Dutch 'Black Pete' Christmas custom may be racist, warns UN
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I DO NOT ENDORSE ANY RACISM!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/10393916/Dutch-Black-Pete-Christmas-custom-may-be-racist-warns-UN.html
So basically there is a giant ongoing debacle on wheter or not our country's traditional "Christmas" "mascot"(?) is racist.
Some black tinted people are calling our "saint's helpers" a stereotypical view on slavery.
As a Dutch person who supports my own tradition. I think it's all very silly. People blatantly call it rasicm while the background story "proves" that it's not related to any slavery at all.
Please, DO NOT QUOTE ME ON ANYTHING. I might be explaining this in TERRIBLE ENGLISH.
I want to know your views on the subject. -
"wearing black make-up, curly wigs and with large, painted on red lips."
That is something generally perceived to be racist in general, for hundreds of years that was used as the caricature for black people.
Japan has gotten in trouble even in the last few decades for this kind of portrayal, for the character Mr. Popo in DBZ, as well as Jynx in Pokemon, which were later edited to different skin color.
So while the original intent behind that character may not have been particularly offensive in nature, the blackface makeup is generally in poor taste, and borderline racist per todays standards of decency.
TL;DR: Doesn't seem to be that intentional, but it is a little racist. -
Still, there are Dutch people with a dark tinted skin that also act as the "black pete" and don't have any issue with it at all.
Children with all different kinds of origions don't seem to mind it too.
Then again. they are to young to understand the cocept of "rasicm"
typing this quick -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8X3l_Tt8VE
This is a video that will lighten up the information on Jinx and might be also connected to Popo.
I find it not very racist at all. It is similar to why people dress up like Border Jumping Mexicans During Halloween. <---- Not Racist it is how they call it by name during Halloween. It is just people who just make assumptions on a innocently taken tradition and is turned inside out to make it look worse then it actually is. -
"wearing black make-up, curly wigs and with large, painted on red lips."
A little racist? No its not racist at all. These are traditions countries have had for a long time, just because America made something racist doesn't make everything similar racist.
That is something generally perceived to be racist in general, for hundreds of years that was used as the caricature for black people.
Japan has gotten in trouble even in the last few decades for this kind of portrayal, for the character Mr. Popo in DBZ, as well as Jynx in Pokemon, which were later edited to different skin color.
So while the original intent behind that character may not have been particularly offensive in nature, the blackface makeup is generally in poor taste, and borderline racist per todays standards of decency.
TL;DR: Doesn't seem to be that intentional, but it is a little racist.
Thats like calling Budhists racist for having a reversed Swastaga as a symbol.
Also I was going to link that Sejo.
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New article:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/05/black-pete-race-netherlands?CMP=twt_gu
EDIT: Eh, I mean from a year ago.
EDIT2: And totally scrap that... The Guardian totally screwed it's article.
Black Pete ISN'T a slave. According to Guardian it is... You can quote me on this < -
It's part of dutch culture if you like it or not. Nothing you can do about, if you don't like dutch culture, like many other europeans, you can always leave Holland, except you prefer to stay here because of economical reasons.