As we reported last month, the United Nations has joined its voice to those of domestic Dutch progressives in earnest condemnation of the custom of Sinterklaas, the original Dutch Santa Claus, and his faithful servant Zwarte Piet, or Black Pete. You see, Black Pete is a Moorish sort of fellow played by a white guy in blackface, and we can’t have that, can we? It’s a most unbearably WAYCIST practice.
According to our Dutch correspondent H. Numan, the celebrations surrounding the arrival of Sinterklaas tomorrow are being threatened by dedicated anti-racists who promise to do whatever it takes to stop the hateful, xenophobic custom of Black Pete.
H. Numan sends this brief update on the eve of the occasion:
Today (tomorrow for you) is the traditional day Santa Claus arrives.
The anti-Petes haven’t been idle. Several threats have been made by the usual suspects. (Ultra) left-wing loonies. One of them being a civics teacher. Civics is supposed to preach non-violence, except when such violence is politically correct. This civics teacher announced he hadn’t any problems at all if offended people use violence at this children’s festival. The end justifies the means, after all.
The mayor of Amsterdam has announced he will allow demonstrators, and wants parents to control the situation. Which is tantamount to provoking violence, according to common logic. Personally, I think he could face serious criminal charges of willful neglect. After all, he knows the situation can become pretty nasty. A few years back demonstrators had to be protected by the police for fear of their lives.
Parents are usually very easy going, until demonstrators start making their kids cry. Then they can turn into ferocious monsters.
I’ll keep you up-to-date about this.
When I learn the fate of the unfortunate Zwarte Piet (and his sworn enemies), I’ll post it here.
It has become a source of constant amazement to me to see how fast the Dutch, whom I used to consider a bastion of freedom and industry in the overall cultural sense, have become so intolerant. I think it is their very tolerance that has worked against them. There is a lesson for the US here.
I’m not specially knowledgeable regarding origin of the character, but isn’t Piet by any chance a white fellow who simply got dirty during squeezing himself through the chimney?
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The adversaries the anti black Pete movement got the freedom for protest demonstrations, no problem. Everybody has a right to express their own opinion and to demonstrate, under the condition not to hinder the children’s festival (very small children until 8 years old, accompanied by parents. Because of the enormous interest of the Piets, accompanied by an old bishop, named Sinterklaas, the minority of the anti black Pete movement were invisible and inaudible. The anti pete movemet got all podium for their expression in public: via television, press and so on, no problem. Their problem is to convince a vast majority that Pete is a symbol of discrimination and slavery in stead of charity, being good for children, learning them to be good and avoid evil, common religious values in the roman catholic church. These underlying values are not recognized by outsiders, who did not experience the festival while they were very young. Learning of cultural values happens unconscious, we are not aware of these values until the moment there are adversaries who are arguing just the opposite: that these values are connected with slavery and discrimination and voila, we have a conflict in society, even in Dutch society, where tolerance is a common value.