Europeans are so racist, one facet of the civil rights movement in the US was black GIs being treated as humans by europeans during the war and then returning to the jim crow US. There is absolutely racism in Europe, as a continent. However, most US commenters here are conflating being less politically correct than the US with the de facto batshit insane institutionalized racism that still prevails stateside. Call me when EU prisons are used as slave camps (populated overwhelmingly by black people) or we have a para-military neo-nazi force arresting people because of the colour of their skin. Meanwhile black people get access to healthcare in the EU and have higher life expectancy at birth within the EU than the progressive polite US of A…
Denmark forcibly sterilizing Greenland Inuit women, the general treatment of the Romani people, Brexiters crying about immigrants, oh hey look things are getting worse for black people, Zwarte Piet, golliwog dolls, the racism adjacent to Islamophobia…
It generally looks different in the US because a) the population is way less homogenous so different ethnic groups can both form distinct cultures and are more likely to interact with other groups and b) the core issues are baked into every facet of our history and fixing all of the lingering effects means actually facing and discussing all of it. This is complicated by a sizeable portion that are perfectly happy with a segregated society. We fought a war with ourselves about it and didn’t actually fix anything in that process. (I suspect that a great many Europeans are also happy with a segregated society, and as long as that segregation is along country or even village borders they can pretend it’s not the same kind of bigotry)
There is absolutely racism in Europe, as a continent. However, most US commenters here are conflating being less politically correct than the US with the de facto batshit insane institutionalized racism that still prevails stateside. Call me when EU prisons are used as slave camps (populated overwhelmingly by black people) or we have a para-military neo-nazi force arresting people because of the colour of their skin. Meanwhile black people get access to healthcare in the EU and have higher life expectancy at birth within the EU than the progressive polite US of A…
Also, since you mention Scandinavia you forgot the Sámi and the use of eugenics in Sweden well into the 60s…
The use of exaggerated black features to depict a servant that originated as a slave demon has nothing to do with racism?
This is the kind of stuff this post is about. It’s not that “Americans talk about race too much” it’s that y’all don’t talk about the problematic stuff enough so you don’t even recognize it.
Zwarte Piet is 100% a slave with all the traditional symbolism around the character. The fact that people call their role ‘helper’ or ‘assistant’ really does not change anything about the historical background of “zwarte Piet”
We are basically portraying a white man with black slaves as a great thing, and celebrate it. Combine that with the fact that it’s mainly directed at kids who are very easily influenced in such regards… It’s a bad tradition.
I know that for 99% of the people this probably isn’t the message they want to send, but even when not malicious it will influence the way children look at the world.
Race isn’t even real. Science stops before then, and maybe you can get vague ethnic groups that can be mostly self defined.
We all live in bastardized and fragile versions of “civility”. None of them are perfect, some of them are worse, and the usa is a big place, please don’t generalize and group us all together.
Pretending your civilization is superior is… Probably something you should be cautious of.
Oh ffs, we border Africa and Asia you absolute moppet. There are far greater divisions within Europe than skin colour. France has battled England for longer than the US has existed. Denmark still has a law that allows the Danes to clobber Swedes crossing a frozen Öresund. Half of Europe was once ruled by an inbred caste of Austrians. While all of this happening, there were other races around and the peoples had commercial and social relationships. Almost the entirety of the Iberian peninsula was at some point populated by North Africans and the Roman empire was once divided between East and West.
Nobody thinks we’re better people, it’s just that the entire globe agrees you’re not good people and are educated to have the miopic view typical of a place that thinks they are better than everyone else while conveniently ignoring they’re living on stolen land from a wealth of genocided native peoples.
Wow you border areas very different from you? That’s gotta be a great source of societal change huh.
Not sure how “we’ve hated each other for stupider reasons for hundreds of years” is your lede but, write what you know, they say.
Nobody thinks we’re better people, it’s just that the entire globe agrees you’re not good people and are educated to have the miopic view typical of a place that thinks they are better than everyone else while conveniently ignoring they’re living on stolen land from a wealth of genocided native peoples.
*myopic*. So true about the stolen land. Irrelevant to the discussion but true. Hey I heard you guys literally were the Nazis, is that true?
Wow you border areas very different from you? That’s gotta be a great source of societal change huh.
Written like someone “educated” in the US. If only there was a discipline, I don’t know, like history, that taught thousands of examples of exactly that…
Hey I heard you guys literally were the Nazis, is that true?
It was also a European who killed Hitler, so it evens out at the end of the day.
