Same Old New World

Yesterday ,I was one song into my morning broadcast when the phone rang. It was a disgruntled listener calling to ask me what I was going to do about Columbus Day.

" Do? I have to go to work, then I'll be back on-air in the evening."

"No, man. Millions of people died and you gotta do something. You ain't doing nothin. I ain't heard you say nothin' 'bout Columbus and all the dead people."

Fuck. It's 7:05 AM , 2006. I have completely forgotten about righting the perceived wrongs of 1492 and thereafter. Boy, I sure am remorseful about that.

"That was 600 years ago. There's nothing I can do about Columbus."

I don't speak Spanish, but I recognize profanity when I hear it. After some swearing, I was told, in English, that I needed to respect the cultures and beliefs of others. This is pretty ironic- I'm playing Reggae and Celtic music while some idiot is telling me exactly what I'm supposed to say in regards to the slaughtered island peoples of the 15th and 16th century.

I am supposed to apologize, he says.

Fuck off.
I hang up, but I stew on it for a considerable time.

If you want me to respect your culture, don't call me at 7 am and curse at me in Spanish.
Don't tell me what I need to say.
Don't put words into my mouth that I didn't utter.
Don't ask me to return lands and fortunes that I don't own. I can barely pay my rent- I have nothing to offer as reparation for specific misdeeds of 600 years ago.

I'm not going into the history of The New World here, but the Europeans would've eventually settled the Americas regardless of Columbus- this hating of Columbus is a useless waste of time in my book.

I'm not saying that any one culture is inherently superior to any other, but some cultures have better weapons, more power and more wealth than others , and that, historically, is how things get worked out.
You don't have to like it, but it's true.

Right or wrong, it's a little late to get upset about it now. There's very little productivity in harboring a grudge for generations, no matter how egregious the initial wrong.

Can you think of any nations where an ancient ancestral feud is still considered a valid reason to kill another human being?

A few:
-Iraq.
-Afghanistan.
-Sudan.
-Korea.

Hmmm... a lot of these Celtic ballads seem to address issues of war, oppression and rebellion- is there some sort of historical significance to this?
From listening to the music, you'd think that the Irish had a rough go of it in the past...Columbus must've really done a number on them.
I have Irish blood- somebody owes me an apology!

If I don't get my apology, I'll call a DJ and start swearing in Gaelic.