Comments by "Widdekuu91" (@Widdekuu91) on "Why blackface is still part of Dutch holidays" video.

  1. Google; "Amsterdam changed the black pete's to sootpete's and more than thousands of people therefore went to other cities to enjoy the actual Black pete's arriving. Including large amounts of black people that did not feel associated with black pete in any way, but instead, just wanted to see the national superhero arrive, like everyone else."
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  2. @somrazy They're not supposed to have big lips, they skipped the hoop earrings a long time ago and the afro hair is large curls, not afro. If you see the way Black pete is worshipped here, people get tattoo's, it's one big family-event. Just for the record, if you knew how many black family's love Black Pete, you'd understand how many are insulted to hear that they might turn white. Because in that case, they won't be able to join the group of Pete's anymore. They'd have to paint their faces white/western-skincoloured to be sootpete or white pete, because brownishblack underneath the soot would be too close to the original black pete. And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Holland doesn't have racists. And I'm not saying we should ignore the small percentage of white (and black) people that dislike Pete, whether they feel his colour makes them uncomfortable or the entire idea of the event. I'm just saying that people from foreign countries, trying to understand our traditions, failing miserably and demanding change, despite not knowing what they are talking about, is not going to help anyone. We will have to find a way to clear Pete's image (make clear that IF he was once a slave, he surely isn't now, whether we need to add white helpers for Black Pete or give him his own horse) ánd we have to make sure that slowly but surely, we start tálking instead of raging. Because some people are very emotionally involved in this (like trying to ask America to get rid of the elves. The elves áre actually slaving away in factories in the series, while Black Pete is drinking ice tea, playing football and get's paid all year for the 2 months that he actually works) and ofcourse the other part is emotionally involved for other reasons. Conclusion; If you don't live in the Netherlands, it'll be hard to understand that we worship this person and don't see him as a black person or black stereotype, just as a national superhero that helps the Saint. Let us fix our own problems.
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  3. Youknow that actually happened to 2 friends of someone I knew. They weren't allowed to join in with the soot-ones anymore in Amsterdam, they were told they had to paint their faces with skincoloured foundation in order to join. I mean, surely, it was just a stupid person that told them that, and they came to my city, so they could be Black Petes, like the rest of us.
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  4. Well, I feel that they can vent their opinion, like any other person. You can't compare things to worse things and make them seem smaller, that way, small sexual assault crimes would be allright because it's not like rape in India. It's just that such a small group of (lots of white) and black people want Pete gone, just for the sake of feeling uncomfortable when seeing him. Because it reminds them of something a whole lot different. And I dó think they have a point when it comes to people that do not portray Pete correctly. I've seen people draw him with big lips. That's not the Pete we know. I've seen people that did accents or stumbled on purpose or dropped things. Again, not the Pete we know, that act goes towards a blackface-stereotype. So if we show what Pete is like, the average Pete, the one without the accents, with the normal lips, THEN the anti-Petes should think about whát it is that bothers them about that Pete. Without simply saying that he reminds them of blackface. He is not supposed to represent a black person at all, so without taking half of his title away, we should try and adjust Pete, so that he doesn't represent a black stereotype. And he can still stay the national, nostalgic and beloved hero that he is. But before we can do that, we need to make clear whó Black Pete is. And what, (apart from his soot-covered face!), is still so offensive about him. (We already know making him white will bother lots of black and white people too.)
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