before: I think I really have stretched my thoughts here. I’m sorry for that as you may feel obligated to read my reply. I’m not sure if I even pointed to any clear conclusion. Here is my reply:

Thanks :) I would have to read about that tradition as I think I never had heard of it before. <reading an article> So Pete is a fictional character going around the world with Santa Claus… I find people that fight with racism and homophobia often to be so extreme that they end up on the other end. Putting people in boxes saying that other do that and it hurts the other other people… “White kids dressing as a character from book and painting their faces black”. Ofcourse they god damn do that. Why it matters that they are white? This is racism. They want to dress as this character and are light skinned. They put their hearts in their costumes and some fanatic calls them nazi. Okay, not in these words, but I feel annoyed how world looks only at a surface of everything. Ofcourse some real nazi groups in Holland used that image but why let them spoil fun for everyone? “Yay Santa and Pete are coming, I hope I will get something nice.” Noooo but Pete has dark skin, so it is racist. I never before thought about that stuff. People are people. We look different, dress different, like different stuff in bed. Why look and stop at skin, or gender or something else thin?

Also why hate history and put fog over it? We should learn from it so we can do better. Except… there is nothing to learn from. This is a tradition where children dress as hero from a book. Just because he is of one skin colour or another doesn’t make that racist, maybe only a trendy headline for paper.

They dress as a character of a book. If they dressed as Kanye West that would be better, worse? Or would that be racist if a WHITE kid wanted to look like his favourite rapper? I guess painting face brown would be a bit much. But there are people that want to look like characters from comic books, for example there is a guy that attempted to make his skin red. Important is context, as always. There is difference in running around dressed as african native and shouting “I’m dumb removed”, and running around as Pete, Santa helper.

And what about asian, american (as in native) and every other little human living in Holland. If someone has more narrow eyes then he/she can be Pete?

Also you mentioned that people in USA are shocked… which people? Did all of USA citizens read about that tradition and found it bad? Why would that even matter? The point of this event isn’t to hurt anyone. No one is doing purge during this time. Shaming anyone. Why opinion of few people would matter if they don’t know the thing they are commenting on?

I’m sorry because this reply maybe was a bit chaotic…

If Pete was white and dressed as stereotypical european of that era should I scream that this is racist and i don’t dress and look like that?

And saying black person, white person… People mean whom? If I get it right Pete was from Spain, at least that’s where he sent naughty children. Whole Spain should I guess feel offended.

I could put probably ton of labels on myself, and others. But everyone is first and foremost themsleves. If people get grouped by something as far stretching as skin colour then ow boi… It’s like saying that “white man invaded some country”. No, not white man invaded some country, usually history tells us whom exactly and why went where and did what. It is easier to put label and throw everyone to one bag. As some do with muslims and terrorism, dark skinned americans and gangs, etc…

Pete is first and foremost Santa helper.