Another Stereotype of the Month entry:

From the North County Times:

Last modified Thursday, October 14, 2004 10:16 PM PDT

Opinion: Columbus shaped our identity

By: DANIEL FORD -- The Californian

The majority of Americans walk the well-worn runway of the fashionably proud who burn Columbus in effigy every Oct. 12 and have been conditioned to loathe this occasion as the red letter day of the European assault on innocent, peace-loving peoples.

As such, anyone expressing pride in the positive aspects of our European heritage is assaulted by the politically correct revisionists who equate Columbus with the likes of Genghis Khan. Rather than appreciate the common purpose that binds us all together as a nation, they been taught to loathe Columbus Day as the shameful dawn of European conquest by genocide.

In America more people live in freedom than any other country during any other time period in history. Our free, multiethnic society is truly an unparalleled accomplishment and has become the envy of the world.

While, understandably, Columbus Day may not be a day of celebration for Indians, the facts of history challenge the tired old argument that Columbus' legacy is one of disease, misery, and heartless barbarism.

Well before Columbus' arrival, the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan 覧 a North American tribe 覧 thought it necessary to offer their deities human hearts and, to this end, conquered entire enemy tribes then proceeded to cut them into pieces 覧 sometimes letting them bleed atop the sacred pyramids for months 覧 and feast on their flesh before removing their heart and offering it to their deity; thus, the killings 覧 which sometimes exceeded 1,000 per week 覧 were sanctified.

For this reason, the 16th century essayist Montaigne, argued these "noble savages" were in many ways naturally superior to Europeans. If these human sacrifices were not made, then the Sun would not win its battle over the Moon and rise each day.

These brutal practices were not unique to the Aztecs. Throughout the pre-Columbian era the Mayans, Toltecs and numerous lesser-known tribes practiced similar bloodletting rituals. This sacrificial killing and torture, in terms of its sheer brutality, parallels that of the Spanish Inquisition and the which hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Regardless of whether we interpret barbarism as the culture of the "noble savage" or equate it to the ruthless cruelty of the European conquerors, we must consider it in terms of our civilization and progress and think about how all these elements define who we are as Americans 覧 how the man who raped, plundered, and foraged village after village came to represent that bold spirit of adventure and brazen arrogance which not only stimulated our capitalist system, but was later galvanized by a Calvinist-inspired vanity and work ethic that gave us our national identity.

These dynamics are the very pulse of our modern society. Even Wal-Mart 覧 one of which just opened at the very site of the once blood-drenched pagan city of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City) 覧 is a virtual testament to the iron will and reckless audacity of expansion in the name of progress, as well as the enterprising spirit that is Christopher Columbus.

With all the criticism of Wal-Mart, and the questionable behavior of such large corporations, I'm not aware of any human sacrifices that are made in the name of Wal-Mart, nor have I heard evidence that the largest corporation in the world is responsible for belching filth into the air, or depleting the ozone layer.

True, Wal-Mart has conquered many of its competitors, but if Wal-Mart, and other mega-corporations are the "conquistadors" of the 21st Century, I suppose civilization and progress could be a lot worse.

Daniel Ford of Temecula teaches European history at Chaparral High School.

Rob's reply
Ford is yet another apologist who just doesn't like it when anyone dares to criticize Columbus:

>> Rather than appreciate the common purpose that binds us all together as a nation, they been taught to loathe Columbus Day as the shameful dawn of European conquest by genocide. <<

What common purpose would that be: exalting and enriching white people? Oppressing and killing brown people? I ask because with the 2004 election and the ongoing war in Iraq, we're arguably doing these things. We're doing the same as the Europeans began doing in 1492.

>> In America more people live in freedom than any other country during any other time period in history. <<

That's more an artifact of increasing population than increasing freedom. In fact, more people probably live in poverty than in any other time period, too. The gap between rich and poor, the number of people breaking the law, and the population in jail may be greater than those of any country in history also.

If you want to know when the greatest percent of people were free, you'd probably have to go back to before civilization began. Then everyone lived in egalitarian indigenous tribes like those of America's Indians. There were no official laws溶o restrictions on behavior except social pressure. If you didn't like some aspect of your situation, you could simply leave.

