Tuesday Talk
Posted by Michelle Moquin on December 11th, 2012
What’s on your mind?
Good morning!
This is what’s on mine from one of my fave sites:
What Can We Learn From Near-Death Choices
TED and The Huffington Post are excited to bring you TEDWeekends, a curated weekend program that introduces a powerful “idea worth spreading” every Friday, anchored in an exceptional TEDTalk. This week’s TEDTalk is accompanied by an original blog post, along with new op-eds, thoughts and responses from the HuffPost community. Watch the talk above, read the blog post and tell us your thoughts below. Become part of the conversation!
Few of us come face-to-face with death in such a clear and present way as Ric Elias, who was on board Flight 1549 when it crash-landed on New York’s Hudson River four years ago. Ric (the CEO of Red Ventures) and everyone on board, expected to die on impact. And when the now famous Captain Sully safely landed the plane, Ric was given a new lease on life, and also a new perspective on it.
The days between Thanksgiving and the New Year are always a time for reflection: On what’s been accomplished, on what remains ahead of us, and — most importantly — what matters most.- June Cohen
Ric’s TEDTalk has proven so compelling because he answers the question so many of us have: When my life draws to a close, will I look back with regret? Or satisfaction? What will I wish I had done? What will matter most? It’s a gift, in some ways, to come so close to death, because it teaches us something essential about how to live. And this is a theme that many TED speakers have explored… What can we learn from near-death choices? Artists and athletes, gamers and monks have all tackled this question from different angles…
TED Fellow Candy Chang creates public art installations that explore the hidden landscape of near-death choices. Her work asks the audience, chalkboard-style, to fill in the blanks: “Before I die, I want to ________________” Their answers have been, in turn: hilarious, heart-breaking, raw, real.
Former Olympian Janine Shepherd had to rethink her answer to that question when a crippling accident ended her cycling career. In her TEDTalk, “A Broken Body Isn’t a Broken Person,” she recounts the challenge of facing a life where her dreams were no longer within reach. Instead of crumbling, she found new ones…
Jane McGonigal began her 2012 talk “The Game That Can Give You 10 Extra Years of Life” by listing the five regrets of the dying: “Number one: I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. Number two: I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. Number three: I wish I had let myself be happier. Number four: I wish I’d had the courage to express my true self. And number five: I wish I’d lived a life true to my dreams, instead of what others expected of me.”
Then she makes a fascinating leap to a little-known phenomenon called post-traumatic growth. We’ve all heard of post-traumatic stress. But sometimes, when people are faced with a deeply traumatic experience — illness, accident, or another brush with death — they walk away not diminished, but super-charged by the experience. Suddenly, they can live a life without fear, focused on what matters most to them. And Jane’s talk teaches the rest of us how we can experience this super-growth, without the trauma.
And Louie Schwartzberg’s beautiful talk on gratitude challenges us to live each day as if it were our first and our last. He shares a recording of the Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast, which begins: “You think this is just another day in your life. It’s not just another day. It’s the one day that was given to you. Today. It’s given to you. It’s a gift. It’s theonly gift you have right now. And the only appropriate response is gratefulness.”
The days between Thanksgiving and the New Year are always a time for reflection: On what’s been accomplished, on what remains ahead of us, and — most importantly — what matters most. We would love to hear your thoughts not only on what matters most to you, but how your perspective on death informs the way you live.
Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TEDWeekends will highlight some of today’s most intriguing ideas and allow them to develop in real time through your voice! Tweet #TEDWeekends to share your perspective or emailtedweekends@huffingtonpost.com to learn about future weekend’s ideas to contribute as a writer.
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Blog me your thoughts….I would love to know…”Before I die, I want to_______________”.
Peace & Love…
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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December 11th, 2012 at 7:11 am
12. Dirk Says:
December 11th, 2012 at 7:05 am
You people are just being silly. Odysseus killed his father and made love to his mother. Are you going to change all myths ?
================================
Dirk, you are a bit late to the party here, but ehm… that wasn’t Odysseus, it was Oedipus.
Anyway, if you really want to compare ancient mythology to a change made to a tradition less than 200 years ago, keep in mind that even Greek mythology varied from place to place and time to time.
December 11th, 2012 at 7:24 am
I am from the Netherlands, I was a bit naive until I married a black man from Atlanta Georgia in America. My family was appalled. His was too. We moved to San Francisco and raised 4 beautiful children. Now that they are famous and rich all our relatives have been making such an effort to get back into our lives.
My husband wants to let bygones be bygones, I say fuck them and the horse they attempted to ride in on.
Why is it that when a black person says “hey this offends me”, instead of listening you whites say well it’s tradition. I the black bastard continues to protest, then beat him up, pin him down, and only stop when you see cameras!
How ridiculous for those of you, like 9. Bor Says:
December 11th, 2012 at 6:35 am to suggest that those offended should allow the Netherlands white kids to continue enjoying their festivities at the expense of those it offends.
That’s very white of you. I find this very offensive. Very! And I do not appreciate any one who is not black telling me that it’s “tradition.”
Many things were Dutch “tradition”, and when it was realized they were offensive, they were stopped. The days of using guns, murder, rape and brutality to enforce the white boy’s lie that the color white is special are over.
Teaching your children that a white santa comes to give them gifts and his “helper” is a stupid black man who acts the fool and wears earrings and has big red lips is ridiculous. Get a fucking clue.
And for all those people talking about Moroccans and what not, death threats against activists who want to abolish something as offensive as this ridiculous black idiot piet is just as bad, so you’re all the same.
December 11th, 2012 at 7:28 am
lol and what if these charracters called “zwartepiet” love to work for sinterklaas and he treats them well? ever tried to look it in that way?
im born and raised with this tradition and i love it! i’m not rasist at all kids don’t even see it in the way as rasism. sure it may look like he’s a slave master.
this is a tradition for kids and not for race diffrence. its like our santa. and its your santa as well, if not for sinterklaas, santa would not have been born
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus <– read it well!
and you guys say that this tradition is bad? well there you go if you think like this you just killed your own santa.
December 11th, 2012 at 7:30 am
Gario is born in Curacao according, then he knows that also in Curacao they celabrate Sinterklaas. I live on Bonaire and there we celebrate Sinterklaas and they paint the Sinterklaas white is that also racist ?
http://www.sinterklaasintocht.info/kaart/bonaire.h…
December 11th, 2012 at 7:34 am
“Allochtoon” means foreigner.
