Zwarte Piete - Dutch Racism in Action

commentary on zwarte piet, the dutch character, er slave that gives out presents when sinterklaas visits children in the netherlands. taken Dec 5, 2008. um, racist anyone?

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• zwarte
• piet
• sinterklaas
• racism

[thedutchman01]

Atleast in our country Christmas still means what it is supposed to mean. Being together with your friends family and loved ones.

It is so much more complicated then being just a rascist thing. I can understand why it looks like such and I can empathise with that sentiment. But it is soo much more complictaed. And like so many things cannot be taught only raised with.

But I have black friends, and they donot find it rascist, they find it to be a fun connotation and they know nobody means it so.

[Twestination]

Sinterklaas was a holy and welthy man who HIRED people of morocco to work for him centuries ago and you could say that's why they're black but the chimney story also makes  sense since they are wearing old italian chimney sweeper outfits and deliver presents by climbing through chimneys.

I don't really care for the background. All I know is that everyone in the Netherlands love sinterklaas and black pete because they give candy and presents.

[animato]

@Beesahili Also, this show was aired on 'VARA', which is VERY left-wing. The presenter is one of the highest paid people on Dutch tv and he's gay and quite outspoken against racism . Get informed, please before you start confusing people. LOL. FOX wouldn't even hire him.

[animato]

@Beesahili I'm assuming that by 'nigger' you mean 'neger'? This has FAR less negative connotations as the English 'nigger' does. It's like how we call white people 'blank'. To call someone 'black' is actually considered (much more) racist. 'Most guys of African origin'? I know a gazillion black people from different origins and all of them enjoy this holiday. Piet isn't considered to be a slave or a black person even. He's just a fantasy character for the kids.

[animato]

@Beesahili I'm not sure if you're Dutch and ignorant or just plain ignorant, but the word 'neger' (which I assume you're talking about), doesn't carry half the negative load that the English 'nigger' has. It's simply another (although old and it hardly gets used anymore, so I don't know where you heard it) word for 'black person'. Just like we'd call white people 'blank'. To call someone 'black' is actually considered more racist than to use the word 'neger'.

[MrAparthoed]

I've celebrated this Dutch tradition my whole life and it's the best holiday we have. If someone says it is racist than I do feel somewhat annoyed because it makes an innocent fun family tradition into a very heavily debated subject.

If i'd think this tradition is racist, I'd stop celebrating it immediately but I really don't think it is.

[Wazztheweasel]

Yes we dress like black people who give us candy and gifts ..oooo so racist that we make zwartepieten look nice to children.

[basiliosmulder]

@Rezboy21 LOL

I'm sorry?

Maybe you're just jealous because we don't have so much black and white racism, like in the USA.

I never got why that is such a big issue over there, cause over here, being black, white, or whatever is normal.

While in the USA, there are still large parts which discriminate people on a large scale

[basiliosmulder]

@sanacore2011 Actually we do.

But do you acctually think that's what I would be telling my kids?

Grow up man!

[basiliosmulder]

@TheSmyrnan because that's the tradition.

Plus they do it every year, so they get blacker and blacker each year.

This would be like commenting on Halloween as devil whorship.

It's absurd!

[basiliosmulder]

This is absurd!

Which dumd ass made this vid?

This has nothing to do with discrimination.

This is someone from a foreign country bouncing in, and making conclussions out of their own.

The reason why these people according to the tradition are black, are because they come through the chimney!

So this has nothing to do with black people.