Oh America, land of the free and the home of those who really need to know they’re overstepping. Where every human being is guaranteed their unalienable rights and freedom to live their lives as they choose. Sounds pretty nice right? Well, what if I told you that the ride to what this noble land is today was not as glorious as it sounds?

I’ll start with an analysis. Every child has had to face the horrifying experience of “sharing”. Maybe it was with a sibling or a friend, but the harsh reality was, after you let someone else borrow that toy, you weren’t getting it back in the same conditions as it was before.

It sounds silly, I know, but we all know the feeling of losing or damaging something. However, if there is something I’m sure most of us can’t relate to, it would be some strange-looking white dude showing up on your property, using a language you have never heard, and infecting you and the people you know with fatal diseases.

So now it comes down to this, Christopher Columbus, a man so wonderful that he has his own holiday. But, why would we celebrate a man who brought forth the death and robbery of the native people?

Whoop-de-doo he “discovered” (and I say that in quotes because let’s recall that our ol’ pal Chris couldn’t even navigate correctly), someone else’s land, claimed it as his, and destroyed the natives’ home.

If that weren’t enough, the pièce de rèsistance lies in the complete salt in the wound such a day is for the native people. Columbus is literally the domino that started the downfall of their perfectly contented existence, with more white dudes showing up like Chris to continue to decimate their land and tribes.

After being constantly lied to and betrayed by the people who look an awful lot like the original invader from the outsider, Native Americans have every right to scream when “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue” haunts their dreams.

Even since then, life is not easy for nearly every Native American. Practically no one ever has driven past a reservation and gone “Wow, it’s so beautiful here!” because shocker, the future leaders of America ended up giving those who were here first the smallest armpits of America.

To anyone who thinks there’s nothing wrong with celebrating a man who caused so much pain for a single group of people, go ahead, you know what they say, ignorance is bliss, right? Well, how about we wise up and stop glorifying the cause of such destruction, and rather honor the indigenous people who then and now have faced unimaginable trials due to Columbus’ discovery.