The reason that we call them foreigners is because that is what they call themselves.
If you ask a 8 year old Moroccan boy where he is from. He won’t tell you that he’s born in Utrecht or Amsterdam, but that he is from Morocco.
Although he’ll probably only knows the country from a few holidays.
Forty years ago we used to call people from Morocco and the likes “guest workers”. But they never returned to their own country, so clearly they weren’t. Instead they stayed to enjoy our heath plans, unemployment benefits and pensions. Although some Dutch people complained, the majority didn’t mind.
Nor did we mind that they continued to speak their own language and adhere by their own religion and follow their own religious holidays.
Some ten, fifteen years ago head coverings started showing up in the Dutch streets. And although it caused some annoyance, most people didn’t mind.
But you have to draw the line somewhere.
A few years back there was talk of demolishing the Christmas holidays in favor of the sugar feast.
It never happened. But for the first time the Dutch people got the feeling that our culture was under attack.
Now foreigners are complaining the the Sinter Klaas holiday is racist.
It might be. But that’s not the point.
It’s our holiday. Part of our cultural heritage.
We, the Dutch people, are getting the ever stronger feeling that if those foreigners really hate our culture that much, they should go back to where they came from.
But of course they won’t.
Where else could they enjoy a lifestyle that is as good as what they get in the Netherlands?
December 11th, 2012 at 7:41 am
Cece, you have made much about nothing. The black daycare worker of my kids was handing out Sinterklaas presents a while ago with a smile. I’m very much against racism, but I’m not against Sinterklaas. He’s an odd relic from very long ago.
Whatever his origins (and he has several, including the ancient god Wodan), he’s something very different today. Kids like Zwarte Piet more than they do Sinterklaas.
They are known as ‘helpers’, just like the elves. Or could we perhaps assume that the elves are slaves too?
So I can only say that I cannot have the type of strong opinion you or others here have Cece.
December 11th, 2012 at 7:43 am
Henk, wat ben je toch een zak. Dan probeer je hier uit te leggen dat Nederlanders niet racistisch zijn en dan kom je met verhaal over gastarbeiders wat totaal gekleurd is van je politieke mening en helemaal niks met het onderwerp te maken heeft.
Absolutely nothing!
December 11th, 2012 at 7:47 am
These are typical posts from people who thinks they know it all in such a short period of time.
First of all, if you start to question these kinds of traditions we can go on forever, there are traditions all over the world. Like are the elves from Santa Claus no “slaves” just because they are white?
Second of all, really..? You think “Allochtoon” (which actually means foreigner, like we call ourselves “Autochtoon” which means natives) is discrimination and that we are a discriminating country?
We EXIST from foreign countries, the Netherlands are from the beginning on a multicultural trading nation. There is no 100% dutch, that doesn’t exist.
Sure we have Geert Wilders, but every country in the world has extreme politicians, he doesn’t stand alone in his politics.
And last but not least! “Sinterklaas” is a character made up for the kids, just like Santa Claus. “Zwarte Piet” is his helper and very populair with the kids. The children are more scared of “Sinterklaas” than of the happy men who give a lot of candy.
Children do not see the colour of a mans skin, not until we let them see that there is a difference between mens skin. There is no difference, we make that difference, we feed that difference.
Don’t judge to soon.
December 11th, 2012 at 7:48 am
There is absolutely no reason not to question traditions. Bull fighting in Spain for example is a tradition, as is rodeo in America. The mere fact that something is a tradition does not make it right per definition.
December 11th, 2012 at 7:52 am
Hey, your nazi hypocrites, what about putting ZP in white face…or, even use both. Your sensitivities are that of lemmings before the big run.
December 11th, 2012 at 7:54 am
For all the white Dutch denialists that will sure to reply to this. The black Dutch are already on top of this. Check it:
http://zwartepietisracisme.tumblr.com/
December 11th, 2012 at 7:59 am
Its not only the black dutch, the white dutch are also participating in the discussion, and denialist is a too pejorative term if you are talking about people who only claim that the phenomenon of blackface and zwarte piet have nothing in common.
Blackface is something infused to ridicule and dehumanize blacks, while that is absolutely not true for zwarte piet. He was never invented to mock black people, instead he is very much admired.
We have never had segregation in the netherlands, nor do we have a tradition of using blackface. coon, or Golliwogg.
Most people in the Netherlands who indeed learn that black people feel offended by zwarte piet feel very bad about that.
Sinterklaas needs a “sidekick”, that doesn’t offend anybody, but it won’t be an “elf”, it will be some kind of “Zwarte piet”, but morphed in an inoffensive form, over the next decade or so.
December 11th, 2012 at 8:07 am
Tiny Homes Are Big!
Add a Guest Cottage, Home Office or “Granny Pod” for Surprisingly Little
Is your home too cramped? Before you add an addition, consider the advantages of erecting a small freestanding cottage on your property.
These separate structures are quieter and more private than additions, and adding one won’t turn your home into a construction zone for months.
There can be tax benefits when freestanding structures are used for business purposes, and there are freestanding “granny pods” specifically designed to comfortably house elderly parents near family members. The cost of a separate structure is likely to be comparable to adding an addition of similar size and function.
Smart uses for 500-square-foot (or smaller) structures…
Guest cottage. Sharing living space with houseguests can be disruptive. Having houseguests is far more pleasant and less invasive when the guests can retire to their own cottage on your property each night.
Private living space for an elderly parent or adult child. Adding another adult to a household often leads to friction. Providing this adult with a separate structure means more privacy and independence for everyone.
If you’re taking in an elderly parent, consider purchasing a freestanding “granny pod” designed specifically for this purpose. These typically are handicapped accessible and often include health-monitoring devices that inform the nearby family members if assistance is required.
Options include Practical Assisted Living Solutions (877-771-7257, http://www.PALSBuilt.com) and MEDCottage (888-797-5818, http://www.MEDCottage.com).
Example:
MEDCottage is a 12-by-24-foot handicapped-accessible dwelling that features a hospital bed and extensive health-monitoring equipment. It even can serve as a hyperbaric chamber for those who require supplemental oxygen.
The cottage’s plumbing and electricity can be connected to the nearby family home. MEDCottage is priced between $40,000 and $85,000, plus shipping, depending on the features included.
A buyback program allows some of that cost to be recouped later if the unit is no longer needed.
