Racism Dutch Style

ambergirl

Well-Known Member
:nono:

Can't believe this is still happening.


Black Pete exposes the Netherlands' problem with race

A woman's face is painted to become a Black Pete in Soest in the

Wednesday 5 December 2012 White people dressing up as fools with black faces is not the harmless Christmas fun that the Dutch make it out to be


I once heard a joke that went something like this: when the world is coming to an end, move to the Netherlands because everything happens there 50 years later. A bit harsh, I thought, after all, the Dutch are a relatively progressive people with much to recommend them: from the high level of volunteering to absence of hysteria around subjects such as cannabis, prostitution, same-sex marriage and euthanasia. On the matter of race, though, you do wonder. Particularly around this time of year, by way of a character called "Zwarte Piet" (Black Pete).


In America you have Santa Claus, in the UK he's Father Christmas, and in the Netherlands he's called Sinterklaas. Unlike the other Santas, though, the Dutch Sinterklaas arrives with his slave/servant called Zwarte Piet. The slave-servant comes dressed like a renaissance minstrel: black face, painted red lips, afro wig. The arrival is a huge event: Sinterklaas and the Zwarte Pieten make a grand entrance, and the whole parade is broadcast on public television. Sinterklaas sits tall on a white horse while his black servants share out candy to the kids on the sidelines, and families from all over the country turn up to watch. Or course, there are always several Black Petes, typically played by white people, all in blackface, with red painted lips and afro wigs.



The transformation, however, is not complete with the outfit and greasepaint. The character must speak poor Dutch with a stupid accent, and must act childlike and mischievous when performing. And from mid-November, when Sintaklass and his servants arrive, you can see Zwarte Pieten all over, on television programmes and commercials and on the streets, acting the fool.


At schools across the country, children sing songs referring to the skin tone and character of the black servant "...even if I'm black as coal I mean well…", "Saint Nicolas, enter with your black servant", etc, and there are other old songs about Zwarte Piet in which he's made out to be a little bit stupid, a little bit clumsy, more akin to a child than an adult, the same generalisations previously applied to black people, but which can no longer be made explicitly.


What on is going on with the Dutch? How can such an abhorrent anachronism exist in a seemingly modern and progressive country? As one writer put it, "millions of black people were killed or enslaved by white people over four centuries, and millions more continue to suffer discrimination all over Europe and in the States, so this Zwarte Piet character is about as funny as wearing a swastika."



As I hinted in the first paragraph, Zwarte Piet is not the only sign that the Dutch have a problem with race. Dutch society also has more subtle ways of reminding black people of their place and keeping them there. If you spend any time in the Netherlands, you will soon hear the words "allochtoon" used in polite conversation.


People of "non-western" descent are labeled "allochtoon", not only by the white society, but also by law. "Allochtoon" is based on a Greek word, "allokhthon", and means "found in a place other than where they were formed". But no non-Dutch white person living in the Netherlands is referred to as allochtoon, only non-white people, Dutch and otherwise.

These allochtonen, the "outsiders" (many of whom were born and raised in the Netherlands) are the ones typically accused by the right-wing politician Geert Wilders and others of exploiting the country's resources and social services while not integrating properly into Dutch society. The word allochtoon is thus used as a continuous reminder to people of colour in the Netherlands that white-Dutch people simply do not see them as an equal member of the society, let alone as Dutch, no matter multi-cultural said society might appear on the surface.



Yet a fifth of the Dutch population consists of people of colour. This includes people from former colonies such as Indonesia and Surinam, but also people whose roots lay in Morocco and Turkey. Since the 1980s, there has also been a steady stream of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa to the Netherlands. Some of them are now grandparents, with kids and grandkids who consider the Netherlands home (or try to, at any rate). All of these people are "allochtoon".


In this context, one can start to understand why the unemployment rate of non-white Dutch people (at 15% in the first quarter of 2012) is two-and-a-half times higher than the Dutch average. One also starts to understand why black and white Dutch people see nothing wrong with a film like Alleen Maar Nette Mensen ("Only Decent People") or why, in December last year, the editor of Dutch fashion magazine Jackie thought it was okay to give its readers fashion advice that they could dress like a "***** *****", associating the style with Rihanna. Rihanna, of course, didn't hold back in her response (she's not black Dutch, so one imagines she didn't know her place), and the editor was forced to resign. But here's the thing, many white and black people felt the editor would have kept her job, if the controversy hadn't been picked up outside the Netherlands. Those who objected were labelled "too sensitive". When the editor was first confronted about the racist slur, her response was that it was just a "bad joke".



Why do people keep defending Zwarte Piet? Is it that they really can't see that it is racist or that they don't want to see? One blogger (Toby Sterling) writes that actually, the people who defend Zwarte Piet know all to well that he is a racist caricature, but that they are experiencing the psychological phenomenon known as "cognitive dissonance": the brain filters out new information (Zwarte Piet is a racist caricature) that conflicts with what one already believes (I love Zwarte Piet and I am not a racist).