>> Well before Columbus' arrival, the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan 覧 a North American tribe 覧 thought it necessary to offer their deities human hearts and, to this end, conquered entire enemy tribes then proceeded to cut them into pieces 覧 sometimes letting them bleed atop the sacred pyramids for months 覧 and feast on their flesh before removing their heart and offering it to their deity; thus, the killings 覧 which sometimes exceeded 1,000 per week 覧 were sanctified. <<

I doubt the Aztecs let people bleed for months揺ow could they live that long?熔r routinely killed 1,000 people per week. See Were the Aztecs Murdering "Animals"? for more on the numerical evidence.

Even if Ford's claims were true, the Aztecs were one culture out of thousands. They weren't representative of America's Indians any more than the Spanish Inquisitors were representative of Europeans.

>> For this reason, the 16th century essayist Montaigne, argued these "noble savages" were in many ways naturally superior to Europeans. <<

Uh, no...I think the noble savage referred to the vast majority of Indians who lived harmoniously with each other and with nature溶ot to the Aztecs.

>> These brutal practices were not unique to the Aztecs. Throughout the pre-Columbian era the Mayans, Toltecs and numerous lesser-known tribes practiced similar bloodletting rituals. <<

The Maya may be the only other major culture that practiced bloodletting rituals. The Toltecs and the "numerous" others evolved into the Maya and the Aztecs, so I'm not sure it's valid to count them as separate cultures.

Bloodletting isn't the same as ritual sacrifice, either. The Maya drew cords through their tongues or penises to draw blood and thus induce a faint-like delirium. This may strike us as "brutal and irrational, but it's not that far removed from taking hallucinogens or piercing and tattooing one's body.

So a handful of related cultures had "brutal" practices while the vast majority of Native cultures didn't. Ford is stereotyping Indians if he thinks they widely engaged in ritual killing.

>> This sacrificial killing and torture, in terms of its sheer brutality, parallels that of the Spanish Inquisition and the which hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries. <<

In terms of brutality, maybe. In terms of how widespread the practices were, how ingrained they were in the continental "culture," there's no comparison. By most measures葉he frequency and scope of wars, for instance勇uropean culture was more brutal overall.

>> These dynamics are the very pulse of our modern society. Even Wal-Mart 覧 one of which just opened at the very site of the once blood-drenched pagan city of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City) 覧 is a virtual testament to the iron will and reckless audacity of expansion in the name of progress, as well as the enterprising spirit that is Christopher Columbus. <<

Yes, Wal-Mart is the culmination of Western civilization, all right...a "virtual testament" to everything we believe in and cherish. See This Ain't No Party:  A Columbus Day Rant for similar thoughts on Columbus Day.

>> With all the criticism of Wal-Mart, and the questionable behavior of such large corporations, I'm not aware of any human sacrifices that are made in the name of Wal-Mart, nor have I heard evidence that the largest corporation in the world is responsible for belching filth into the air, or depleting the ozone layer. <<

Has Ford heard that Wal-Mart is responsible for treating its workers like peons and discriminating against women and minorities?

True, the factories who produce Wal-Mart's wares and the customers who drive long-distance to Wal-Marts are the ones producing the pollution. Wal-Mart is indirectly responsible for these problems if not directly responsible for them.

>> True, Wal-Mart has conquered many of its competitors, but if Wal-Mart, and other mega-corporations are the "conquistadors" of the 21st Century, I suppose civilization and progress could be a lot worse. <<

They also could be a lot better.

In other words, "Columbus shaped our identity" for better and worse. That's all Natives are saying when they criticize Columbus Day celebrations.

I don't think anyone is saying we should treat Columbus like Genghis Khan. But Natives are saying we should recognize Columbus for who he is: someone who crossed the sea seeking gold and Christian converts and began the enslavement and eradication of a whole race.

These are the "facts of history" Ford is referring to. Ford's opinion that Columbus was a harbinger of "civilization and progress" is just that...his opinion.

Related links
Scalping, torture, and mutilation by Indians
Savage Indians
Those evil European invaders
Native vs. non-Native Americans:  a summary

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