Home office or studio.
Creating a home office within the home means enduring household noises and distractions. Constructing a separate structure on the property avoids this.
A freestanding home office can have added tax benefits as well. You probably will be able to deduct the full cost of the structure’s construction, maintenance and utilities, not just a small percentage of your overall homeownership costs.
If your home office is not your principal place of business, you often can’t deduct it unless it is a freestanding structure used exclusively and regularly for your business. Consult your tax preparer.
Vacation home.
Opting to build a small cottage instead of a full-sized second home on vacation property that you own greatly reduces taxes, maintenance, homeowner’s insurance, construction costs and utility bills—not to mention the time you’ll spend cleaning and maintaining this space.
Dorm room for your college student.
Renting a dorm room or off-campus apartment for your child could cost $20,000 to $30,000 or more. It might be possible to construct a very small home for the student near campus for well under $100,000, then sell it upon graduation, depending on the local real estate market.
You will need, of course, to purchase a small plot of land.
Helpful:
Your ownership expenses for this property even might be tax-deductible if your college student pays you market-rate rent (you can give the child the money needed to pay you this rent if necessary). Your tax preparer can provide details.
Temporary residence while constructing a larger home. You can put up a small cottage very quickly, then live in it while building a full-sized home. The small structure can serve as a guest cottage or office once the large home is complete.
ZONING ISSUES
Contact your local zoning department before erecting a small structure. Many areas impose restrictions on their construction and use. If these restrictions do cause problems, there might be loopholes…
Zoning laws often don’t apply to homes on wheels. Some tiny structures are constructed on a flat commercial-grade trailer to exploit this loophole.
Example: A company called Little House On the Trailer (www.LittleHouseOnTheTrailer.com) specializes in this.
However, some areas have rules that prevent “nonfixed structures” from being used as full-time residences or from being connected to city water and sewer lines, so be sure to research local RV rules before opting for this route.
Water tanks and chemical or composting toilets could be used to get around water and sewer-line restrictions, if necessary.
Some areas specifically permit “temporary family health-care structures,” such as the granny pods mentioned earlier, even where small residential structures would not otherwise be allowed. A letter from a doctor confirming that the resident requires daily assistance might be needed.
Many areas do not require permits for structures of less than 120 square feet. The rules might be less forgiving if this tiny structure is permanently attached to water, sewer or electrical lines.
BUILDING A TINY HOME
There are builders and architects in many regions who specialize in the design and construction of tiny structures. A list of these is available on the Web site of the Small House Society (www.SmallHouseSociety.com).
Reputable providers include Alchemy Architects (www.WeeHouse.com), Historic Shed (www.HistoricShed.com) and Rocio Romero (www.RocioRomero.com).
Alternately, you can purchase plans for tiny homes online from companies such as Tumbleweed Tiny House Company (www.TumbleweedHouses.com) and Ross Chapin Architects (www.RossChapin.com), typically for $100 to $1,000.
Provide these plans to a local builder, or erect the structure yourself—putting up structures of modest size is within the abilities of many skilled do-it-yourselfers, assuming that they have professional plans. Consider hiring pros to handle the electrical and plumbing.
Be sure to opt for high-quality, low-maintenance components. You probably won’t spend as much time in this small structure as you do in your home, so you might not notice leaks or other problems until they have caused extensive damage. Low-maintenance components unlikely to experience problems could save you money in the long run.
LIVING FULL-TIME IN A TINY HOUSE
Living in a 500- square-foot or smaller home could save you a bundle. Home-construction costs average around $80 per square foot, so tiny homes can provide up-front savings of more than $100,000 when compared with average-sized residences.
Homeowner’s insurance, property taxes, home décor expenses and heating and cooling costs will be slashed dramatically as well.
Expect discretionary spending to drop, too—with less room to store possessions, tiny home dwellers tend not to waste money on things that they don’t really need.
But saving money isn’t the only advantage. Paradoxically, living in a tiny home can be a way to enjoy luxurious home components.
High-end features such as cedar shingles and hardwood floors are pricey when installed in a full-sized home, but they don’t bust the budget with a tiny home, as only a small quantity is required. And having less home means having less to clean and maintain.
Living in a very small home can be an adjustment, however—particularly when two or more people are living together. Spend a few weeks living in just the kitchen, master bedroom and bathroom of your full-sized home before you take the plunge to make sure that you can handle the close quarters.
Some find that living in a small space isn’t the problem—the challenge is that their possessions won’t fit in the small space. Modern technology offers a partial solution.
Wall-mounted flat-screen TVs take up hardly any space…libraries can be replaced with eBooks…DVD and CD collections can be replaced with streaming movies and music. Rent a climate-controlled storage locker for items that you need only occasionally or seasonally.
Example:
Keep winter clothes in storage during the summer and summer clothes in storage during the winter.
Source: Gregory Paul Johnson, president of the Small House Society, an organization that supports the development and use of smaller living spaces.
Based in Iowa City, Iowa, he spent six years living in a 140-square-foot home and is author of Put Your Life on a Diet: Lessons Learned from Living in 140 Square Feet (Gibbs Smith). http://www.ResourcesForLife.com
December 11th, 2012 at 8:13 am
Why did the Dutch allow so many foreigners into their nation?
Does this not cause problems and strife? Does this not upset the peaceful living in the Netherlands, which I assume was a very pleasurable country for many thousands of years, with it’s unique culture and unique people?
Should you not create a program to allow the non-Dutch ethnic heritage people to return to their native lands, such as paying them to leave?
If you were to pay a person $20,000 to leave, say, to go back to Morocco, would this not be quite a sum. For a family of five, that would be $100,000.
This could help to revitalize a country like Morocco, to grow the country, and bring back it’s own people who have much to contribute to their country of origin.
After all, the Dutch have an ethnic heritage to preserve, as well as a culture to preserve.
The environmentalists believe it is extremely important to save species of animals and birds, such as the spotted owl, or the snail darter fish. But, what about the Dutch people?
Are they not a distinct ethnic group which traces their origins back about 10,000 years, to the retreat of the glaciers after the ice age?
The look of the Dutch people is admired around the world. Is this not worth preserving? Once the look of the Dutch people is unalterably changed through racial admixture, the look, the racial heritage of the Dutch people, will be lost……forever!
Should it not be preserved as something precious, something which evolved naturally on the Dutch soil over the past 10,000 years?
