(no subject)
so, really, there's not a lot at which to feel culture shock over in the Netherlands. people ride bikes more and there's markedly less obesity. the gedoogbeleid regarding soft drugs feels comfortable and sane compared to the U.S. the buildings are older than I'm used to.
but then we come to Zwarte Piet. what the Christ, Holland?
here's some background for you: it's the Christmas season now, which means that Sinterklaas is coming to town. and the Dutch know Sinterklaas. they invented him, centuries before the United States appropriated and Anglicized him, so who am I to complain that he's a little bit weird here, with his full bishop's gear-- at least the colors and the beard are right, so it maybe looks like Santa's wearing his formal gear, or being a wizard, or something. and Sinterklaas is an Odin analogue, at least historically, but he still gives presents to kids, and fills stockings. well, he actually puts candy and little presents in kids' shoes, not their socks. and he comes by steamboat from Spain instead of by flying-reindeer-sled from the North Pole. but those are the sorts of difference in tradition that are just a little bit interesting, a little bit pleasantly disorienting. a Royale with Cheese moment, if you will.
not like Zwarte Piet.
because instead of elves, Sinterklaas is assisted by demonic black men. according to Wikipedia, it was probably originally a single demon, who later got rewritten as a Moorish slave, who later got rewritten as an Al Jolson-esque blackface darky dressed in full Ren-Faire gear. and then for bizarre practical reasons, during the chaos following World War II here, Zwarte Piet got rewritten as an indeterminate number ("six to eight black men", according to David Sedaris) of identical blackface darkies dressed in full Ren-Faire gear.
and originally, Sinterklaas's assistant would beat children with birch switches, or stuff them into bags and carry them back to Spain for punishment, but these days they mostly just turn somersaults and look creepy.
hella creepy. it's not even the racial overtones-- it's everything that's kind of off-putting about clowns plus a more sinister pallette plus the racial overtones.
and the holiday season's kicking into gear here. our neighbors have a large number of little plush darkies hanging in their windows, googly eyes and all. Zwarte Piet gabbers excitedly about a variety of venues and products on Dutch television. I have begun to see these Dutch people walking the streets in blackface, and they have no idea how weird it is. it is so incredibly offputting.
it is not, at all, a Royale with Cheese.
but then we come to Zwarte Piet. what the Christ, Holland?
here's some background for you: it's the Christmas season now, which means that Sinterklaas is coming to town. and the Dutch know Sinterklaas. they invented him, centuries before the United States appropriated and Anglicized him, so who am I to complain that he's a little bit weird here, with his full bishop's gear-- at least the colors and the beard are right, so it maybe looks like Santa's wearing his formal gear, or being a wizard, or something. and Sinterklaas is an Odin analogue, at least historically, but he still gives presents to kids, and fills stockings. well, he actually puts candy and little presents in kids' shoes, not their socks. and he comes by steamboat from Spain instead of by flying-reindeer-sled from the North Pole. but those are the sorts of difference in tradition that are just a little bit interesting, a little bit pleasantly disorienting. a Royale with Cheese moment, if you will.
not like Zwarte Piet.
because instead of elves, Sinterklaas is assisted by demonic black men. according to Wikipedia, it was probably originally a single demon, who later got rewritten as a Moorish slave, who later got rewritten as an Al Jolson-esque blackface darky dressed in full Ren-Faire gear. and then for bizarre practical reasons, during the chaos following World War II here, Zwarte Piet got rewritten as an indeterminate number ("six to eight black men", according to David Sedaris) of identical blackface darkies dressed in full Ren-Faire gear.
and originally, Sinterklaas's assistant would beat children with birch switches, or stuff them into bags and carry them back to Spain for punishment, but these days they mostly just turn somersaults and look creepy.
hella creepy. it's not even the racial overtones-- it's everything that's kind of off-putting about clowns plus a more sinister pallette plus the racial overtones.
and the holiday season's kicking into gear here. our neighbors have a large number of little plush darkies hanging in their windows, googly eyes and all. Zwarte Piet gabbers excitedly about a variety of venues and products on Dutch television. I have begun to see these Dutch people walking the streets in blackface, and they have no idea how weird it is. it is so incredibly offputting.
it is not, at all, a Royale with Cheese.