Two Way Street

Today in class, Mr. Stetina said how Columbus claimed Cuba in the name of Spain even though the Taino were there. It is also known that Columbus was appraently a killer too. I want to talk about a few things in this posting. First off, it is not fair that Columbus claimed Cuba in the name of Spain and forced the Taino to extinction. He forced the Spanish culture on them and also treated them unfairly. You can't just go onto an island or state and claim it in your name, unless it is deserted, especially if it is populated with native people who open their hospitality to you. It is like going from the U.S. to Canada and claiming it the name of America. This actually happened though if I remember correctly, that some Native Americans I believe sailed onto Italian shores to make a real example of exactly what Columbus did to them 400 years ago. This was a very controversial issue once the cat had been done. I find this shocking to read about actually.I can see why many people are upset with Columbus on Columbus Day. Driving out one people's culture and putting in another's is truly rude, unfair, and selfish. He didn't consent the Taino but rather decided to take force. I'm pretty sure he did this to every group of people he "discovered" in the new world. But on the other hand I am thankful for Cloumbus though. Take a look at us today. Would alot of us be here had Columbus not come to the new world? Would we live the lives we go about each and every day? I know I propbably wouldn't be here. Having Afican routes, my ancestors came over as slaves. So since they came over as slaves Europeans probably came over with them. So if Columbus hadn't discovered the new world, and brought slaves over from Africa, I would probably be in Mali or Nigeria right now because there wouldn;t have been a need for slaves to farm the land. This is why I consider Columbus a two way street. Some people might think he is terrible and think nothing more of him then a murderer like the Native Americans' which I could see why they think that. Others might think he was a great man braving the ocean and "discovering" new places. Other people might just think of clothing store sales when they think of Columbus. But I think of him differently. I think he was good person who discovered and claimed land in a bad way. I do't just think you should call him a murderer or a great explorer right off the bat with out considering where you would be today if it hadn't been for him landing on Cuba. I just think this is a deep topic that you can't convince both sides with out enraging one or the other. I just feel that you should really study the facts and see that Columbus was necessarilly evil but he wasn't perfect either. He was just in the middle and he was doing what he thought was best. Today we look at it as terrible but hey look at the U.S. We colonized many different island sor claimed them in our name like Hawaii and you don't see us talking about that in class. Also we have exploited resources in Cuba but you don't see that as big of as a controversy as Colobus. I think we out too much blame on Columbus then we should. We can't rewrite history, and if we could I'm sure we would, but we have to cope with the now. It is important to not just look at Columbus but at the world and see that Columbus was only human. Humans make mistakes. We make mistakes. So does everyone else. So look at what other people have done that has caused trouble and not just Columbus. But that doesn't mean you can excuse what Columbus did I mean some parts were bad others were good. The guy is dead give him a little slack. Just make sure you look at both sides of the spectrum and realize how complex this two way street is. That is all I have to say.(Note this wasn't directed at you Mr. Stetina. I was just using the first line of what you had said in class for reference.)