In case you missed it, there is a huge debate going on different levels of our society in the Netherlands, around the famous figure of Black Pete!
Who is part of the Dutch holiday Sint Nicolas, what is celebrated each year on 5/6 December. And if you look at the picture then you might see the discussion point in a nutshell.It's about the color of the skin.
So there is one group who grew up with this tradition, who wants the color of Black Pete to stay Black. And there is another group standing up saying that Black Pete is racism. And these two group clash against each other. But this video below here will explain more about the situation in the Netherlands.
Now what are the arguments for black pete?
- It's a tradition and there for it can't be changed!
- It's for the children!
- He is black because of the chimney, he goes threw to bring presents.
- I grew up with black pete and im not a racist!
- You are making problems while there is no problem, you are the racist and not us!
- I know a black person and he don't mind it at all!
- Always play the victim role!
- There are the worst thing in the world to worried about, why are you not thinking of that?
- What is next? You against Jew cookies, Negro kisses, white custard?
- And if Black Pete must go, who must replace him?
So all the above arguments are used to stand for Black Pete, with one huge difference, that the majority in the Netherlands are using this in numbers. This means, if there is a article on facebook regard Black pete, then the re are more comments for black pete, then against black pete. What makes sense of course because it's a dutch tradition and the majority of the Dutch citizen grew up with Sint Nicolas, they don't want to change that. Even the Dutch president don't want to change that.
And the debate around Black pete when even to the court, and the judge rejected the ban of Black Pete. This happen last week, right before Sint Nicolas came into the country.
Because every year around three weeks before 5/6 December, comes Sint Nicolas into the country on a steam boot, with Black pete. That always happen on a Saturday and every city in the Netherlands, arange their own Sint Nicolas and their own Black Petes. So it's not like one Sint Nicolas will travel to every city, no every city deliver their own entertainment, to say it like that.
The story goes like this, Sint Nicolas lives in Spain with his Black petes, and around the end of November he comes with the boot to the Netherlands, and then stay here to celebrate his birthday on 5 December, and he died on 6 December. His helper is Black pete who supposed to watch the kids the whole year and write everything down in the book of Sint Nicolas, when a kid is nice then he gets a present and if he is bad then Black pete brings him back to Spain.
And this story was created in 1850 by a teacher called Jan schenkman, probably to outsmart kids, to make sure that they listen to the parents and do what's needed to be done on schools. So since those days are generations learning this tradition till the day of today, that when good until color people came to the Netherlands in the 70!
The Surinam people where the first color people who came in numbers to the Netherlands, and then they witness for the first time to live in the Netherlands, and see the reactions of people towards them, and around Black pete.
So let's take a look at the arguments against Black Pete:
- Children and other people call colored people Black Pete! Here is a video of a store what made a Barack Obama doll as Black pete.
They made Black Pete look like a colored person and openly use that in pictures. This is a Dutch politician who fight against racism, Sylvana Simons.
The society is learning children the wrong morals.
What if people use the star of the Jews to ridicule the Jewish genocide?
Black pete was originated in 1850 by a Dutch teacher, in the time of slavery, what was forbidden in 1863!
Keep in mind that the Netherlands kept the Dutch colonies till far in the 70s, and that the colored man was not really free, and was living in apartheid. What was almost the same as in South Africa, what was also under Dutch control, and there for is apartheid a Dutch word. That saying there is a group in the Netherlands, who learned to hate the colored person, and is using racism to express that. That hate was learned from generation to generation and has nothing to do with the true Dutch values what created the Netherlands.
Yes the Netherlands was created out of Freedom, and has always the rule that people can believe what they want or live how they want. And since the 1600 became the Netherlands a Superpower after foreign professionals migrated to the Netherlands, to flee the French and European wars.
Also, many English or Irish citizen flee to the Netherlands, to take a ship from there to the New world. That made the Netherlands a free heaven for free thinkers, and there are still people like that. This means, there might be a group expressing racism openly on the streets, but there is a bigger group who don't agree with them or don't want to support them.
That group can be for or against black pete, and simply accept the fact to agree that they disagree. And that without creating problems for it. This group is also in the other side, who don't like black pete, and simply ignore everything around the issue of black pete. But the problem we all face is, that these two groups are silent and hidden, and other groups are coming in the media or social media. Like there was a national protest against Black pete, when Sint Nicolas came into town, but got stopped by soccer hooligans, who attacked them violently and used verbal attacks on them, or threw eggs and cans of beer.
