So...ole CC wasn't the guy you thought he was eh? Well, that's called education my friends. As it turns out, most people don't know, or don't like to think about, the realities of the Europeans "finding the Americas". Chapter One in our text clearly showed both North and South America was filled with millions of indigenous peoples from at least 2,000 separate tribes. So obviously Columbus did not "discover" anything.
The real trouble with Columbus is the struggle to appropriately memorialize him. It is undeniable that his "glorious fail" in 1492 led to the founding of America. It is also undeniable that he had no idea what he had done and his treatment of the natives was simply atrocious.
For this week's blog, please watch this video and this video. What versions of Columbus' life in the Americas are these videos telling. Which one do you think is the most appropriate? Is either one out of line either by being too harsh or too childish?
I am totally in shock at the comparison of these two videos. They both tell true stories, but are almost the opposite of how they are told. The first video describes him as a cruel man who tested swords on people and used their babies to feed the mongrels that they brought with them. It tells of a man who took young girls away from their family and sold them into the worst possible kind of slavery imaginable. When you think of Christopher Colombus, he is remembered as a good and faithful man to his country who found America only to realize that America was founded by a terrorist. But this is only from the first video. In the second one, it creates a mental image of a creative man who thought the world was round. An image of a man who was looked up to when he got to the Americas. He was showered with gifts from the natives. I don't think they gave this as a gift, but rather as a peace offering and hoping he wouldn't hurt them! Before I watched these videos I had thought more highly of Christopher, but now I see him for the true Devil he was, he was no better than the dogs he brought with him. (216)
ReplyDeleteI can’t believe that the Europeans would slice Native Americans to test the sharpness of their blade. Since Columbus “discovered” America the Native Americans became slaves to the Europeans. It is kind of weird that Columbus day we celebrate the discovery of Columbus that was already discovered. I think it is funny that Columbus claimed the land that had already been taken up by the Natives. I think it is unfair that the Europeans came to America later and treated the Natives unfairly. Apparently to the man that was interviewed in the news video Columbus made love to a 10 year old child from America. Columbus was a greedy man because he sailed to the other islands for wealth and gold. (121)
ReplyDeleteI was disturbed in the two comparisons between the two videos. On one hand the first one talked about the truth of what Columbus did, but the other one acted like Columbus was doing everything right! I can't beleive people put that fake idea into everyone's head! I admit that this shouldn't be taught to kids in the 2'nd grade, but in 5th grade, eventually they must know the true story of Columbus. Columbus was thought of as a good man, but the horrors he did should not be ignored. He killed inocent babies by throwing them to the dogs as food, slaughtered people to test the sharpness of his men's swords, and ended up wiping out many of the natives on the island. It makes me wonder why we even celebrate Columbus day.(134)
ReplyDeletePs: I remember watching that cartoon at my grandfather's house in Indiana! I never paid atention to what the words mean until now, and I never want to see it again!
I have always thought of Christopher Columbus as a good person. My thoughts of him have completely changed after I watched these videos, read the story from last week's blog, and learned even more from the history book. He was the cause of so many Native Americans dying! Some of the reasons why they died like diseases that they brought with them were on accident; they couldn't control that. Testing the sharpness of their swords by slicing Native Americans, and just killing people for fun was such a horrible thing to do! Now when I think of Columbus Day, I don't think of a nice man who discovered America, but I think of a man who killed innocent people! The two videos were very different. The first one shows the cruel side of Columbus, and the second one shows him as being a man who was given gifts and was a pretty nice person. I don't think either of the videos are too harsh or childish, but I think they tell two very different sides of Columbus. It's kind of sad when you realize what we are celebrating on Columbus Day! :( (191)
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ReplyDeleteThe first movie was very detailed about Christopher Columbus. I liked the cartoon better, but it is good to see both sides to the life of Christopher Columbus. The true story of Columbus has been hidden to a lot of people, and maybe there was some good to that, because you wouldn’t want young kids to hear that. I definitely don’t think that second or fifth graders should hear the full story of this explorer’s life. This story in my opinion would be ok for sixth grade or above to watch. After watching the first video my admiration for Columbus has changed. We are making a big deal about what we should do about Columbus Day. I think it is good to know all about Columbus, but it is for the Lord to judge the sins of men. He knows what everybody does and will judge them when they meet him personally. (153)
