As usual, carrying political correctness to the extreme,

Protest against Dutch blackface holiday tradition

 

 

Children, some with faces painted black, wait for "Zwarte Piet" or "Black P     TOBY STERLING, AP

AMSTERDAM (AP) — The Dutch equivalent of Santa Claus arrived in the Netherlands on Saturday to the delight of thousands of children. But some adults protested vigorously against one element of the beloved tradition they find racist: his servant in blackface makeup, Black Pete.

In the annual Dutch Sinterklaas festival, St. Nicholas arrives by steamboat in mid-November and spends a month in the country with dozens of the Petes, clown-like figures who leave cookies, chocolate and other treats for children. The affair ends in a night of gift-giving on Dec. 5.

Protesters say the Petes — servants who wear blackface makeup, red lipstick and frizzy "Afro" wigs — are blatant racist caricatures and should be banned. But in a country where 90 percent of the people have European ancestry, a large majority feels there is no racial insult intended by Black Pete. They say he's a positive figure of fun and that the dissent is a sign of political correctness gone overboard....STORY