History vs. Christopher Columbus - Alex Gendler

Istorija protiv Kristofera Kolumba - Aleks Džendler (Alex Gendler)

Prevodilac: Anja Saric Lektor: Mile Živković

Many people in the United States and Latin America

Mnogi ljudi u SAD i Latinskoj Americi

have grown up celebrating the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's voyage,

odrasli su slaveći godišnjicu putovanja Kristofera Kolumba,

but was he an intrepid explorer who brought two worlds together

ali da li je on bio neustrašivi istraživač koji je spojio dva sveta,

or a ruthless exploiter who brought colonialism and slavery?

ili nemilosrdni eksploatator koji je doneo kolonijalizam i ropstvo?

And did he even discover America at all?

I da li je on uopšte otkrio Ameriku?

It's time to put Columbus on the stand in History vs. Christopher Columbus.

Vreme je da pozovemo Kolumba kao svedoka u Istoriji protiv Kristofera Kolumba.

"Order, order in the court.

"Mir, mir u sudnici.

Wait, am I even supposed to be at work today?"

Čekajte, da li bi ja uopšte danas trebalo da budem na poslu?"

Cough

"Yes, your Honor.

(Kašalj)

"Da, Časni sude.

From 1792, Columbus Day was celebrated in many parts of the United States

Od 1792, Dan Kolumba slavi se u mnogim delovima Sjedinjenih Država

on October 12th, the actual anniversary date.

12. oktobra, na samu godišnjicu.

But although it was declared an official holiday in 1934,

Ali iako je proglašen zvaničnim praznikom 1934.

individual states aren't required to observe it.

pojedine države nisu u obavezi da ga se pridržavaju.

Only 23 states close public services,

Samo 23 države zatvaraju državne službe

and more states are moving away from it completely."

i sve više država ga u potpunosti zaobilazi.

Cough

(Kašalj)

"What a pity.

"Kakva šteta.

In the 70s, we even moved it to the second Monday in October

70ih godina smo ga čak pomerili za drugi ponedeljak u oktobru

so people could get a nice three-day weekend,

kako bi ljudi imali lep produženi vikend,

but I guess you folks just hate celebrations."

ali izgleda da vi ljudi baš ne volite slavlja."

"Uh, what are we celebrating again?"

"Hm, šta mi to zapravo slavimo?"

"Come on, Your Honor, we all learned it in school.

"Ma dajte, Časni sude, svi smo to učili u školi.

Christopher Columbus convinced the King of Spain to send him on a mission

Kristofer Kolumbo je ubedio Španskog kralja da ga pošalje u misiju

to find a better trade route to India,

da pronađe bolji trgovački put do Indije,

not by going East over land but sailing West around the globe.

i to ne idući na istok kopnom, nego ploveći zapadno oko Zemljine kugle.

Everyone said it was crazy because they still thought the world was flat,

Svi su govorili da je to ludo je su i dalje verovali da je Zemlja ravna ploča,

but he knew better.

ali on je znao bolje.

And when in 1492 he sailed the ocean blue,

I kada je 1492. oplovio okean,

he found something better than India:

pronašao je nešto bolje od Indije:

a whole new continent."

čitav novi kontinent."

"What rubbish.

"Kakva glupost.

First of all, educated people knew the world was round since Aristotle.

Prvo i prvo, obrazovani ljudi znaju da je Zemlja okrugla još od Aristotela.

Secondly, Columbus didn't discover anything.

Kao drugo, Kolumbo nije ništa otkrio.

There were already people living here for millennia.

Ljudi su tamo živeli već milenijumima.

And he wasn't even the first European to visit.

A on čak nije bio ni prvi Evropljanin koji ih je posetio.

The Norse had settled Newfoundland almost 500 years before."

Nordijci su naselili Njufaundlend skoro 500 godina ranije."

"You don't say, so how come we're not all wearing those cow helmets?"

"Ma nemoj, i kako to da ne nosimo one kravlje šlemove?"

"Actually, they didn't really wear those either."

"U stvari, ni oni ih nisu nosili zapravo."

Cough

(Kašalj)

"Who cares what some Vikings did way back when?

"Koga briga šta su neki Vikinzi radili Boga pitaj kada?

Those settlements didn't last, but Columbus's did.

Ta staništa nisu potrajala, ali Kolumbo jeste.

And the news he brought back to Europe spread far and wide,

I vesti koje je doneo u Evropu daleko su se raširile,

inspiring all the explorers and settlers who came after.

inspirišući istraživače i doseljenike koji su došli kasnije.

Without him, none of us would be here today."

Bez njega, niko od nas ne bi bio danas ovde."

"And because of him, millions of Native Americans aren't here today.

"I zbog njega milioni domorodaca nisu danas ovde.

Do you know what Columbus did in the colonies he founded?

Znate li šta je Kolumbo radio u kolonijama koje je osnovao?

He took the very first natives he met prisoner

Zarobio je prve domoroce na koje je naišao

and wrote in his journal about how easily he could conquer and enslave all of them."

i napisao je u svom dnevniku kako veoma lako može sve da ih osvoji i zarobi."

"Oh, come on. Everyone was fighting each other back then.

"Ma dajte. Svi su se sa svima borili u to vreme.

Didn't the natives even tell Columbus

Zar nisu domoroci čak rekli Kolumbu

about other tribes raiding and taking captives?"

o drugim plemenima koja su pravila racije i uzimala zarobljenike?"

