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Position:Home>History> In a college classroom, why are those of who are white?Question: In a college classroom, why are those of who are white!? supposed to admonish ourselves for Columbus' treating American natives like animals while the Hispanic people are not required to feel guilty!? They probably have a closer genetic link to Columbus' nationality than my family ever did!. (I'm a English/Welsh/Irish/Scottish mix!.)Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: That is quite the generalization you are making!. There are many Hispanics who are linked to the the Native tribes in Central and South America (for ex!. Aztec, Mayan, Inca, Olmec, Zapotec, etc!.) White people shouldn't feel guilty!. What happened to the Native people was awful and it was pretty much genocide!. All people, not just white, should know about it!. Columbus just makes me sick!.Www@QuestionHome@Com I've you've got a good teacher, you're not!. My American Culture teacher has been great about talking about how complicated everything is; pretty much no race gets off guilt-free!. There's probably a stronger emphasis on the flaws of white heritage in a lot of classes because in the past these flaws were overlooked and hidden while the flaws of all the other races were exaggerated, so now people feel the need to make up for that!. I think it's pretty stupid to teach the "big bad white man" doctrine, but at least we have historical explanation for why it happens!. :PWww@QuestionHome@Com Uhmm!.!.!.!.!.shaking my head!.!.!. You do know that Columbus was Italian, right!? Most of the folks you refer to as Hispanic are probably Mestito, or mixed blood, meaning they are at least partially related to the Natives, and partly related to the Conquistadores!. As to why "white" folks should feel bad about Columbus!? I don't know!. "Whites" had been busy killing, plundering, raping and enslaving each other for many years before 1492, and the fact that they continued to do so in the New World, sometimes with Native allies, should come as no surprise!. In fact, one might recall that the Natives tended to wage war among themselves, too, quite without European help!. The Spanish were pretty united, and were just finished with a centuries long war to "reconquer" Spain, and thus tended to be pretty warlike and tended to view those of darker skins more negatively than otherwise might have been the case, but that's not really the point!. I don't feel bad for what my Grandfather or father did, let alone what some Italian Captain did six hundred years ago!. I'm not responsible for what those folks did!.Www@QuestionHome@Com |