Is there enough evidence yet to charge him with war crimes?
I think this section is instructive. It suggests that you probably should have just posted this thread in IMHO instead. At least that would have made clear that you’re not really interested in having a rational and thoughtful debate about the issue, and that nothing anyone could say about it would change your mind.
Heck, there’s a whole truckload of folks who just love their Confederate flags, and the slavery angle there isn’t even in doubt.
So… you betcha.
Hell, that’s happening in this very thread.
It seems unreasonable to qualify that particular section of the letter as you having “Columbus’ own words of denial:” in that case. Nor could you reasonably claim Columbus was opposed to the rape of children based upon it.
It’s annoying to not have the cite available for easy linking, but that isn’t a reason to quote a part that’s unspecific and then attribute what’s knowable from the complete contents to that part in and of itself.
Of course the correct answer to the thread question is “No, on the second Monday in October, Americans should be celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving, and in fact should be adopting Canadian customs and practices as quickly as possible because maybe it’ll bring some sanity to their lives.”
We like you guys just fine, but we’re not aboot to adopt your customs.
So did many famous people throughout history. A number of our Presidents were slaveholders. Requiring Columbus to be accountable to 21st century standards of moral integrity is unrealistic.
or you just can’t accept that there are people out there with well thought out views who aren’t “progressive” by Obama-era standards.
I for one don’t require historical figures to conform to our modern moral standards. I do require modern people to conform to our modern moral standards of not celebrating slaveholders, though, in terms of their own moral goodness.
I guess if someone is well-regarded in their own time, we are obliged to honor them in perpetuity.
Like, Satan for example. Eve was very charmed by him. Who are we to question that judgment? Just because serpents today don’t go around ruining paradise doesn’t mean it wasn’t a common practice for snakes at that time.
I imagine our sensibilities today are going to seem very primitive to people 500 years from now. Hell, I feel like my worldview has shifted drastically in the last 4. So I try not to be too judgmental when looking at historical figures.
However I do find the idea of Columbus ‘discovering’ an already inhabited part of the world pretty comical
If you provide some evidence that your views are well thought out, i will revisit my assessment.
Sure. I’m not particularly judgmental of Columbus. He shouldn’t be scrubbed from the history books for treated like some kind of 15th Century Hitler. On the other hand, I see absolutely no need to have a holiday named for him. He had a good run, let’s name October 10th for someone else for awhile and see how it goes.
I personally don’t care if it’s named Columbus Day or Native Americans Day or whatever, as long as I still get the day off.
Want to change the place names too? And Canadians upthread needn’t feel so superior. British Columbia? Come on, guys, that’s two strikes. 
Exactly. Columbus isn’t being celebrated for his character but for the fact that the USA would not exist were it not for him (or someone like him) leading Europeans to the continent. If you’re proud of the USA (and I realize some aren’t) then you should celebrate Christopher Columbus.
Actually Columbus wasn’t particularly famous in his own time. It was only later generations that wanted to honor him. However judging the behavior of historical figures by 21st century ethics is the equivalency of judging the experiments of historical scientists by current laboratory standards.
I don’t get this at all. I am reasonably proud of the United States I’m certainly glad it’s here and I’m part of it. Columbus? Meh. Nothing that is “exceptional” about the US can be traced to him. I don’t hate the guy, but–as I said–he’s had a good run. Let’s make room for someone new.
I personally wouldn’t mind him being set aside in favor of an explorer who actually had more to do with establishing contact between Europe and America. Up thread I mentioned Amerigo Vespucci, he’s the guy who actually got the point across in Western Europe at least that there was this giant land mass (Columbus died thinking he had only found a route to islands off the coast of India or China) out that had previously been almost completely unknown to Europe.