If the snail darter fish is precious and important to preserve, is not the ethnic character of the Dutch people?
You have a fiscal crisis, you have a cultural crisis, but you are afraid to speak about the ethnic crisis…the tragedy of loosing your ethnic heritage, which, once gone is lost forever.
Is it racist to want to preserve your family? Does not every ethnic group around the world have the right to preserve it’s precious ethnic heritage, to conserve the unique look, the human aesthetics of a native people?
Why is this a ‘verboten’ subject, when it is such a key concept and concern of all people, everywhere?
Do the Japanese want to be inundated with Koreans? No, they do not!
To a westerner, the Japanese may look quite similar to the Koreans. However, the Japanese are very sensitive to having very many foreigners, even Koreans, in their land.
They want to preserve their ethnic heritage, both culturally and of their genetic heritage.
Does not a distinct people have the right to preserve and protect it’s distinctness, the very nature of it’s ethnic heritage for posterity. Once lost, it is gone forever.
How is this desire to preserve one’s ethnic heritage, the heritage of it’s unique humane genes, differ from the desire to preserve the precious environment we live in?
The wish to preserve one’s own family, one’s own unique genetic heritage is, obviously, one of the oldest human sensibilities.
To label such a heartfelt desire as racist and disrespectful of other people is unfair, for this desire exists in all peoples, does it not?
Your ethnic heritage is a precious thing. Once lost, it is gone forever.
Why do we not honor peoples’ irreplaceable ethnic heritage, and label their desires to preserve their ethnicity as being racist? Is it not a natural, common sense desire, just as is the desire to protect and preserve the environment we live in.
Loving and honoring our ethnic heritage is a good and decent feeling. Surely we can recognize that each ethnic group within the human family is unique and worthy of preservation of it’s uniqueness.
Wanting to preserve one’s ethnic heritage is not racist. One can honor and respect the ethnic heritage of other people while insisting that one’s own ethnic heritage is preserved.
What is wrong with this sentiment? And, how can you protect your precious ethnic heritage? Common sense tells you that you must be very careful about allowing unfettered immigration into a society which has been unique in it’s ethnic heritage for thousands of years.
In our modern world, it is simply not necessary to have unfettered immigration. Economic well being can easily be built in each and every country in place, by following common sense policies.
On the other hand, it is simply not practicle to allow massive migrations of people from one country to other counties. It is not practicle economically, and it is impossible to preserve one’s ethnic heritage by allowing this to happen.
And, it is simply not necessary, as economic well being can be built in each country without needing to have mass migrations of people.
This post may cause controversy, but are not the points raised common sense and very true/ What can possibly be more precious than the unique ethnic heritage of unique populations such as those of the Dutch, or of the Moroccans, as well?
December 11th, 2012 at 8:15 am
This is the most thorough explanation of Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet, translated by google translate:
http://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.roepstem.net%2Fzwartepiet.html
However today Suriname voted in favour of not celebrating Sinterklaas in Suriname (translated by google translate:
http://translate.google.nl/translate?
hl=nl&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.volkskrant.nl%2Fvk%2Fnl%2F2668%2FBuitenland%2Farticle%2Fdetail%2F3091161%2F2011%2F12%2F22%2FSinterklaas-in-Suriname-afgeschaft-te-racistisch.dhtml
December 11th, 2012 at 8:18 am
Well put, and I do hope it will come to a slight alteration in Black Peter’s dark looks. All that’s needed is a few black smudges in stead of a face painted wholly in black.
December 11th, 2012 at 8:21 am
Gloria, that was their second attempt to end the celebration of Sinterklaas, except they cannot demand people at home not to continue celebrating it.
December 11th, 2012 at 8:33 am
I’m Dutch and don’t worry, I’m not going to get mad, though I believe I can’t speak for the most Dutch. It is a fact that the Sinterklaastradition roots in the imperialistic policy that led to slavery and it’s horrible consequences.
In Holland the most don’t really know about that history (I believe a discussion like this is held by high-educated people, while the most people are low-educated and often don’t know anything about their own (Dutch) history).
So there is no denial that it descends from slavery. Actually, with people like Wilders, terms like racism and discrimination are used with caution.
People who vote for him, are not racists per sé, but are often low educated and are afraid the foreigners will take their jobs. This is a process that in many rich western countries is happening.
We have the bad luck that enables an idiot like Wilders who has the charisma to play the people. No one likes to be called an racist, and the aggressive talks of wilders gets aggressive reactions out of people when they are called racists.
They believe it is justified that the foreigners leave, because otherwise there will be no work. Kids looking at the parade shouldn’t be bothered with politics, that’s up to the adults, because after all, it is a childrens party.
Excessive use of violence by the police against those who feel the need to protest the black face is of course absurd and I hope those officers will be punnished, though that probably (like in the rest of the world) that will not happen.
The question you should be asking yourself is, is there a latent racism by making people with a black appearance not the leader but the followers.
I’m too young to know how it was back in the day, my grandpa was actually angry by this whole attention for racism, also because it is white men who come down the chimney.
He added to that in the forties zwarte pieten didn’t have much make up and had less extravagant outfits. They looked way less racist then.
Now they look more like that Little Black Sambo (I actually don’t know the background, but I checked a photo). Is there latent racism? I don’t believe that. Children believe in Santa until their 8th or 9th birthday.
Until then, they don’t know the difference between a white or black man (it’s not a visual thing, but if you grow up with black and white people around you, it takes a long time to understand that you could describe someone as a black or white person).
We, as adults, teach our children to discriminate people as black, white gay etc. At my school, when I was eleven and didn’t believe anymore in Sinterklaas, a black Sinterklaas came by. None of the children saw that he was black. It was actually the black concierge that played Sinterklaas.
No kid cared about the colour, they just loved the party, candy, presents etc. Just like you (in the USA and elsewhere) celebrate Christmas.
Those kids don’t understand the so called racism of Zwarte Piet and you shouldn’t be teaching them, they just wanna have fun. And Geert Wilders is just an idiot. An extremely dangerous idiot, not only for foreigners, but also for the Dutch (when we go to foreign lands, mostly islamitic, they are not that welcome anymore, just because of one idiot).
So to conclude (sorry for the extremely long piece), it is historically correct to state that it has a racist background of one of the most horrible deeds in history. Nowadays it is a party for kids, who don’t understand the concept of racism.
