The atrocious homicide of the young African-American George Floyd, on May 25, sparked widespread outrage and opened Pandora’s box of all the discrimination that is perpetrated every day in the world against black minorities.
The resentment of the demonstrators has manifested itself everywhere, not just for the recurring episodes of racism in the civilization of the 21st century.
It is also the celebratory tone with which the violent submission and exploitation of hundreds of millions of men and women has been recounted historically, whose only fault would be that they were not able to defend themselves and repel the European invasion.
Colonial empires have created a good part of their wealth with the use of violence, justified under the pretext of first spreading the Christian religion, then civilization.
The expressions geographical explorations, discovery of other civilizations, great navigators, courageous pioneers, intrepid adventurers still headline entire chapters of European history manuals.
They, voluntarily or unintentionally, morally justify, to the younger generations, the attacks of Europeans against the peoples less capable of using violence and deception.
The genocides of Caesar in Gaul, and Charle Magne against the Saxons, are referred to as campaigns of conquest, while a much larger space occupy the narratives of persecution against Christians in the early centuries of the empire.
Few economic historians have been able to calculate the contribution made by the work of the oppressed to the well-being of the oppressors: Indians, African American slaves, Serfs, English paupers deported to Australia. But, no one escapes the violation of the dignity inflicted on entire peoples, whose heirs, unfortunately, still suffer.
It is not a case of outrage if in San Francisco, Boston, Richmond, etc. the statues of Columbus were targeted, and some demolished, by the demonstrators.
You have to be outraged, however, if the story is told only as the story of the winners, because that’s certainly not how reconciliation, brotherhood and true universal civilization between peoples are promoted.
