Monday, October 13, 2008

Columbus -- Whoops, I Mean "Indigenous Peoples" -- Day


In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus[, dead white Christian male,] sailed the ocean blue.

He had three ships and left from Spain [with a mandate to exploit non-Caucasians];
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.

He sailed by night; he sailed by day[, in violation of OSHA regulations regarding working hours];
He used the stars to find his way.

A compass [an invention of the Sun People, stolen by the Ice People] also helped him know
How to find the way to go.

Ninety sailors were on board;
Some men worked [the oppressed proletariat] while others [the rich capitalists] snored.

Then the workers went to sleep [in unsanitary and exploitative living conditions];
And others watched the ocean deep.

Day after day they looked for land;
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand [and gold and jewels and spices and slaves and sacking and looting and pillaging].

October 12 their dream came true,
You never saw a happier crew[, flushed with greed and avarice]!

"Indians! Indians!" Columbus cried [in his white male ignorance];
His heart was filled with joyful pride.

But "India" the land was not;
It was the Bahamas[, even though white people have persisted arrogantly in marginalizing the indigenous peoples by calling them "Indians"], and it was hot.

The Arakawa natives were very nice;
They gave the sailors food and spice. [And in return, they subjugated the indigenous peoples to the tyranny of Catholicism and infected them with Old World diseases.]

Columbus sailed on to find some gold [that he could steal from the natives]
To bring back home, as he'd been told.

He made the trip again and again,
Trading gold to bring to Spain[, exploiting the indigenous peoples and making obscene profits on their backs].

The first American? No, not quite[, being an invader and a usurper].
But Columbus was brave [with all his guns and his ships against the poor defenseless natives], and he was bright [for a bitter Christian who clings to his guns and religion].

2 comments:

  1. Fortunately, the Sons of Italy have done much to keep the memory and significance of Columbus alive.

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  2. I did a post on this too. Indigenous Peoples Day: Replacing Columbus Day. Glad to see others blogging about this. Together we can raise the consciousness as to what this sad day really signifies for Native peoples.

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