Of course I understand the reactions from eyebrowraising to disgust. Zwarte Piet is a part of this tradition and to the Dutch as important as Sinterklaas, who is actually not spanish (though a lot don’t know that) but turkish.
It is celebrated not only by white dutch people, but more and more by foreigners, like moroccans and turks, whose families have been living here for generations and participate in the joy.
So theoratically it is racist, in practice, most don’t even know much about the whole history of slavery and don’t have racist feelings about Zwarte Piet.
Linking this whole situation with Wilders only explains why the police acted so aggressive against Gario, though it never can be justified, but Wilders has nothing to do with the tradition.
In the Netherlands we didn’t see this as racist until pointed out by others. In the tradition that is celebrated now (and not 50 years ago), everyone is treated equal.
So it may be for a lot of people a tradition with a weird history (maybe disgusting), but now it is not. It was, but not is racist
December 11th, 2012 at 8:36 am
Debra, the black facepaint is often also necessary to hide the identity of zwarte piet to a child who might otherwise recognise piet as a person from his neighbourhood, just a few smudges will generally be insufficiënt.
Sinterklaas accompanied by a few zwarte pieten often visits a classroom. Think what will happen when one of the children recognizes one of the piets as his neighbour.
December 11th, 2012 at 8:44 am
Am I missing something here? Black man. There’s an entire festivity in his honor. He’s so beloved and important white people even paint their faces black to look like him. And this is somehow insulting?
Why?! Who in his right mind would feel insulted by having an entire festivity in his name?
It’s not even like “Dutch Santa” is hitting him with a whip or something. This is no slave! He and Santa look pretty equal to me!
Maybe I’m missing the angle here. I’m neither Dutch nor American (and I’m neither white nor black, either). But this doesn’t look racist to me. Not a single bit.
December 11th, 2012 at 8:51 am
Can’t you see that there is a big difference in the purpose of blackface shows and zwarte piet. As most Dutch are not racists at all but advocating human rights and equality instead, it is clear this subconscoious racism isn’t working at the Dutch minds.
That proves that the context in which the character is portrayed is really important in the way that character is associated with good or bad. Since there are only parallels in appearance between blackface and Zwarte Piet that would not lead to racism, but instead to more acceptance.
As these people celebrate this event ignorantly without any black=bad-associations this is a real progress in get rid of any into-the-box thinking.
Abolishing this tradition is admitting that there still is a difference between races, because whites will always discriminate against blacks, etc.
Whereas this old tradition has no racist meaning anymore in this modern days and black and white can celebrate it together.
I think it is progress, whereas abolishing it is just frustrating a lot of people and will be counterproductive.
December 11th, 2012 at 8:55 am
Hi Alberto, good question. Yes you are missing something here.
The point has to do with the history of blackface in the context of Occidental (read: european and american) traditional portrayals of black people acting silly in one way or another.
The opinion of everybody else in the world, apart from dutch people who celebrate this holiday, in an otherwise cosmopolitan country, is that it is in bad taste to do so. Again, this is based on history, and has little to do with personal opinion.
If you would like to get the angle here, take a look at some contemporary images of blackface, considered to be based on a history of demeaning symbolism.
(Note: this is widely accepted to foster racism, be it subconscious or not. I am talking about the use of stereotypes.
You can learn about the subject here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackface
December 11th, 2012 at 8:58 am
Martin, I do think one could do that as well with smudges of paint.
December 11th, 2012 at 9:02 am
Davion Ford is an African-American radio presenter living in the Netherlands and he had his own take on the Zwarte Piet tradition.
His full commentary was an edition of The State We’re In, but have a listen to this extractmp3 link):
http://download.radionetherlands.nl/rnw/smac/cms/e…
December 11th, 2012 at 9:05 am
Yes, we Americans still celebrate Thanksgiving. But dressing up as indians is not part of our holiday tradition. Schools used to have pageants where kids dressed up like pilgrims and indians, but the vast majority do not do that anymore.
There certainly is no national “dress like an indian day.” We don’t wear indian costumes to Thanksgiving dinner. We don’t even wear pilgrim costumes.
You won’t find any pictures of our president with children of any race dressed up in offensive caricatures of traditional Native American dress for Thanksgiving. (Unlike the pictures of your princess with children in blackface, which for some strange reason the Dutch are so fond of posting here.)
We hardly even eat Thanksgiving dinner anymore. We go shopping instead. See the difference now?
December 11th, 2012 at 9:07 am
Debra, really? if a child knows a slightly older child from the playground well, do you think that all it takes are a few smudges of black on his cheeks to change his appearance so much that the smaller child doesn’t recognize him?
Remember if it happens it will chatter the childs belief in sinterklaas, thats too big a risk to take.
December 11th, 2012 at 9:12 am
Thanks for your explanation Dagny. I think I understand why some people could find this offensive now. However, i think while the blackface and the Zwarte Piet might share an historical root, right now the point is completely different.
The Dutch are not making fun of, nor humilliating the Zwarte Piet. On the contrary, they honor him! I, for one, believe the current intended meaning of the celebration should be much more important than an ancient historical root, who some people might not even be aware of.
In the city I live in, Barranquilla in Colombia, we celebrate carnivals. One of the common costumes on the parades consists in people painting themselves in black to look like the african slaves that came to the country with the colonizing spaniards. And believe me, if you think the Zwarte Piet looks like the blackface, you gotta check this:
http://www.eluniversal.com.co/sites/default/files/…
And believe me, nobody would dare to say that’s an insult. We all know we are actually honoring part of our heritage.
December 11th, 2012 at 9:14 am
“Americans blame the world not to behave, but look away for their own problems, therefore they can learn a lot from European nations instead (gay rights for example), but they simply don’t listen too. Don’t ask, don’t tell.. that’s discrimination! “
Yes, because the Americans are so racist, and against Gays just ask the openly Lesbian mayor of Houston, or America’s half black President!
Tell me, how many non-white from your ex-colonies MPs do you have in your Parliament? When will we see a Surinamese, Indonesian, or a Moroccan as your Prime Minister?
Baron Cohen FYI is ENGLISH not American.
The fact that you have Geert Wilders winning elections and gaining popularity speaks volumes. Last time I checked openly racist xenophobes no longer get elected in the US. Not even in local provincial elections.
December 11th, 2012 at 9:40 am
If I may change the subject for a moment, I would like to discuss the vote to destroy the Unions in this country.
