YELLOW FACE

In a recent article a Brabander, Peter Wu, complains about the insensitivity of the Dutch. Who at some level have remained the same unreconstructed folks that gave the world apartheid and colonial slaughter. As an American of Dutch (Brabantine) ancestry it does not please me to find out that we are still not totally soft and fluffy.

Every year at Carneval we do silly things to make fun of everyone.
Sometimes we're tasteless.
Extremely so.

Indonesians, Germans, Red Indians, East Indians, Yanks, Jews ...
Cripples, dead people, peasants ...


My parents were usually somewhat unaware of such things, because as Americans who moved to the Netherlands they still thought in English.
By the time my brother and I were in highschool, however, we were completely alert to Dutch presumptions.

Being a Yank in "Kaaskop" Country is not always an enviable position.
Precisely like being an ethnic minority in the United States.
No, shan't engage in 'whitesplaining' this.
You already know the drill.

This photo says it all.

[From this article: Wat er met mij gebeurt wanneer ik je racistische carnavalsliedjes hoor.]


What the heck?!? I can understand why Peter Wu is offended, it would be hard not to be repulsed. The image is staggering. Whatever zaniness is meant is overwhelmed by ghastly.

The original photo can be found on Angry Asian Man in an essay from 2013: INSTANT YELLOWFACE! NOW AVAILABLE IN A CONVENIENT TUBE.

The featured product (yellow) is/was available from Sancto International, who are also suppliers of Snazaroo face paints and coloured hairspray.

You will be glad to know that they also sell various green body paint sticks, smears, unguents, and goos, so that you can make exiled Irish people feel truly special eighteen days from now.

Dress like a leprechaun too.



As for what you should do with the yellow face paint in the convenient tube, wear it tonight and put a dead ferret on your head.
Trump it up sumpin' good.




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