You don't have to have a degree in psychology or sociology to work out that the figure of Zwarte Piet, and the use of words like "neger" and "allochtoon" ensure the continued internalisation of ideas of superiority of white Dutch people, and of inferiority and marginalisation of black Dutch people. Nor do you need it to understand the associate power of symbols like Zwarte Piet. You can keep a symbolic boot on someone's neck, and it can be just as effective as doing so physically, more so, even.


The debate is also, as Lulu Wang writes, a discussion about citizenship and identity. "And because this discussion does not take place behind closed doors between politicians and intellectuals only, but in schools, between colleagues, family-members and friends, it offers us a chance to challenge old conceptions of self and other at many different levels. However, this annual debate is not sufficient to change things, but it can lead to more activism, a critical outlook and recognition of those situations where the same strategies of marginalisation are being used. The Black servant and his White master can not be isolated from the social context, Dutch society, in which they exist."


In researching this piece, and from discussing it with Dutch people, black and white, I discovered that this debate has been going on for years, every year. Initially, I thought that was cause for concern. Perhaps the defenders of the "tradition" believe so long as they don't listen to anything the black Dutch people say, the debate will never get beyond talk, and the anti-Piet campaigners will give up from exhaustion. But I was reassured that the numbers (black and white) of those against this "tradition" are indeed growing.


Playwright Mark Walraven, for instance, says he used to be one of the many white men who would paint their faces black each year to the delight of children. "I stopped after I began working with black people," he said. "Many people are offended by this symbol."


Four years ago, Walraven put on a play In the Shadow of the Saint about the debate over Black Pete at Amsterdam's Krater Theater. One of messages of his play is that you can still have Sinterklaas without Black Pete. "Many countries have abolished these kinds of things but in Holland they still exist," Walraven said. "Nevertheless, most Dutch don't consider themselves to be racist and feel they are being personally attacked when you criticise Black Pete," he said.


"The majority here in Holland refuse to talk about Black Pete. They are afraid that the people who discuss it want to take away Sinterklaas as a phenomenon."
 
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Boujoichic

New Member
I have heard of Black Pete previously actually in a thread here on lhcf and I think its despicable. I still can't understand why some black people try to find excuses to justify blackface smh.

I am a part of another community based around Japanese fashion there are members of all races from all over the world. I myself have witnessed racism from the members from the Netherlands (not exclusively) some was cloaked as jokes between friends and some outright. They can rest assured that I won't be visiting their country.
 

yardyspice

Well-Known Member
I had a professor who claimed that Europe can only claim they are not racist when they don't have significant non-whites in their midst. The minute, however, their minority population increases, the racism comes out. (See France for example)
 
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ambergirl

Well-Known Member
^^^ That's saying something because the Japanese are no strangers to racism and black face nonsense.

I spent a little over a week there and had a good time, that's why the article was a bit of a surprise. But I was mostly in the cities.

However the prostitution industry consists of immigrant women and mostly women of color from Asia and Africa. That's why I give the side eye to this notion of the sex trade being more civilized in the Netherlands because it's legal and in the open....it's basically legally exploiting women of color.
 

ambergirl

Well-Known Member
I had a professor who claimed that Europe can claim they are not racist because they don't have significant non-whites in their midst. The minute, however, their minority population increases, the racism comes out. (See France for example)

Yes indeed....it's happening all over the continent now as more and more immigrants from the Middle East and Africa are emigrating to Europe.

If they don't start addressing these issues now, the racism there will be way worse then here. The right wing is openly racist and gaining ground all over the continent.
 

nysister

Well-Known Member
It's amazing how people will do anything to justify and hang onto racist traditions.

I knew of Zwarte Piet, but this article was very informative. Thanks OP.
 

metro_qt

Well-Known Member
Lol!!!! I love this thread! My mom actually lives in holland and has done so for 5 years.
She despises this tradition. The words you hear coming out her mouth this season because of Zwarte Piet... Unbelievable.

Yes, racism is alive and well.
 

ambergirl

Well-Known Member
Lol!!!! I love this thread! My mom actually lives in holland and has done so for 5 years.
She despises this tradition. The words you hear coming out her mouth this season because of Zwarte Piet... Unbelievable.

Yes, racism is alive and well.

How does she feel she's treated overall? Does the racism permeate every day life?
 

Kiowa

Well-Known Member
I worked for an IT company in Rotterdam for about a year, the MD of the company would make these stupid racist jokes whenever he visited, and watch for my reaction:nono:..I did see a lot of IR couples, but for the most part, seems like Dutch came into little contact with non-white Dutch/and or immigrants..
 

yardyspice

Well-Known Member
I worked for an IT company in Rotterdam for about a year, the MD of the company would make these stupid racist jokes whenever he visited, and watch for my reaction:nono:..I did see a lot of IR couples, but for the most part, seems like Dutch came into little contact with non-white Dutch/and or immigrants..