By a 58-51 vote, the Republican-led House passed a bill banning workplace rules that make union membership a condition of employment for government workers.
A second bill, covering private-sector workers, was expected to pass later in the day, and Gov. Rick Snyder was expected to sign the measures this week.
It is interesting that the white boy is always talking about OTWs looking for something for nothing when the method used by those super rich owners to bust the union in state after state is to appeal to just that trait in the white boy. Wanting to get something for nothing.
The law they pass is one that says that a union can’t force a person to pay union dues to get a job. The white boy will look you straight in the face and say, “if the union has something so good to offer they shouldn’t have to force someone to pay to get a job.”
What they mean is he wants to get the job with the pay and benefits that a union worker has worked hard to bargain for with the owner without contributing to the fund that gained those benefits. He wants something for nothing.
That works for those white boys who want something for nothing, so they support that type of legislation. The end result is that those “Right to work” laws end up to be the Right to Work for LESS, because as soon as the Union is busted, the employer stops those benefits and pay levels.
Robert, rt
December 11th, 2012 at 9:44 am
HSBC, has been the money laundering for the drug cartels for years. Finally under Obama they have been fined $1.9 billion dollars. The largest fine ever against a bank.
Another first for the black man.
December 11th, 2012 at 9:53 am
OK, you’re saying that even if Zwarte Piet is not racist intended and not offensive to those living in Holland, but we have to change our ways because the rest of the world is offended……..
What happened to the freedom of speech and expression?? Respect for other cultures??
I’m personnally offended that they eat cats and dogs in China. Do they have to change their ways for me? No, but I won’t eat cats and dogs myself.
The same is applicable here I think…
Please do not visit Holland during the 3 weeks before 5 december if you’re offended. But please do visit if you have an open mind and are willing to look into a culture.
December 11th, 2012 at 9:56 am
Obviously there are people who are offended or even feel discriminated against by Black Peters Moorish dark looks and that is reason enough to change those looks.
There is no need however, to invent “roots in the imperialistic policy that led to slavery”, that is pseudohistory. As early as the ninth century children dressed themselves up in celebration of Saint Nicolas’ nameday; one as Saint Nicolas and the rest with soot on their faces.
It always has been about good and evil, never about a charicature of black people. Black Peters roots lie in the demon Saint Nicolas is said to have vanquished, Wodans Wild Hunt and the Barbary corsairs.
December 11th, 2012 at 10:01 am
You got it, Alberto….you got it right. Some people will bitch about anything. If we put on a jew face and danced around in an oven, people would say we were racists.
December 11th, 2012 at 10:03 am
I’m not sure why TT insists the tradition has “roots in the imperialistic policy that led to slavery “. Its true only to the point that the school teacher that invented the new twist in an age old tradition would have been a child of his time, and transatlantic slavey was just abolished a few years before.
Fact is that some people are offended by the looks of a “white” santa being the “boss” of a black boy. Its not a case of what the facts are, (although the facts do not point to any intended racism) but how it appears to people now.
I am sure that in the coming decades the Dutch people will find a way to save sinterklaas, without offending any minorities.
P.S. If you look real hard, the funny thing is that sinterklaas isn’t white, he is also “black”, (or at least light brown) because he is turkish.
December 11th, 2012 at 10:07 am
Robert, RT, this white man has to agree with you in ever one of those 24 “right to work” states the jobs are low wage paying and they have no way of improving their situation.
It is indeed union busting.
And you are also right, the whites who support it have are looking to get jobs that unions have fought hard and compromised to get those benefits and pay scales.
This is all a part of the Koch Brothers plot to replace our current democratic system with an aristocratic ruling class. Ricky made millions exporting jobs to China, nowe he wants everyone in Michigan to work for serf wages to possibly get some of those jobs back. This is soooo sick on sooooooo many levels.
December 11th, 2012 at 10:11 am
People aren’t going to ante up when given the opportunity to be free riders. And as you have said Robert, RT the white boy is the chief Free Rider on every level in the US.
They, as is so often pointed out here, are America’s Affirmative Action Beneficiaries. And they are hypocrites because they pretend they don’t know they are the beneficiaries of all things free in America.
December 11th, 2012 at 10:13 am
yes, and lets call him zwart-witte piet (black or white piet),
What kind of sensitivities do lemmings have “before the great run”?
By the way, the idea that lemmings commit “mass suicide” is a popular misconception, but you might just have intended to mention they do a mass migration?!
Don’t understand at all why you think this is a valid reference, or do you think the Dutch will suddenly change their opinions? Its not impossible that this will happen, but it wont be suddenly.
December 11th, 2012 at 10:15 am
I’m confused as to why this is viewed as anti-union?
Unions still have the right to form and the right to collectively bargain. They just don’t have the right to forcibly extract dues. If people see the union as beneficial, which many times it can be, then they will pay their dues.
If the union acts more like a dictatorship than a representative of the people’s want/needs, then they won’t survive. Isn’t this a good thing?
This should make the unions better by adding accountability.
December 11th, 2012 at 10:18 am
Don’t you see the repetitiveness in the writing? The neurotic tendency try and twist water of stone. Attain a purity of life that never existed…HI will go away never having realized anything. So be it…
December 11th, 2012 at 10:21 am
When will you get it out of your head that this isn’t about what you Dutch think, its what the rest of the world thinks of YOU and this nefarious practice.
The Dutch and ONLY the Dutch it seems like find it acceptable to engage in blackface. Many countries and cultures around the world innocuously do things that others in other countries find offensive, take Asians and their views and uses of Hitler and the Nazis in advertising for example, but at least they were willing to change their ways after outsider protest and back down.
December 11th, 2012 at 10:22 am
Andrew: You are way beyond confused. You wouldn’t get it if someone dropped a bus on your head, so give it up!
December 11th, 2012 at 11:21 am
The big question is when will we see criminal charges for these crimes by the bank. I mean unless these criminal have jail time to fear, they will continue to steal and do business with drug dealers and other criminals.
It just shows how the white boy has engineered a two tier system of justice. One for them and their privileged and and one for the rest of us.
If all the bankers have to worry about is a fine if they get caught, then if is a fact for them that crime pays and very well indeed.
Alycedale
December 11th, 2012 at 11:36 am
The launch of the shuttle will be met as planned but the recent event will change who with meet it.