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing these videos, I am very angry at how Columbus is portrayed to most people. Most poeple think he is the man who "discovered America". They think of him as a brave, courageous man in our nation's history. But Columbus was not at all like that! In fact he was the opposite of that! He was a crude, selfish liar. The second video, the cartoon, made me very upset. Not just with Columbus, even though I am furious with him, but with the people who made the video. All of the teachers that only teach part of the truth. If we only knew part of our nation's history, the good part, then we wouldn't know what made our country strong. And we could repeat the mistakes made. I feel this video lies just as much as Columbus. It's hiding the most important part of the entire story, the truth. Sure, small kids shouldn't be exposed to the entire, gory truth, but as they get older they should all be taught about Columbus' mistakes and the tradgedies of the Natives. Columbus had no right at all to invade the Natives home, much less slauter all 95% of them. Imagine how you would feel if someone claimed your home as theirs, or your children as their dogs' food. You would feel bitter and angry towards them. This is exactly how I feel. Columbus acted like he and his men were better than the Natives. That's not true at all! Everyone is created equal. Even the Bible says so. Romans 12:16. The Bible that Columbus was supposed to be spreading, while he was too busy murdering people for no reason at all. I much agreed with the first video. It showed the true side of Columbus, the side that everyone needs to know. And I do think that we should hold Columbus and his men to the same standards as we do people in the 20th century. Sin is sin and wrong is wrong. The time period doesn't change it. Jesus didn't just die on the cross to save peoples sins from this century, but for everyones. EVERYONE is accountable for their actions. And I think Columbus will have a lot of explaining to do when he sits in front of our holy God one day. (355)
ReplyDeleteWow, these videos are TOTAL opposites. It actually makes me mad as to how most people think of Columbus, who only think that he "discovered" America. In the cartoon video it portrays him as a genius man who sang stupid songs and his life seemed wonderful. Just an innocent man doing nothing wrong. Obviously you don't tell young children the details of the cruel things he really did, but it should be known that he is not someone who should be looked up to. We know that all he truly wanted was the fame and the fortune so he must be so selfish and barbaric as to not care about others. What real "hero" would feed babies to dogs, cut people in half, and use innoncent girls as prostitutes? Columbus is proven to be heartless. Both videos tell the truth, but from different perspectives. You can continue to see Columbus as a hero or realize he is just the opposite. So what are we really celebrating on Columbus Day? A real hero who discovered the country we live in or just another man who just happened to fall upon America with a wicked spirit? Why are we honoring a criminal? (200)
ReplyDeleteOkay, Okay, You can look at Christopher and say he was a bad and selfish man. But look at some of the leaders of the nations all around the world today! These same things are happening today as they were back then. And it is getting the same response. Silence. No one is trying to stop them, no one is trying to defend the people from these tyrants. You see rebellions all around the world and hear stories about how the government is shooting their people down like dogs! So yes, we CAN look back to our history, we CAN look back and say that the worst has passed. Or we can learn from our history and make a change in the world today. Whats the point in history if we don't learn from it? So this Columbus day, let it be a time that we remember the horrible past, and look to a better future.
ReplyDeleteWow, these videos were nothing alike. It still makes me mad how Columbus gets all the credit for finding America and not the Indians. Even though both videos were obviously different, they both had some truth in them. The first video was sad to me because, I could see how Wanbli Tate had felt for his people. The second video however, was kid friendly. I still do not see how Christopher Columbus is a “hero”. He didn’t do anything except, let his people feed babies to dogs, used girls as prostitutes, and cut people in half, just to see how sharp their sword was. It did not tell how Christopher Columbus had treated the Indians and how cruel he was towards them. I think that more schools should teach about what Christopher Columbus has done to the Indians. Just not the guy who had discovered America. (146)
