Last year I wrote a column explaining why Christopher Columbus was a terrorist. The column got mixed reactions and rightfully so. Not everyone was familiar with the truth behind the beloved tyrant. Columbus Day has been celebrated for years because of ignorance to his true history. He is looked at as a brave hero that sailed across the sea to discover America. The fact of the matter is that Columbus was no hero. The real characteristics of Columbus are comparable to people like Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein.

The definition of the word terrorism is “the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.” If you do not think that Columbus could be categorized under this definition, let me explain. There is no doubt that his trip to find India was for “political aims.” In fact, one of the main reasons he was sponsored by Ferdinand and Isabella was because he promised to convert people to Christianity—which was strategic for their expansion and economy. Columbus, without a doubt, could be classified as a terrorist. This might be a tough pill to swallow for people who looked at Columbus as a hero, but these are the facts.

Columbus brutally raped and murdered the inhabitants of islands in the Caribbean. In his personal journal, he wrote about how easy it would be to enslave these native people and make them do whatever he wanted. In today’s world where everyone finds everything offensive, the abolishment of Columbus Day should actually be taken seriously. There is no excuse why we should be celebrating a murderous rapist. What Columbus did was so unlawful that he was actually arrested for his crimes. For some reason, our history books seem to skip over that part. The only place where Columbus should be getting any significant attention is in a genocide studies course.

We celebrate Columbus Day because of falsehoods associated with his phony “legacy.” Columbus never stepped foot on American soil, and he was not the person to discover that the earth was round. Everything that we celebrate about Columbus is a lie. That’s why we need to start calling Columbus what he actually was—an abomination to society.

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