Celebrating Columbus

“They [the Arawak] are the best people in the world and above all the gentlest – without knowledge of what is evil – nor do they murder or steal…they love their neighbors as themselves and they have the sweetest talk in the world…always laughing…They are very simple and honest and exceedingly liberal with all they have, none of them refusing anything he may possess when he is asked for it. They exhibit great love toward all others in preference to themselves…They would make fine servants. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”

– From Christopher Columbus’ journal. Thanks to Subhash Kateel who writes in his blog, “I have gotten so tired of spending every Columbus Day trying to tell people that celebrating Columbus Day is just an awful thing to do.”