pek1 said:
Rose Immortal,
GalaxyAngel wasn't making a racist comment. Unfortunately, it's people such as yourself that request proof, time and time again and refuse to believe the proof that has been presented, the same information, time and time again. The proof is a matter of public record. I suggest you look it up for yourself. While you're at it, look up the "Trail of Tears" and see what you come up with.
If there is anyone on this website that is Native American or knows anyone who is, send them in RI's direction, as she is needing to be educated.
I am perfectly aware of what the Trail of Tears is, and it was absolutely inexcusable. My father lived in Oklahoma; there's no way to be descended from someone who lived in that state and not know what it is. What's happened in the past cannot be changed. It is right to learn about what happened, but as with everything in the past, it is irreversible and the best we can do is move forward in THIS time. That is what I was referring to with my previous comment, and I apologize to everyone who had to read pek1's attempt to bend it around into something it was not.
pek1, I truly resent your attempt to paint me as a racist when all I am trying to do is to make sure I have all of the facts about things BEFORE I make my final decisions about anything. Endymion's got it exactly right, so obviously your distorted view of me does not go uncontested--even by others. This is not the first time you have made a) blanket statements about groups I or other members of this board happen to belong to, or b) made wildly inaccurate comments about people that turned out to be way off base once you slowed down enough to think it through, or were called out on it by others. Your hands are not clean.
Unlike you, RedFox did exactly the kind of MATURE thing I was hoping for in my posing the question about the Vikings--kindly took the time to provide some extremely interesting reading about the discovery of Viking ruins in Newfoundland. That was something I genuinely enjoyed, as well as finding it educational.
About the topic of this thread, the claims that China may have discovered America, I will be very interested to read more as that debate continues to develop. The jury is still out. I certainly don't dismiss it as impossible, but with something so massive as a journey that far across the Pacific Ocean, I have a feeling that more than just this single map and the written accounts would show up to corroborate this theory. Maybe they will someday--especially since I'd figure any fleet taking that kind of village would have to be even better-provisioned than Columbus', considering the greater distances involved. So I would imagine there's more to be found...could be coins, official manifests of the ships involved (the Chinese kept very good records--I would not be surprised if this was found with a voyage of that scale), maybe even wreckage from ships that didn't make it...or maybe even bodies buried on North American soil. If this theory does start to really come together conclusively, I think some of these kinds of things will be found. If not, I don't think there'll be any way to say whether or not it happened.
We now do accept that the Vikings landed here. But if you read the site RedFox provided, you'll notice that there was reasonable doubt about the Sagas until the settlements--the physical evidence--were found. The same standard has also been applied in Europe with the city of Troy described in the Iliad. Until Heinrich Schliemann actually located its ruins, Troy's reality was doubted as well. But if a thing did happen, the evidence will turn up eventually. That's the standard I apply across the board regardless of who or what is involved when it comes to history.
I have finished what I have to say, and I am through with you, pek1, and through with this thread, which I will not revisit. I will let my words now--and the fact that I will KEEP the promise I have just made--speak for themselves.
