By Damon Mosier
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 20, 1997

Columbus column filled with 'self-righteous rhetoric'

Editor:

In response to Maria Del Sagrario Ramirez's commentary on Columbus Day, I would like to say that I am confused and angered. For someone who claims to hold cultural identity in such high regard, I am surprised why she is so bent on denying her own heritage. She refers to North America as "our" land, meaning Native Americans.

She complains about the Europeans coming and destroying her people. By the way, what language do they speak in Mexico? Is it Aztec? No it's Spanish, just like her own name, If you hate Europeans so much for what they did, why don't you change your name and language? That is because your EUROPEAN heritage plays just as big a part in your cultural identity as your native ancestors.

As for your Columbus bashing, try reading a history book before you jump on your soapbox. Columbus never owned a hacienda in the New World, nor led a group of soldiers to conquer an empire. Columbus never even set foot in Mexico. The closest he ever came was Cuba - hundreds of miles away. He is in no way responsible for the bloodthirsty actions of Cortez and Pizarro. Speaking of Cortez, how do you think he conquered Tenochtitlan with only 600 men? By allying himself with the dozens of native tribes ruled by the Aztecs.

The same tribes were butchered, raped, and enslaved by the Aztec Empire long before the Spanish ever landed. The Aztecs were so cruel that they slaughtered their prisoners in religious ceremonies. They would tear the beating hearts out of their captives and then skin them. After this they would actually wear the skin and dance in it. Then they would take the skull and put it on a pike in front of the temple. They eventually had tens of thousands of skulls displayed in this way. What did Columbus do that ever compared to this? And if you don't believe me, look it up in the encyclopedia.

So if you are going to give a history lesson, try knowing all the factors before doing so. Your coupling of Columbus with those greedy conquistadors is unfair.

So please spare us your self-righteous rhetoric and admit that every single race and nation in the history of the world has committed atrocities in the past. So who are you to point the finger.

Damon Mosier
Pre-CS freshman