THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 7, 1995 TAG: 9511070001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
Regarding ``Columbus Day: A time to celebrate'' (Another View, Oct. 7) by Michael S. Berliner:
Contrary to Mr. Berliner's view, Columbus Day is a time for American Indians to mourn. The genocidal destruction unleashed by Europeans against tribal people on this continent in the name of ``exploration,'' ``discovery,'' ``civilzation'' and Christianity is well-documented history. Sources verifying this history, including Euro-American materials, are abundant.
Columbus himself, for example, wrote a journal about his journeys to the so-called New World. He also described the Arawak and Taino tribal people he encountered:
``They are a gentle and comely people. They are so naive and so free with their possessions that no one who has not witnessed them would believe it. When you ask for something they have, they never say no. To the contrary, they offer to share with anyone. . . . They brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells. . . . They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features. . . . They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves. . . . With fifty men we could subjugate them and make them do whatever we want.''
P. F. MOLIN
Hampton, Oct. 12, 1995 by CNB