It would be even more intimidating if he had 6-8 black men with him....

Or, Santa: He'll slay you!

"Elves," he said. "They're just so silly. I now have 6-8 black men as helpers."

You don't seem to realise how stupid you come off to me when you point to the "blackface" aspect of the Zwarte Piet tradition in my posts: especially when there is a link to SOMEBODY READING THE STORY, where he says. 

In France and Germany gifts are exchanged on Christmas Eve, while in the Netherlands the children open their presents on December 5, in celebration of St. Nicholas Day. It sounded sort of quaint until I spoke to a man named Oscar, who filled me in on a few of the details as we walked from my hotel to the Amsterdam train station...

 Then, of course, you've got the six to eight former slaves who could potentially go off at any moment. This, I think, is the greatest difference between us and the Dutch. While a certain segment of our population might be perfectly happy with the arrangement, if you told the average white American that six to eight nameless black men would be sneaking into his house in the middle of the night, he would barricade the doors and arm himself with whatever he could get his hands on.

 Not to mention I say things like:

OK, this is a tradition that needs to be experienced in person, but this comes pretty close to what it is like.  It usually comes as a surprise for the non-Dutch/Flemish when they first encounter it (I know it did me).

and

 As Sinterklaas is coming to town this weekend: here is a description of a tradition that I experienced live and in person when I lived in Belgium.  I was walking down the street in Antwerp to run into two men in blackface (and this was after Vlaams Bloc won the election).  I decided to keep my wisearse comments to myself.

Now, would the neo-nazi Vlaams Bloc be upset if my comments were approving?  Seriously, How stupid are you people?

and I have a label to the post: 6 to 8 Black men

Anyway,  had you bothered to LISTEN to the story, you would have heard: 

Oscar finished his story just as we arrived at the station. He was a polite and interesting guy very good company, but when he offered to wait until my train arrived I begged off, claiming I had some calls to make. Sitting alone in the vast, vibrant terminal, surrounded by thousands of polite, seemingly interesting Dutch people, I couldn’t help but feel second rate. Yes, the Netherlands was a small country, but it had six to eight black men and a really good bedtime story. Being a fairly competitive person, I felt jealous, then bitter. I was edging toward hostile when I remembered the blind hunter tramping off alone into the Michigan forest. He may bag a deer, or he may happily shoot a camper in the stomach. He may find his way back to the car, or he may wander around for a week or two before stumbling through your back door. We don’t know for sure, but in pinning that license to his chest, he inspires the sort of narrative that ultimately makes me proud to be an American.

Consider yourselves willfully ignorant if not seriously DUMB for having missed a lot of what was going on.

Take another bow for making fools of yourselves!  You deserve it.

Zwarte Pieten Stijl - Nederlandse Gangnam Style en meer Sinterklaasliedjes!

OK, this is a tradition that needs to be experienced in person, but this comes pretty close to what it is like.  It usually comes as a surprise for the non-Dutch/Flemish when they first encounter it (I know it did me).

And, Sinterklaas and Zwarte Pieten are now visiting Holland and the Flemish parts of Belgium.  That said: here's some Zwarte Pieten!

Six to Eight Black men

As Sinterklaas is coming to town this weekend: here is a description of a tradition that I experienced live and in person when I lived in Belgium.  I was walking down the street in Antwerp to run into two men in blackface (and this was after Vlaams Bloc won the election).  I decided to keep my wisearse comments to myself.

Anyway, Sedaris has a couple of questions he asks to break the ice.

Personally, I prefer what makes the Netherlands interesting to what makes the US interesting.

Although, I am sure that some people will prefer what makes the US interesting.

Quote of the Day

When a Jamaican researcher for a UN cultural panel said she thought Zwarte Piet was racist, she was overwhelmed with racially offensive e-mails.

Zwarte Piet is not racism.

Source 

More coming up on this "quaint" Dutch/Flemish custom that puzzles the non-Dutch/Flemish.

see also:

• Dutch court rules in favor of ′Black Pete′ | News | DW.DE | 12.11.2014

Another run in with neo-Nazis

And I feel good.

As I said, this wasn't my first since I had run ins with the Front National and Vlaams Blok when I lived in Belgium ("you really shouldn't speak another language since we are really stupid people").   Maybe they didn't bother me since the languages I was also speaking were English and Russian (as well as the other community's language).

Once again, speaking another language, in this case Dutch, was nearly as much fun, but not as up close and personal as dealing face to face with members of the Front National or Vlaams Blok.

Anyway, posting that they were assholes who would have been killed under the Nazi's action T4 (killing the mentally ill) along with the fact that their Latin is wrong ("Europe's Sword" is "Europae Gladium" or "Gladium Europae") in Dutch earned me an immediate ban from "Gladius Europa" (sic).

I'm sure my draft dodging great-grandfather (from Bismarck's Army) would have been proud.  I wish I knew his sister since I know that she went through both World Wars and Communism (if you know a Lena Fuchs or her family from Meerane...).

My mother was in Berlin when the wall came down (and I was sitting in England waiting for the knock that would have said "your country needs you.").

Let's face it, I consider myself European since I am first generation (being born here) American on my dad's side and my mother has a long heritage of European nationalities (mostly English and German with some "French").  I fit in when I lived in Belgium.

Anyway, I couldn't deliver my coup de grace of:

Je bent juist over de genocide van de Europese bevolking en cultuur. We moeten uitroeien van deze plaag beginnen te raken door het bij de bron: De Verenigde Staten.

While posting this picture:

to make the point that real Europeans want fuck all to do with this nonsense.  We've been there and done that.

So, where is JFPO with their posturing when there are real Neo-nazis out there?

Anyway, given my background, I am probably much better at fighting these people without a gun than JFPO is with them.

Anyway, if you know a European language (besides English) and want to have a giggle: the "Gladius Europa" Facebook page is a fun playground.

They don't like real Europeans telling them that they are fucked up: especially if it is in a real European language.