Check 3..47..2h8
December 11th, 2012 at 11:56 am
Alycedale, this white woman agrees 100%. I just read a HP article about the anti gay rantings of Scalia. Discussing it with my white friends and family was a disheartening experience to say the least. To most of them it was all about sex between two people of the same sex.
To me, it is not the act of penetration itself that is immoral or illegal, the deciding question is ,”is it voluntary or involuntary?”.
Imbedded in that question is another question, “do each of us own our own body or does the State? With these questions Conservative thought, such as Scalia’s, is remarkable in its inconsistency with regard to the morality or legality of abortion, sodomy, rape, murder, suicide, terrorism, torture and war?
One set of rules for the rich and powerful and another for the poor and powerless. Our Constituion clearlly was written carefully to prevent such class distinctions, it attempted to make everyone equal under the law.
It is absurd that Conservatives have managed to get away with claiming a love for the Constitution while persistently violating the principal of Democratic equality.
Scalia considers himself the smartest man in the room, pretends to embrace the Constitution and then votes to legalize torture. It is diffiuclt to imagine a more egocentrically flawed thought process.
December 11th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
While you are talking about caricatures, the one of Serena Williams done on court during a match with Maria Sharapova by Caroline Woznizcki was as racist as you can get.
Yet, it was received very well by the white crowd and actually received approval by many news outlets.
http://uptownmagazine.com/2012/12/serena-williams-impersonation-is-caroline-wozniackis-imitation-of-the-tennis-star-racist/
Some whites just don’t get it. They no longer have impunity to degrade OTWs at will. If that thing had been within reach of me, I would have kicked her ass.
Ruth, SM
December 11th, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Ditto, Ruth,SM. every time we prove em wrong by shattering yet another one of their white supremacist illusions it throws em right off balance and this is the kind of strange behaviour that always follows.
What a hater.
December 11th, 2012 at 12:49 pm
Making fun of black women is as old as the white man’s existence.
http://scientificaesthetic.com/2009/03/03/saartjie-baartman-the-hottentot-venus/
Saartjie Baartman
Tragic Venus
circa 1789 – 1 January 1816
We have since gotten her parts back. But it was a struggle.
December 11th, 2012 at 12:52 pm
This is not unlike what happened to Sarah Baartman, displayed as a freak because of her unusual physical features, was finally laid to rest 187 years after she left Cape Town for London. Her remains were buried on Women’s Day, 9 August 2002, in the area of her birth, the Gamtoos River Valley in the Eastern Cape.
http://www.southafrica.info/about/history/saartjie.htm#.UMecXo59n0c#ixzz2EmLMLVQl
December 11th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Hadewych, Why are you saying that he is neurotic? He is just concerned about racism and thinks every kind of stereotyping is related to racism and therefore dangerous.
He is also concerned about the image of the Dutch, but we are a nation of tolerance (race, sex and sexuality) and this subjects only distracts from real issues.
Americans blame the world not to behave, but look away for their own problems, therefore they can learn a lot from European nations instead (gay rights for example), but they simply don’t listen too. Don’t ask, don’t tell.. that’s discrimination!
Baron Cohen is also stereotyping people, sometimes offending. Marrocan comedians make jokes about Dutch and themselves, it is great to see those cultural differences back in such a show. There is no need for everybody to be the same, as long as intentions are good..
December 11th, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Thanksgiving is practically the same issue, there is no reason not to bring that up in a discussion like this. White children dressing up as Native Americans in school plays, seems to be the exact same thing to me.
December 11th, 2012 at 1:04 pm
Bethel Learning Center is a PRIVATE Day Care Center. It is not a PUBLIC school. As I said, there is no national or public celebration where you will found thousands of Americans in the streets dressed as indians.
You can, of course, find people on their own doing any number of offensive things, not only in the U.S. but all over the world.
Native Americans have voiced their concerns about having white kids dress up as indians for Thanksgiving, and the rest of America, for the most part, has listened to them. I’m not saying we’re perfect, but we are listening and making changes accordingly.
December 11th, 2012 at 1:09 pm
Fuck you motherfuckers. Who gives two shits about what a few niggers think. Let’s turn this blog to the topic of our fiscal needs.
That nigger in the White House is holding up progress. Have you seen the commercials telling you to write your congressmen and tell them to get cracking against that coon?
Start writing white people before that buffoon fucks our country up.
George, WN
December 11th, 2012 at 1:09 pm
Yep. Non-Dutch foreigner rightfully expresses shock and disgust at Zwarte Piet, the beloved Dutch character who is really just a 300 year racist blackface caricature and the Dutch go through the motions in their typical passive aggressive ways how its not racist and offensive because:
1. Its a “beloved children’s character”.
2. Its our culture and traditions -mind your business
3. Our Blacks and non-whites don’t seem to mind and participate (to that I attribute to trying to fit into Dutch society and be accepted rather than genuinely liking the holiday.
This proves that they don’t: http://zwartepietisracisme.tumblr.com/)
4. You Americans do it too, just look at your Thanksgiving and how you depict Native Americans.
Though, i’m willing to wager that if Americans “did it too”, as far as having a “beloved children’s character” called “The Flying Dutchman” dressed him in Orange and made him look like stereotypical Dutch person in the worst way possible, then you Dutch would be trolling the internet, much like what you’re doing now, expressing how offended and disgusted you are at such a racist character and that you Americans should put an end to it.
Just saying…….
December 11th, 2012 at 1:14 pm
Ironically this reminds me discussing terrorism with muslims.
collectivists, be they religious or nationalistic in nature, out of pride, cannot admit that they’re not perfect…. they cannot admit that they have problems.
Muslims, for example, employ the No-True-Scottsman fallacy in response to the obvious fact that such terrorism is often motivated and evoked by their faith…. they simply cannot acknowledge that obvious reality and take some responsibility for it, hence the problem persists and they try to save face by denying it.
Like wise, I’m seeing the same sort of thing here from our dutch racists. They believe the netherland’s poo doesn’t stink… that they’re culturally superior… and hence are unable to discuss this very obvious and overt racism they celebrate with their children.
