The Black Pete worries are more a PC thing as I see it, than what I know as REAL HONEST TO HATE RACISM. There's a bit of racism in us all, some more than others. But Black Pete is what Americans would see as Santa's Helper, an Elf.
Come on man, grow up ,and stop this PC crap.
I saw this article and I disagree with it and all the writers who,
1. lump all racism into one big racism bucket; racism is not the same in every case since we are all racist, just in differing degrees, and
2. it smacks of trying to be PC, to be woke and appeal to people of color; to say all Black Face is racist is not smart, and packed with that statement, I doubt if the writers really understand the experience of racism, and the black experience in America where THE baseline for racism was established with our mode of slavery.
"This country with a colonial history has a blackface problem"
By Rob Picheta, CNN Updated 9:09 AM ET, Sat November 30, 2019
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/30/europe/belgium-blackface-colonial-history-intl/index.html
Simply put, no, Rob is wrong.
Who is Black Pete, Holland's Santa Helper? I've studied the Black Experience in America since 1968.
How much have you studied of racism and the Black Experience? America KNOWS racism better than any other country in terms of how deep seated it is and how pervasive it is in our history of violence against Black people. America is the expert source to define racism.
Black Pete is NOT racism as I know it in America, or even as it occurs world wide. In this blog we will limit ourselves to hate of black skinned people, OK?Black Pete, because his face is black, is not a belittling image. He is African!
Stretch Black Pete to fit stereotyping or bias, but not flat out American, solid, real, KKK, White Nationalism racism.
Yes, I know about Nazis in German and other racists national cohorts. They do not hold a candle to America's racism.
Come on man! Holland cannot hold a candle to American racism where black people were enslaved for generations, murdered, raped, used like cattle (Human Chattel), lynching, mass murders, slaughter, rape, stop n frisk, police brutality, and on and on and on. The White Nationalists of 2019 America is clearly bigger than the racism in Holland.
There are degrees of racism everywhere and it is against people of all kinds,, all colors, all sexual preferences, all genders, all religions, all beliefs. America win, however, when it comes to hating black people, by a mile!
Black Face in Holland's Christmas tradition is not to show black people are silly and dumb as is done in America or, perhaps wherever the writer for Aljazeera is rom. Rather, Black Pete is a helper, a good person, and not a lesser human than any of Santa's Elves.
Rest your guilt on yourselves, you too Micah Garen,
"Zwarte Piet: Black Pete is 'Dutch racism in full display'"
Protesters have rallied against the Dutch blackface tradition, but many still refuse to see how it is deeply offensive.
by Micah Garen, Marie-Helene Carleton & Justine Swaab
It is a very thin line between racism and human rights, so why not speak out against Saudi Arabia's human rights record while cricicizing Holland for a tradition that is over a hundred years old.
"25 Surprising Facts about Christmas in the Netherlands"
November 27, 2017 September 22, 2019, LAST UPDATED ON September 22, 2019
https://everydaywanderer.com/christmas-in-the-netherlands
"Christmas in the Netherlands Fact #8 – Rather than elves, Sinterklaas has helpers called Zwarte Piet (Black Peter). They dress in 16th-century clothes featuring a large, ruffled collar.
Christmas in the Netherlands Fact #9 – Traditionally, Zwarte Piet is black because he’s of North African descent. Some will say that his face is black from climbing down chimneys to deliver presents for Sinterklaas. Either way, the idea of Zwarte Piet has been called racist by some, so many Zwarte Piet have evolved from full blackface to a few soot marks."
So there you have it. I hope you can clear your ignorant minds of your own guilt and realize the difference between Holland's Christmas tradition, and your particular guilt, and, shall we admit it, your racism.
To repeat, Black Face in Holland is for a Santa Helper from Africa, not a slave in America.
Just one more article.
"Why blackface is still part of Dutch holidays"
The debate over Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), explained.
By Christophe Haubursin Updated Dec 6, 2017, 12:57pm EST "
https://www.vox.com/videos/2016/12/1/13802944/blackface-dutch-christmas
"According to the legend, St. Nicholas (Sinterklaas in Dutch) lives in Spain, arrives in Holland by boat every year with a team of black assistants in tow, and spends a month delivering presents to children across the country. Ever since the release of a children’s book in 1850, however, that myth has included a black caricature named Zwarte Piet, or Black Pete.
So is Black Pete racist? Clearly, yes. [I disagree a lot, but it's this writer's opinion. Perhaps Christophe has a lot of experience with USA form of slavery and lynching. He must know what he is talking about.I spent part of my childhood in Belgium, growing up with this tradition, and I’ve heard a lot of excuses that try to justify continuing the tradition. Some people say Black Pete doesn’t have black skin; instead, he’s just covered in soot from delivering presents through the chimney. Others say he’s St. Nicholas’s friend, and has never been a slave caricature. But historically, none of the defenses really hold up."
This writer says, clearly, yes it is racist. If I grant it is racist, then at its worst this form of racism is more a bias than mean spirited let's lynch kind of racism. It is not the racism that says all blacks are monkey-like and dumb as Black Face was intend in the USA.
