From History to a Statue

History is usually one-sided. Written by those (the victors) who claim it as their own. Prior to 1492, before Christopher Columbus sailed the vast oceans, the indigenous peoples of the Americas and the Caribbeans were making their own history. Unfortunate for them, that history went undocumented (written by them). They were inhabitants of lands that were supposedly then discovered and written about. Thus, the victors told their story and made it history.

How ironic is it that we celebrate a man who historically supported the enslavement of natives for economic reasons, was accused of governing tyrannically and used barbaric acts of torture to govern Hispaniola. His discoveries, which were preceded by the various cultures and civilizations of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, make all the negatives disappear.

It is apparent that Columbus' voyages set a chain reaction. His voyages opened the door to the Atlantic slave trade and to the near genocide of indigenous peoples.

A recent report states that a statue of Columbus might be erected in Puerto Rico. One of the many islands where his voyages took him and where the indigenous population was enslaved, brutalized and brought to near extinction. It is not enough to constantly remind the people that without an outside support structure they cannot survive that they now want to display the early colonizer.

Puerto Rico's government estimates it would cost more than $20 million to erect the statue. Another obvious attempt to show the extent to which the administration there will go in their attempt to kiss ***.

It's also obvious that dependence has become the norm.... Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi asking feds for help.