In the subtitles, I put the words, "May God forgive."
Ben Shapiro is historically ignorant beyond measure. The arab world was way ahead of Britain in spreading higher learning. And "the concept of freedom" took quite a dark turn in any country where the British showed up.
Ben "everything-i-say-is-supremacist" Shapiro's entire oeuvre could be boiled down to: "Jews superior to other white people, white people superior to all non-whites, and everyone superior to muslims".
This is important to know, that European people had to invent a justification for colonialism, genocide, and slavery over time. In 1688 the Germantown Statement denounced slavery. John Welsey denounced it also, and wrote an essay about how races were equal. People saw this for what it was—but a very elaborate ideology was created to try to justify it, and powerful people embraced it because it made them money. Equality of humans wasn’t a ‘discovery’ that some people made—it was the opposite—it was something that was covered up by elaborate lies, and horrific violence. It’s a constant struggle against this history of lies, and after more than 500 years we are not through with it yet.
Very well put. The "judge by their own time" has always been a vapid excuse to me because, as you hit on, there have been anti-slavery movements since there have been slaves.
No longer living in the US, I had forgotten about Columbus Day, which I am remembering is near and about, this time of year. This is the second article in a row I was reading that was about Columbus. The other is in Haaretz and is about claiming Columbus as a Sephardic Jew. As far as any judgment of what he did, they say he is "a divisive figure." He's not someone I'd be wanting to claim, but maybe the Italians will be grateful to have him taken off their books.
I made a few videos a some years ago of my trip to Seville. The one in the cathedral ends with a view of that statue of Columbus. In the subtitles, I put the words, "May God forgive."
For sure, I won't.
Thanks for your article.
Thanks for reading, Joy! Do you have a link to your videos? I'd love to watch them.
Ben Shapiro is historically ignorant beyond measure. The arab world was way ahead of Britain in spreading higher learning. And "the concept of freedom" took quite a dark turn in any country where the British showed up.
Ben "everything-i-say-is-supremacist" Shapiro's entire oeuvre could be boiled down to: "Jews superior to other white people, white people superior to all non-whites, and everyone superior to muslims".
Spot on. I've always found him racist, in the literal sense of the word. He straight up doesn't like Black people or Arabs.
This is important to know, that European people had to invent a justification for colonialism, genocide, and slavery over time. In 1688 the Germantown Statement denounced slavery. John Welsey denounced it also, and wrote an essay about how races were equal. People saw this for what it was—but a very elaborate ideology was created to try to justify it, and powerful people embraced it because it made them money. Equality of humans wasn’t a ‘discovery’ that some people made—it was the opposite—it was something that was covered up by elaborate lies, and horrific violence. It’s a constant struggle against this history of lies, and after more than 500 years we are not through with it yet.
Very well put. The "judge by their own time" has always been a vapid excuse to me because, as you hit on, there have been anti-slavery movements since there have been slaves.