December 11th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
It is simply amazing to me how many ignorant fucks, like George WN, are in this country. Michigan people are just as stupid as Minnesota people in how to best ruin their lives quickly…Ohio, Florida, the list is getting much longer…This country used to have people that were educated. Those days are gone. The United States is so far down the list it is an embarrassment. Instead, people now sit around and watch a bunch of highly paid has beens dance; or some fat, ignorant, little girl do whatever it is she does; or there is America’s best fucked up family – The Kardashians, some “reality” storage bullshit, or some “reality” police show…What the masses know, but don’t want to acknowledge, because it would mean that they consciously decided to choose ignorance, is that the rich elite control the media and what the masses watch. The elite are turning the masses minds to jello so that they can all work for fucking WalMart.
yeah, uh, you all can thank Anonz and his friends. I’m sure life’s view is much better from their place on Lake Como.
December 12th, 2012 at 4:04 am
Ditto
December 12th, 2012 at 4:08 am
This fits right in with what you said Anon#55.
I AM FISHEAD – HOW PSYCHOPATHS AND ANTIDEPRESSANTS INFLUENCE OUR SOCIETY (DOCUMENTARY)
Street, where a big chunk of the world power is concentrated. This small plot of city land is where the economic crisis erupted and what we found there has far-reaching consequences, both for the psychopaths and us normal folk. The second part of the film touches on how, for a small number of people, overuse of antidepressants can result in behaviors that appear to mimic some psychopathic features.
Although overuse of these medications will not produce psychopathy, they may stifle emotion and decrease the user’s ability to feel empathy. They also may have the opposite effects, “normalizing” emotional experience and empathy.
More than one-third of the Western population uses and, in some cases, abuses these drugs. But why? So why do we want to take a pill that flattens or normalizes our normal feelings? We think something sure smells fishy again.
It is not too far fetched to say that for the first time in history we not only praise psychopaths in the highest positions of power, but in many cases, they became our role models. On top of that, we don’t seem to think it’s a problem.
In the third part, we come back to the idea of us, the normal people in our day-to-day life. How much different are we from the average psychopath? By embracing a superficial culture, each of us maybe unwillingly supports the fishead. Albert Einstein said, “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”
Through interviews with renowned psychologist Professor Philip Zimbardo, leading expert on psychopathy Professor Robert Hare, former President of Czech Republic and playwright Vaclav Havel, authors Gary Greenberg and Christopher Lane, professor Nicholas Christakis, among numerous other thinkers, we have delved into the world of psychopaths and heroes and revealed shocking implications for us and our society.
December 12th, 2012 at 4:26 am
Vivian, I don’t agree with parents trying to be their childrens’ friends when the children are growing up. But when a child reaches adulthood, I don’t see anything wrong with a parent also being a friend. I’ll call my Mom in a minute to go do things together. My Dad also encourages our friendship.
I treasure my independence, my parents love that I’m independent too. But that doesn’t negate the fact that I thank God for giving me the chance to have not only the friendship, but the precious friendship I now have with my Mom…and my Dad too.
Vivian, I know that you are only 13 years older than your daughter. But I find it difficult to believe that you are married to one of her class mates and that you attend her high school class reunions. You have fucked up your daughters ability to be a normal mother.
Today is her 30th birthday. Could you for once think of her and your our two beautiful grand children. My son would like at least one of his wife’s birthdays to be without drama. You refuse to answer any of my attempts to contact you.
I am told that you worship this blog, so I am attempting to contact you here. Please do not come with your normal attitude of competing with your daughter for attention. Also ask your husband to refrain from mentioning that he has had sexual relations with your daughter when they dated during high school but he chose you because your pussy was tighter.
You may find that crude talk amusing, but if you bring that idiot to my house with that attitude, I will allow my son and his brothers to have a serious discussion with him before he is ejected. One would think that a high priced ambulance chasing lawyer like him would have better sense. If he can’t hold his liquor, then he shouldn’t drink so much. Thank God the state took his license to drive away.
Please do not arrive late so that you can park your tacky colored Bentley in the front so as to show off. If you do, this time you will not be allowed on the premises. I have instructed the guards to post you if you arrive late. And NO, your driver is NOT invited to this event. So make arrangements.
I have made several efforts to mend fences with you for your daughters sake and our grand children. Since Ellie is your only child, I have tried to keep the doors of communication open between you two. But I swear if you mess this up, you are out.
Jackie
December 12th, 2012 at 4:35 am
You americans suck. You are so quick to call others racists when your history is full of the disgusting racist things you have done to your minorities. Leave the Dutch alone until you have cleaned your own house. =============================
Almost all Germans are deeply ashamed of ther Nazi past — and none display the Nazi flag except neo-Nazis.
In the American South, many whites are not only NOT ashamed of the attempt by the Confederacy to perpetuate slavery, they have fond memories of white supremacy and proudly fly the Confederate Battle Flag to this day.
Nazi genocide is portrayed as a far more horrific thing than slavery. The only reason it appears so is because white america hides the murders and atrocities they did to the slaves and there were no cameras to record the sufferings of slaves nor the pure nazi like evil practiced by white americans.
Still, it is unimaginable that a German official would fondly commemorate the Nazi era — and no American official should likewise honor the traitors of the Confederacy. Yet you sick hypocritical racist assholes get on this blog and knock the Netherlands.
I love it when you visit our hotel. You smile and gust all over my beautiful blond appearance. I make it my business to piss in what ever I serve you. Please come back now, you hear.
Valbona
December 12th, 2012 at 4:48 am
Just so you know. We Russians hate you also. We love your money and we know how your racism makes you envious of our beautiful blonds, so we send you our orphans to adopt and our women to marry. But we always wish you the worst.
HYPOCRITES. You should call your racist bastion the United States of White Hypocrites. What makes you think when you come to Russia bragging about how the blacks, jews, and etc, etc races are fucking up you country we agree with you.
We don’t feel like celebrating racism, slavery, inequality, bigotry and criminality. The White South didn’t build the nation: their fine buildings and farms were built by African-American slaves, who then became economic slaves under repressive Jim Crow. They remain unfree under rethuglican rule.
Do you think that we Russians are so ignorant that we accept you bullshit? If it were not for you black president you would be a pariah in this part of the world. No one likes american whites because we know that if you treat your own citizens with such disdain what chance do we have at equality with you.
Rada
December 12th, 2012 at 4:53 am
Anon#55, except for your rant against Anonz, I agree with you. I think you need to discover the archives of this blog concerning Anonz. You will find that he has not only been incredibly accurate with his predictions, he has put his convictions on the line with his life’s blood.
He may not be perfect, but this lady sees him as a Paladin.
May God always bless and hold you close to his breast Anonz.
Irene
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