ReplyDeleteThese vidoes talked about the same person, but yet they are nothing alike. You would think they would be almost the same considering they were talking about the same person. In the first one it told the hard cold truth. That Colombus wasn't the first one to discover America, and he did kill babies to feed to dogs. Don't even to mention killing hundreds to test the sharpness of his swords, and the first person to take helpless Natives away from the only home they knew. Of course most people don't want to hear that stuff so they go along with the secound video. The secound video made him sound like a hero to everyone. It left out all the horrible things that he did, and I believe that most schools do take out the horrible things Columbus did. I feel that people need to hear the first video rather then the secound one. Even through they both are true the first one gives you all the details of what he did, and doesn't leave out things that would make him look bad. I know that Colombus isn't the only one who did bad things in his life. I just don't see when he ever turned around and said this is not what God wants me be. All I see is a man who just kept doing what he was doing to get as rich as he could.(236)
ReplyDeleteI am starting to not like Chriatopher Columbus. With all of the things we talk about him I think he is horible. He "discovered" America acccidentaly and killed many people porposly and he even killed them with disease. I have never heard about what they did the the women and girls. I wish he called the natives something else because now I dont know what to call the peolpe from India. In the second video it mentioned the Columbus was the one who said the world was round. I thought some people already believed that the world was round. The man interviewed in the first video, I thought, was really good. He compared Columbus to other "heros" like Andrew Jackson and even Abraham Linoln in the fact that they all had an act of hatred and murder against natives. The videos were very good and taught me something I didn't know about Columbus. (152)
ReplyDeleteit is so strange that we even have a day celebrating columbus discovery. i think both of these videos are very biased in there opinions. the first video has truth to it but they have a native america talking on it of course he is going to call columbus evil the man is responsible for genocide of his people. the second video is supposed to be used as a teaching tool. it makes it all dorky like its some kind of messed up. veggie tales video. this one is defiantly more appropriate for children. So yes they are very out of line 103
ReplyDeleteBased on what I have seen Christopher Columbus is a fraud. In the first video he was put on the spot. He was considered the "Hitler" of the 15th century. He was a terrible man for many reasons like how he sold young girls, cut natives in half, and so much more. To be more specific, when his soldiers’ swords didn’t cut a native in half they would sharpen the sword. In the second video he was shown as being as the best explorer ever and even praised with his own holiday. People saw him as a hero that discovered America, when really, he wasn’t. Should we celebrate Columbus Day or not? I think that if what I have seen is true I don't think we should celebrate Columbus Day. The cartoon video is way to simple and doesn’t talk about the stuff he did. I think the first video is the best one that describes him the best.(159)
ReplyDeleteAfter the things I've heard about Christopher Columbus I can never think the same about him again. The was he would sell young women and use babies to feed his dogs! That guy was seriously messed up in too many ways. I like the analagy that the man on the first video used. Columbus pretty much stole all the credit for America even though there were already here! I also like the way he compared it to Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears. He killed people on this trail and Columbus would just kill natives to test his sword. Thats pathetic! The first video tells the best true story. I like the title of it. After seeing all of this I don't think we should celebrate Columbus day. The second video I am lost for words on. (148)
ReplyDeleteOkay, I am having Christopher Columbus info overload! haha I think it's amazing all of the different things I have learned from last weeks article to this weeks videos. Some people are really going at it with Columbus! But it is understandable why. Last week, we learned that Columbus lied to his crew, which seems like a tiny speck compared to this video's information. Of course I agree with everyone else saying that feeding babies to dogs, cutting people in half, and mistreating young girls is wrong;anyhow, I think of it like this: God allowed it to happen. Of course He didn't like it happening or endorse it, but He knew what was going on and how to handle it. God ALWAYS knows what is right, and He knew what He was doing. Does this make these cruel, harsh things acceptable? By all means no. No one should ever be treated like this. But it did occur and might have altered some things that we don't even know about. It reminds me of things going on nowadays. Some people might watch the first video and think what Columbus did was absolutely awful but be completely okay with abortion. Huh you never thought of it that way? That's just my two cents worth on that. Oh and I also think that we should be taught this, just at the right time. It's kinda like the Grimm Brothers' Stories. I personally liked the second one better. I'm not a supporter of controversy:) I think that it would be perfect for little kids to watch on Columbus Day or in history class, but eventually we should learn the other part of the story. And we can thank our amazing history teacher Mr. Haston for revealing the TRUTH to us:) hahaha (298)
ReplyDelete~1DirectionNiall4eve:)~
P.S. The guy in the first video reminded me of Willie Nelson! Anyone else????