So he was doing it to get under your skin Kiowa? :nono:
 

afrofaithful

Well-Known Member
OMG! I was just in the Netherlands last weekend and saw one of these guys running around. I was wondering why...it really was awkward.
 

Ogoma

Well-Known Member
^^If I remember right, she said they didn't really have a racism problem.

Ermm what?

Most racist country in Europe

According to many foreigners Denmark is now the most racist country in Europe. For me it is without comparison the worst racism since it is the only one I am responsible for. Institutionalized racism might be worse in America, but since the Danes are more outspoken in their views and have not learned the political correctness of Americans, individual racism is far more extreme over here. Indeed, when I recently lived in the Ku Klux Klan head quarter in America it struck me after weeks of interviewing the Klan members that they had less hate in their hearts than what I find in my fellow Danes right now.

http://www.american-pictures.com/gallery/denmark/index-overview-us.htm

I am an Asian-American who lived in Denmark for two and a half years. The first time I heard people saying (in reaction to learning that I can speak Chinese): »ching chong, ching chong, etc…« to my face, I thought that I had been transported to the Twilight Zone or some distant elementary school playground.


Sadly, I was amongst so-called educated Danes. The excuse for the behaviour was to chalk it up to Danish humour and not racism. I chalked it up to ignorance. Never mind how disrespectful and demeaning it was to me. Danish humour, REALLY? I wasn’t laughing and neither was my husband. I was so stunned the first couple of times that it happened and vowed that the next time it inevitably did, I would say something.

http://universitypost.dk/article/comment-racism-denmark

An academic paper (published) from the University of St Andrews claiming that Denmark is the most racist country in Denmark.

Shocking, but not surprising.

"Cultural racism has found fertile territory in a post-industrial Europe experiencing economic crisis and social disintegration, but its manifestations vary between countries. Denmark, a country traditionally regarded as liberal and tolerant, experienced a fundamental shift in attitude during the early 1980s that has seen it emerge potentially as one of the most racist countries in Europe. Paradoxically, liberal values are used as justification for negative representations of ‘others’.

This paper examines the place-specifc manifestations of cultural racism in Denmark, which can be identified as essentially anti-Muslim and anti-refugee. Through the use of interviews with minority women, newspaper extracts and material propagated by far-right organizations, the paper traces the evolution of this discourse, identifying its key actors as: specific far-right anti-immigration groups; the media; and a culturally deterministic academic research tradition. The subtle manifestation of cultural racism in Denmark, coupled with inadequate anti-racist opposition or legislation, have rendered it particularly damaging, and ‘legitimated’ a range of racist policies and practices.
 

FlowerHair

Reclaiming my time
^^If I remember right, she said they didn't really have a racism problem.

They do... I don't even go to Denmark anymore. Who wants to spend vacation among racists? The same crap is developing here in Sweden as well...

My plan to move to Barbados is drawing nearer!
 

tocktick

Well-Known Member
^^If I remember right, she said they didn't really have a racism problem.

I think I can recall her having said differently but this was quite a while ago.

On another note, being on this board as a person living in Europe can be a little curious at times. I like living where I am but I do get the sense that sometimes Europe can be unduly romanticised.
 
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DirtyJerzeyGirly

Well-Known Member
I think I can recall her having said differently but this was quite a while ago.

On another note, being on this board as a person living in Europe can be a little curious at times. I like living where I am but I do get the sense that sometimes Europe can be unduly romanticised.

Yeah i remember her saying that as well; it was actually one of the reasons why she wanted to live in London.
 

FlowerHair

Reclaiming my time
What has been your experience in Sweden?

I haven't personally experienced blatant racism, but we do have one racist party that is now in parliament. I think people here are extremely passive aggressive so they won't come out and say anything to your face, but it's definitely there under the surface.
 

Okay

New Member
Im here :yep:

I wanted to live in London because I needed to be around more black people. I was sooo insecure and going to London did me good. Im fine now and even though I miss London, Im actually happy here :yep:
 

Okay

New Member
I haven't personally experienced blatant racism, but we do have one racist party that is now in parliament. I think people here are extremely passive aggressive so they won't come out and say anything to your face, but it's definitely there under the surface.

Exactly my experience :yep:


Anyway, the racism here is targeted towards muslims and arabs NOT blacks. Im not saying its any "better".. Im not saying there isnt racism, cause there is, but I think im really privileged that I was born here...

Alot of danes will complain about foreigners coming over and not working just coming over to get a piece of the pie.. and that results in the tax money going for the wrong things. People who come out and say it are the ones who will be called racists too. Actuallly I dont blame them for getting annoyed at thinks like that. It annoys me too.
 

SimplyLive

Well-Known Member
I worked for an IT company in Rotterdam for about a year, the MD of the company would make these stupid racist jokes whenever he visited, and watch for my reaction:nono:..I did see a lot of IR couples, but for the most part, seems like Dutch came into little contact with non-white Dutch/and or immigrants..

How would you react? I hope you didn't give the person ammo.
 
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