Weekly Writing Prompt 2: Rethinking Columbus
Prompt: Critique the textbook by uncovering complexity and going below the surface
In Bill Bigelow’s article of Rethinking Columbus: Towards a True People's History, he not only criticizes the Tuscon, Arizona school system for banning his co-written book Rethinking Columbus, but also America’s attempt to hold back the truth about Columbus’s arrival, and to repress the native’s history. History has painted and glorified Christopher Columbus as a hero; he is celebrated, and even has his own day on October 12th, which defaultly shows up on my Macbook calendar. One might claim that Columbus is indeed a hero because without him, there would be no America to begin with. The author of this article would argue otherwise.
In critiquing our textbook’s coverage of the “discovery of the new world”, Bill Bigelow would most likely applaud the efforts of the textbook’s author for mentioning the name of the native’s whom were killed by Columbus, as well as providing details on what had become of their fate. The textbook blatantly describes the actions of Columbus’s men as assault, torture, and kill. It reveals the Taino natives as a peace-seeking group, but tells the readers that there were repercussions for the Tainos upon Columbus’s arrival. However, the textbook is very cautious with its details, and would never directly pin the blame on Columbus. Instead, the textbook would state that “Columbus’s men” were the ones who had done the damage. It even included that Columbus himself noted the natives as generous, and described their generosity as unbelievable. It never mentions how Columbus must have thought of the Tainos as ignorant inferiors; however, there is no solid evidence that he had thought of them that way, and the textbook is only sticking to the actual facts, using real evidence.
This textbook would definitely have Bill Bigelow’s thumbs up for trying.
I agree with the author’s criticism towards the Tuscon, Arizona school system, because it is just not right to repress another race’s history, and is basically racist. He is aware that America is too proud to take the blame for a genocide, and finds it repulsive. The nation does not want the world to see that America was not found by a hero, but by a murderer. America already has a bad record of slavery, why should more weight be added to it? Sure, the winners are the ones who write history, but the history ends up making us ignorant. There is more to the story than we’re told. If we are to become better people, and to build a better world, these stories should not be held back from us.