Ikr!! thats exactly what i thought!! :)
DeleteOh and like I said before, Christopher Columbus day is on my bday so instead of thinking of him, you can remember meee!! haha jus kidding:)
ReplyDelete~1DirectionNiall4eve:)~
Wow. Most of these things about Columbus have really surprised me considering I have been told LIES for years. For example, I look back on being taught about Columbus the guy who discovered America and I think that I would have rather been told the truth than being lied to for a long time. Although, most of what Columbus said and did to the Natives was very graphic and not suitable for young children. I mean being told that babies were turned into dog food, or cutting someone in half to test the sharpness in your knife or even selling young 9 or 10 year olds as prostitutes would most definitely scare a 7 year old , but that doesn’t mean you can’t tell the truth in a different way. You could always leave out those details and tell just the basis of the story. I honestly think that neither of the videos would be good for children to watch. The first one gives a little too much information on how Columbus and his crew treated people, but the second video tells some truth but it also makes Columbus look like a good person who did nothing to hurt the Natives which is a lie. Right now I don’t think that Columbus deserves his own holiday or any of these cities or countries named after him. He did nothing except make the Americas known to the people in Europe and other parts of the world. And he also happened to kill a lot of people along the way. I think that giving Columbus the Hitler in the 15th century title would be a bit too harsh. (And if he was the Hitler of the 15th century, and Columbus did come before Hitler, wouldn’t Hitler be called the Columbus of the 20th century? Sorry over-thinking it) There are many other people on the world worse off than Columbus. In fact, some people and some things happening in the world right now make Columbus look like a little speck in America’s history, but that still does not justify anything that Columbus did. Lastly, I think that these things that Columbus did are happening all around the world every day. Like abortion, Columbus killed the babies and made them into dog food. Okay, so millions and millions of unborn babies are killed every year but we are criticizing Columbus for doing basically the same thing…kind of. I know that we don’t believe in abortion, but a lot of people outside our faith do. I really wonder if people who do believe in abortion find what Columbus did a bad thing cause if they do, would they be hypocrites. I think so..(448)
ReplyDeleteSorry. That was really llloonngg. Whoa
Wow ok everyone in their blog was talking about how Columbus is different and stuff but that wasn't the question. So I am going to answer the question. These videos were both very interesting...The first video was like a news report and i completely agreed with it. And the second video was a cartoon which was basically a lie. We have always been taught to never lie so why do historians do it now about Columbus. All these kids are saying "Wow he's my hero he discovered America" when all I'm saying is "He's such a jerk!" Why would he kill someone just to sharpen his sword? In reality we are shown that things are not always what they seem. And now I know I've been told lies about Columbus. If you ask me I am not celebrating "Columbus Day."(141)
ReplyDeleteP.S. The songs were kind of annoying on the cartoon....wow lies and annoying singing could it get any worse?
I never would have known that in fifty years of Columbus “discovering America” that not a single native inhabitant could be found on the island of Hispaniola. And they never teach that he was the first slave trader in America. They also never tell you that he chopped up humans as dog food. In the entire RT video, everything they mention that Columbus did was wrong. Like it said in the cartoon, people lived on both sides of the world; nonetheless, they didn’t know what the people on the other side looked like. I think the first video is a true depiction of who Columbus really is, and the second video is a little childish. I have changed my view on many monuments and historical things and this has totally changed my view on Columbus and all that he stands for to me.(143)
ReplyDeleteChristopher Columbus was crazy and belonged in a mental hospital in my opinion. He chopped "Indians" in half just to see if his sword was sharp enough, and he fed babies to dogs. Am I the only one that sees something wrong with this picture? Columbus was a murderer, liar, selfish jerk, idiot, insensitive, GREEDY, and really creepy! He did things to 10 year old girls that shold NEVER be done to anyone that age, and he treated the Natives like crap. Or actually, WORSE than crap. I can not believe people teach kids that Christopher Columbus was an amazing guy and he was so smart and knew everything there is to know about the world! COLMBUS WAS A SICK MAN! (and not in a good way either!) I can not believe anyone could do that to somebody! Columbus had to have been literally retarded to do that to somebody and not have any sorrow, guilt, grief, or regret whatsoever! (153)
ReplyDelete(P.S.: You have to show everyone my profile pic! Its hilarious!!! PLEEEEEEEAAAAASE!!!!!!!
Okay obviously this is late so even though this doesn't count for the grade I wanted to contribute to this discussion. Anyways, I haven't really thought much about Columbus before now. I just thought he's just a long-dead explorer from around 500 years ago, and I was so wrong. I didn't realize how much he has influenced society today. I don't think young children should be taught the worst details until they are older, but I think he should be recognized as an explorer. He is not a hero, personally, I think he is nothing but a pig. Yes it's harsh, but the things he did are absolutely vile. It disgust me to even think about it! He treated his animals better than he treated the natives. He cut them in half to test the sharpness of his sword, let's go into that a little; didn't they have trees and plants they could chop open instead of living beings with souls? There is absolutely NO excuse to do that or feed babies to animals or use young girls as prostitutes. It is just plain sick. However; it's not our place to judge him. As some people mentioned earlier God is the only person who can judge him, and while that doesn't take away from the audacity of his horrendous crimes it does remind us that we need to trust God in everything.
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In those two videos overall may have looked like they supported the same thing but once you watched them both closely I realized it really had two different perspectives: one, colmbus day is celebrating a murderer and the issue of murder, or two, columbus came, saw, and conquered without too much trouble. I think the second version was appropriate for kids but that the first video was more realistic and educational. It just was educational for and older group of people(eigth graders). I think the first document was the most accurate and the best.
ReplyDeletesorry that it was late but it wouldn't let me publish it @ first
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