People also noticed members from extreme organizations dressed up as black pete to use the situation, to create chaos, while the group against black pete stond on the side line saying nothing. They could not have say nothing because the group of the hooligans was to big. That created chaos for the crowd, and innocent children who witnessed everything.
Because a kid don't go there to fight, they just want to have a good time and see Sint nicolas and then hopes to get free candy of black pete. They are not there for presents, because presents are on 5 december. Every kid knows that when you see black pete, that he will give you candy.
Like i remember back in the days on school, that we first hear some loud bounce on the door, and then the door get open and someone throws candy in the room, then on that moment every jump down to grab the candy and hope for that Black pete throws candy again. That is the moment all children are waiting for and no children will ever think of something racism on that moment.
In fact there will be no moment that a kid learns something racist from the actions of Black pete, because he is always like a clown busy to bring a smile on a kid his face. And that is what everyone remember and in some way this could go fine until people who are racist, are using the Black pete figure, to ridicule people.
That is the point what many seems to forget. That the situation or debate of Black Pete is exposing racism in our society, and you only need to see the comments made on facebook about Black pete or color people who express their opinions. Just take a look at this picture below here of the national soccer team of the Netherlands and read the comments.
This means we could all agree that we disagree about Black Pete, and i am a colored person who was born here in the Netherlands, and i also saw the joy of Black pete when i was a little kid. But that joy melt down real fast when other people treat you different because of the color of your skin. Or that they call you Black Pete and make sure that you are not equal as them, and that is for a intelligent human being very difficult to accept.
Now we are on a point that we can't go around it anymore, Sint Nicolas will never return to how it was in the past. When everyone enjoyed it in a way that everyone could enjoy it, but that got messed up by people who learned to be a racist, who make sure that color people are the same as Black pete. And nobody wants to identify himself with a clown, who is a helper of a white boss.
So the discussions and debates and comments everywhere on facebook or anything is the proof that racism is still out there, but the situation we have on this moment is similar to the kind who has no clothes and his whole country accept that he is walking naked, and only a kid see that he is naked.
That is the situation around Black Pete, that intelligent citizens ignore the racist comments made to defend Black pete, or even stand next to someone and just laugh and do nothing about it. That can be seen below every article about Black pete, that racial comments are accepted. And everyone can see that who don't agree, what enforced people to stand up and against the injustice what is going on in public.
Il bet it would have been a complete other story when other people attack those racial comments and enforce people to use legitimate arguments or to accept to agree that they disagree, nobody could complain about that.
Now what do i think is justice?
We can't go back to what it was, and we can't ignore what people had shown. And to say it's because of the Netherlands is not correct either. Because it's all about some people in the Netherlands who have racial thoughts, and openly express that, what created a mentality to openly share racist comments or racist actions.
So what i think is the discussion should not go about Black Pete, it should go about racism in the Netherlands! And how we can fight that, talking about Black pete alone is only talking about the branch of a tree, while we should talk about the whole forest!
And what i personally think of all those comments made by people, who say go home to your country or black people this and that? Well the Netherlands is my country and not because some idiot share what he thinks should i do what he wants! And yes i feel it to because most of the attacks are against people like me, but i just consider the fact that most of the attacks are done by people who just don't know what they are doing....
Now i hope my post give you some insight regard the Black pete debate in the Netherlands, and what my opinion around this subject is, to show that i understand and invite others to use intelligence in this subject and not get influenced by feelings. I as a colored person could feel treated or hurt by the attacks, and see the Netherlands as a racist country. Or i could think that some people are simply idiots and do stupid things like what idiots always do, without a general judgment about the Netherlands.
From my point of view is that unrealistic and stupid, because the Netherlands is a beautiful country and with many open minded people from all kind of religions or cultures. So to blame the Netherlands while a small group are doing wrong, is not correct. But i do see that we should take the responsibility to move beyond the black discussion point, and look at the way the communications are hold. Because if we can't communicate with each other about something we disagree on, then how on earth could we live side by side in harmony?
What do you think about this subject?
