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Picture: Twitter/@MirandaDrubbel
Friday, 14 November 2014 - 09:10
White Pete enrages some Zwarte Piet lovers
Last night the Sinterklaasjournaal introduced a few White Petes. Or at least a Piet-in-training with a few soot marks on his face from going down the chimney.
One thing is certain. The Sinterklaasjournaal is causing a lot of controversy this year. On the first broadcast of this year on Tuesday, only the traditional Zwarte Pieten, with faces painted black, appeared. This upset many people, including children's writer Sjoerd Kuyper.
Last night the first White Pete appeared. This upset many people on the other side of the argument. Geert Wilders tweeted that he will never again watch Sinterklaasjournaal.
Supporters and opponents of Zwarte Piet are discussing (or fighting over) the matter on Twitter using the hastags #wittepiet and #sinterklaasjournaal.#nooitmeernaarsinterklaasjournaalkijkendus pic.twitter.com/bqSxjLj9rE
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) November 13, 2014
https://twitter.com/cornelvangeelen/status/532943922033860608Zijn er defibrilatoren op twitter beschikbaar? Voor al die ontploffende witte piet-haters #sinterklaasjournaal
— hans laroes (@hanslaroes) November 13, 2014
https://twitter.com/sonja_hofstee/status/533138670954762240 https://twitter.com/hakhverdian/status/532973112074444800U weet toch dat alles op TV verzonnen is? Relax!
— SintNicolaas (@SintNicolaas) November 13, 2014
The NTR, who broadcast Sinterklaasjournaal, will probably wait for the outcome of this discussion before taking a position. The program has, as a result of its own success, become one of the main arenas for the Zwarte Piet quarrels. The story line they came up with seems clever because it completely avoids the discussion. The Pieten are gone, so new ones must be trained. They jump down chimneys so often that they gradually take on some color, taking the topic of race out of the discussion. One Piet-in-training asks "Am I all black?" to which the Piet-trainer replies, no, not really. "But the most important thing is that you can go down the chimney. The color of a Piet, that is an afterthought." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cou629vOZsUZit met kids voor het #sinterklaasjournaal. Witte Pieten, het valt me meteen op. De kids zien helemaal NIETS bijzonders.
— Igor Quik (@igorquik) November 13, 2014