Dear Editor: Boodan guilty of ‘donkey logic’ and ‘horrible misrepresentation’ in Columbus arguments


“Q: If we remove all artefacts of our colonial past, who gets to determine what we replace it with?

“A: Duh…We do! And we must make it clear that we do not venerate the protagonists of genocide, slavery, indentureship and apartheid in this land and don’t believe that any of its citizens should have to walk past a monument paying tribute to anyone who murdered and raped your ancestors…”

The following response to Trinidad Express column ‘From Columbus to Kim Jung Un’ by Darryn Boodan—which claimed to be ‘puzzled’ by the downplaying of Christopher Columbus’ achievement by an ‘angry mob’—was submitted to Wired868 by Anderson Mitchell of the Cross Rhodes Freedom Project (CRFP):

Photo: The Christopher Columbus statue in Port of Spain was defaced again on either 13 or 14 June 2020.
(via CRFP)

It’s me—one of your hippy dippy friends from the ‘Angry Mob’. You used to be on the right side of history: what happened?

You got so many things correct though:

  • Columbus is pretty much guilty of everything he is accused of;
  • He wasn’t motivated by exploration and knowledge;
  • Cross Rhodes and others are not wrong to seek the removal of these monuments;
  • You made reference to other monuments being taken down all over the world.

Does the Port of Spain City Corporation really need to think ‘long and hard’ about removing a racist statue of a mass murderer, sex trafficking, slave-master, and genocidal maniac, who engaged in an absurd process of renaming other peoples lands and who died thinking he discovered India when he was in an entirely different part of the world?

No… No, they don’t. This is a no-brainer, and the complexities of the past have nothing to do with it. This is about doing what is right for the present and the future!

You quoted Neil DeGrasse Tyson on the Joe Rogan show who said that: “Him coming to America was the most significant thing to ever happen in our species.”

Photo: Christopher Columbus leads a Spanish mission to the “new world”.
(Copyright Latina American Studies)

You neglected to mention that this was the only good thing Neil was able to say about the tyrant implying that he thought that it was a good thing. It would be useful to recall that Tyson, also referred to Columbus as a ‘d**k’.

I get it though. It makes you seem more credible if you can make it sound like smart people agree with you.

Did you really need to horribly misrepresent Tyson and the CRFP to prove your point? The Cross Rhodes Freedom Project does not want to ‘tear down’ the Columbus Statue. The organisation has explicitly stated its desire to see it moved uptown and delicately installed in our museum.

Does it really make it okay to honour Columbus, because genocide, brutality and slavery existed in other places? It’s just part of our history.

By this donkey logic, the Cathedral should house statues of Satan because he is part of Christian history—never mind that outsiders might misconstrue who and what the congregation is worshiping and glorifying.

So Boods, let me help you answer the irrelevant questions of your article right here:

Q: Who gets to determine what narratives form the ideas of our history?

A: We just want the truth, and want to do what is right and just.

Photo: A “tribute” to explorer Christopher Columbus.

Q: If we remove all artefacts of our colonial past, who gets to determine what we replace it with?

A: Duh…We do! And we must make it clear that we do not venerate the protagonists of genocide, slavery, indentureship and apartheid in this land and don’t believe that any of its citizens should have to walk past a monument paying tribute to anyone who murdered and raped your ancestors.

Q: Will it stop at statues? Will books, paintings and buildings be next?

A: This is proof that you simply don’t understand the situation here. Buildings are private property. I don’t care what happens on the premises. Books and paintings are freedom of expression and speech. Paint what you want, write what you want, say what you want. I don’t care!

In fact you can have a Columbus statue in your house if you want! Not in shared, public spaces.

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5 comments

  1. Anderson Mitchell is a liar! Columbus is not guilty of any of the things he’s been accused of! He murdered, enslaved, tortured, raped, and mutilated no one. He was a staunch defender of Amerindians! See here:
    http://www.officialchristophercolumbus.com
    https://www.regnery.com/9781684511525/debunking-howard-zinn/
    https://knowcolumbus.org/
    https://orderisda.org/?s=Columbus
    Columbusthetruth.org
    https://www.dailysignal.com/?s=Christopher+Columbus
    https://thefederalist.com/?s=Columbus
    https://thefederalistpapers.org/?s=Christopher+Columbus
    https://www.frontpagemag.com/search/?query=christopher%20Columbus
    pjmedia.com
    DenniePrager.com
    YAF.org
    DailyWire.com
    CollegeFix.com
    nas.org
    DissidentProf.com
    theahi.org
    Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem by Carol Delaney
    Why the Left Hates America by Dan Flynn
    48 Liberal Lies about American History and A Patriots History of the United States by Larry Schweikart
    Columbus and the Crisis of the West by Robert Royal
    The True Unbiased Story of Christopher Columbus by Joseph Scafetta
    Columbus the Hero, Columbus Day vs. Indigenous People’s Day, and Columbus and the Catholic Church by Rafael
    Courage and Conviction: The True Story of Christopher Columbus (documentary)
    http://www.KOFC.org
    People who attack Columbus like Anderson Mitchell want to delegtimize the very existence of the United States. They want people to believe this country was never great, and needs to be born again as a communist utopia! It’s not abiut Folumbus it’s about hating America!

  2. Ummm excuse me but… whonis Anderson Mitchell?

    • The guy who pwnd your bad faith arguments so hard that you needed to block him on facebook

      • Calling people names proves nothing, Mitchell, except that you are an intellectual troglodyte!

        • Christopher Columbus was NOT a racist! This is how he described the Amerindians!
          “I warned my men to take nothing from the people without giving something in exchange”
          “in the world there are no better people or a better land. They love their neighbors as themselves, and they have the sweetest speech in the world and [they are] gentle and always laughing.”
          “who could be more easily freed and converted to our holy faith by love than by force”
          “These were the most beautiful men and women I have seen : stout , lusty and very pleasant .”
          “the handsomest men and most beautiful women”
          [referring to the selling of nine year and ten year old girl sex slaves] “ a terrible calumny by turbulent persons”
          Columbus adopted a native boy who was the son of a chief he befriended, he freed two slave girls given to him by another tribe and sent them off with gifts after bathing and clothing them, willingly took six natives with him, five of which he took to Spain and baptized as Christians which made them ineligible for slavery under Spanish law, let one who learned Latin quickly off his ship to teach it to other natives, and hung Spaniards who abused the indigenous Americans! Boycott Liar Anderson Mitchell and his organization., Cross Rhodes Freedom Project!

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