It truly doesn’t matter who finds Zwarte Piet to be offensive to Black people or who chooses to believe the politically correct chimney soot story. The controversy enveloping Zwarte Piet is merely the focal point of a much bigger issue. We all understand the atrocities committed by the trans-Atlantic European powers in what many of them, the Netherlands included, deem as their respective “Golden Ages” which brought their countries international wealth and power at the expense of other countries and people. Whatever, that bit is over-there’s nothing that can be done about that. Here we are currently, and these are the rules that we play by. The debate over Sinterklaas is nothing new, but for whatever reason it only gained major ground this year. I believe that reason to be that people that directly benefit from white privilege are not willing to listen to those that do not benefit from it. The Netherlands prides itself on being a cosmopolitan society, but most of the citizens do not actually listen or interact with people that are not ethnically Dutch. As an American, I realize that I originate from a country with a very heinous record concerning racial relations. This realization comes from the fact that I have always been on the receiving end of the racial inequality. However, maybe because my country is a country of immigrants or possibly because America has been a cosmopolitan entity longer than most European countries who only integrated after World War II, in America we at least have dialogue about these issues. Since the civil rights movement was televised in the 1960s for the entire world to see, America’s racial issues have stood at the forefront and have set the precedent of racial relations for the entire world. I’m not claiming that we are racially harmonious, because we aren’t. Even with the election of President Barack Obama, America’s first president of African descent, America is rife with racial issues. But, we acknowledge that and allow for discussion amongst different factions. A person’s opinion can be heard in The States, and usually people will at least consider it. I don’t see that in the Netherlands. I see a country that is diverse, yet divided. I see that the majority of the citizens, ethnic Dutch people, are fine with multiculturalism until their own history, culture and customs are tested and questioned. No multicultural society can exist without free expression and free speech. This is something the people of the Netherlands need to work on. I have admitted that I do not feel the same aura of racism that I felt in many areas of America, particularly on a daily basis. However, I don’t feel that racial relations are more advanced and altruistic here, I just feel that they are ignored more skillfully…