"Yes, but tribal warfare was sporadic and limited.

"Da, ali plemenska ratovanja su bila sporadična i ograničena.

It certainly didn't wipe out 90% of the population."

Sigurno nisu zbrisala 90% stanovništva."

"Hmm. Why is celebrating this Columbus so important to you, anyway?"

"Hm. Zašto je uopšte obeležavanje Kolumba vama toliko važno?"

"Your Honor, Columbus's voyage was an inspiration

"Časni sude, Kolumbovo putovanje bilo je inspiracija

to struggling people all across Europe, symbolizing freedom and new beginnings.

namučenim ljudima širom Evrope, i simbol slobode i novih početaka.

And his discovery gave our grandparents and great-grandparents

I njegovo otkriće dalo je našim dedama i pradedama

the chance to come here and build better lives for their children.

šansu da dođu ovde i stvore bolje živote za svoju decu.

Don't we deserve a hero to remind everyone that our country

Zar ne zaslužujemo heroja da podseti sve da je naša zemlja

was build on the struggles of immigrants?"

izgrađena na muci imigranata?"

"And what about the struggles of Native Americans

"A šta je sa mukama domorodaca

who were nearly wiped out and forced into reservations

koji su umalo zbrisani i proterani u rezervate

and whose descendants still suffer from poverty and discrimination?

i čiji potomci i dalje trpe siromaštvo i diskriminaciju?

How can you make a hero out of a man who caused so much suffering?"

Kako možete čoveka koji je prouzrokovao toliko patnje da nazivate herojem?"

"That's history. You can't judge a guy in the 15th century by modern standards.

"To je istorija. Ne možete suditi tipu iz 15. veka po modernim standardima.

People back then even thought spreading

Ljudi su u to vreme čak verovali da je širenje

Christianity and civilization across the world was a moral duty."

hrišćanstva i civilizacije po svetu moralna obaveza."

"Actually, he was pretty bad, even by old standards.

"U stvari, on je bio vrlo loš, čak i po starim standardima.

While governing Hispaniola, he tortured and mutilated

Dok je vladao Hispaniolom mučio je i sakatio

natives who didn't bring him enough gold

domoroce koji mu ne bi doneli dovoljno zlata

and sold girls as young as nine into sexual slavery,

i prodavao je devetogodišnje devojčice kao seksualne robinje,

and he was brutal even to the other colonists he ruled,

i bio je brutalan čak i prema drugim kolonijama kojima je upravljao,

to the point that he was removed from power and thrown in jail.

do te tačke da je bio svrgnut s moći i bačen u zatvor.

When the missionary, Bartolomé de las Casas,

Kada je misionar Bartolome de las Kases

visited the island, he wrote,

posetio ostrvo, napisao je:

'From 1494 to 1508, over 3,000,000 people had perished

"Od 1494 do 1508, iščezlo je preko 3,000,000 ljudi

from war, slavery and the mines. Who in future generations will believe this?'"

što od rata, ropstva i mina. Ko će od budućih generacija da poveruje u ovo?"

"Well, I'm not sure I believe those numbers."

"Pa, nisam siguran da verujem u te brojke."

"Say, aren't there other ways the holiday is celebrated?"

"Zar se ovaj praznik ne slavi i na neke druge načine?"

"In some Latin American countries,

"U nekim Latinoameričkim zemljama,

they celebrate the same date under different names, such as Día de la Raza.

slavi se isti datum, ali pod drugačijim nazivom, kao što je Dan trke.

In these places, it's more a celebration of the native and mixed cultures

U tim mestima, više je to slavlje domorodačke i mešane kulture

that survived through the colonial period.

koja je preživela kolonijalni period.

Some places in the U.S. have also renamed the holiday,

Neka mesta u Sjedinjenim Državama su takođe preimenovala praznik

as Native American Day or Indigenous People's Day

u Domorodački dan ili Urođenički dan

and changed the celebrations accordingly."

i promenila i proslavu shodno tome."

"So, why not just change the name if it's such a problem?"

"Zašto se samo ne promeni ime, ako je već toliki problem?"

"Because it's tradition.

"Zato što je to tradicija.

Ordinary people need their heroes and their founding myths.

Običnim ljudima trebaju heroji i njihovi osnivački mitovi.

Can't we just keep celebrating the way we've been doing for a century,

Zar ne možemo jednostavno da nastavimo da slavimo kao što smo radili proteklog veka

without having to delve into all this serious research?

bez udubljivanja u ova ozbiljna istraživanja?

It's not like anyone is actually celebrating genocide."

Nije kao da neko slavi genocid."

"Traditions change, and the way we choose to keep them alive

"Tradicije se menjaju, i način na koji odlučimo da ih održimo u životu

says a lot about our values."

govori mnogo o našim vrednostima."

"Well, it looks like giving tired judges a day off isn't one of those values, anyway."

"Izgleda da davanje slobodnog dana umornim sudijama nije jedna od tih vrednosti."

Traditions and holidays are important to all cultures,

Tradicije i praznici su važni u svim kulturama,

but a hero in one era may become a villain in the next

ali heroj u jednoj eri može postati zlikovac u sledećoj,

as our historical knowledge expands and our values evolve.

kako se naše istorijsko znanje širi i naše vrednosti razvijaju.

And deciding what these traditions should mean today

I odlučivanje šta tradicija treba da predstavlja danas

is a major part of putting history on trial.

veliki je deo stavljanja istorije na sud.