Europeans are so racist, one facet of the civil rights movement in the US was black GIs being treated as humans by europeans during the war and then returning to the jim crow US. There is absolutely racism in Europe, as a continent. However, most US commenters here are conflating being less politically correct than the US with the de facto batshit insane institutionalized racism that still prevails stateside. Call me when EU prisons are used as slave camps (populated overwhelmingly by black people) or we have a para-military neo-nazi force arresting people because of the colour of their skin. Meanwhile black people get access to healthcare in the EU and have higher life expectancy at birth within the EU than the progressive polite US of A…
Denmark forcibly sterilizing Greenland Inuit women, the general treatment of the Romani people, Brexiters crying about immigrants, oh hey look things are getting worse for black people, Zwarte Piet, golliwog dolls, the racism adjacent to Islamophobia…
It generally looks different in the US because a) the population is way less homogenous so different ethnic groups can both form distinct cultures and are more likely to interact with other groups and b) the core issues are baked into every facet of our history and fixing all of the lingering effects means actually facing and discussing all of it. This is complicated by a sizeable portion that are perfectly happy with a segregated society. We fought a war with ourselves about it and didn’t actually fix anything in that process. (I suspect that a great many Europeans are also happy with a segregated society, and as long as that segregation is along country or even village borders they can pretend it’s not the same kind of bigotry)
Also, since you mention Scandinavia you forgot the Sámi and the use of eugenics in Sweden well into the 60s…
What about “Zwarte Piet”? That has nothing to do with racism.
The use of exaggerated black features to depict a servant that originated as a slave demon has nothing to do with racism?
This is the kind of stuff this post is about. It’s not that “Americans talk about race too much” it’s that y’all don’t talk about the problematic stuff enough so you don’t even recognize it.
That would be Speciesism just to be pedantic. But no, it really doesn’t and shows a poor understanding of the historical background of “zwarte Piet”.
Zwarte Piet is 100% a slave with all the traditional symbolism around the character. The fact that people call their role ‘helper’ or ‘assistant’ really does not change anything about the historical background of “zwarte Piet”
We are basically portraying a white man with black slaves as a great thing, and celebrate it. Combine that with the fact that it’s mainly directed at kids who are very easily influenced in such regards… It’s a bad tradition.
I know that for 99% of the people this probably isn’t the message they want to send, but even when not malicious it will influence the way children look at the world.
When people of color make up more than 0.02% of the population, we’ll be glad to see those humanistic policies and programs upheld.
That figure for France is approx 500-1000 times higher than your bullshit made up number ;)
Even higher including overseas territories
Colonial invasion is not the defense you think it is.
I’m not endorsing France holding onto Guyana et al. Just pointing out that the figure is that high even just in the mainland.
Colour of skin =/= race.
I’ll give you a pass because you’re usanian and you guys exist in a bastardized version of civilised society.
Race isn’t even real. Science stops before then, and maybe you can get vague ethnic groups that can be mostly self defined.
We all live in bastardized and fragile versions of “civility”. None of them are perfect, some of them are worse, and the usa is a big place, please don’t generalize and group us all together.
Pretending your civilization is superior is… Probably something you should be cautious of.
Yeah. It’s just that we have the history and problems (and some solutions) you don’t. It’s not necessarily because you’re better people, is it.
So you’re enjoying not having to deal with either. You think it’s pretty great. There are a bunch of racists here who 100% agree.
Oh ffs, we border Africa and Asia you absolute moppet. There are far greater divisions within Europe than skin colour. France has battled England for longer than the US has existed. Denmark still has a law that allows the Danes to clobber Swedes crossing a frozen Öresund. Half of Europe was once ruled by an inbred caste of Austrians. While all of this happening, there were other races around and the peoples had commercial and social relationships. Almost the entirety of the Iberian peninsula was at some point populated by North Africans and the Roman empire was once divided between East and West.
Nobody thinks we’re better people, it’s just that the entire globe agrees you’re not good people and are educated to have the miopic view typical of a place that thinks they are better than everyone else while conveniently ignoring they’re living on stolen land from a wealth of genocided native peoples.
Wow you border areas very different from you? That’s gotta be a great source of societal change huh.
Not sure how “we’ve hated each other for stupider reasons for hundreds of years” is your lede but, write what you know, they say.
*myopic*. So true about the stolen land. Irrelevant to the discussion but true. Hey I heard you guys literally were the Nazis, is that true?
Written like someone “educated” in the US. If only there was a discipline, I don’t know, like history, that taught thousands of examples of exactly that…
It was also a European who killed Hitler, so it evens out at the end of the day.
also some Europeans were, and am*ricans currently are Nazis
Remind me, which African colonies did Americans own into the 1950s.
I can tell you which European ones existed…
I can name you few banana republics well into the 2000s. Shit, you’re trying to do it again in Venezuela RIGHT NOW!
Interesting, why aren’t there any statues of this guy, or a day in his honour? Unless there something you’re neglecting to mention lol.
Jolly, I can feel the americaness oozing from the screen. They say ignorance is bliss but this doesn’t seem very blissful to me.
Godspeed my USA friends and strap in - you are about find out so much in the next couple of decades.