Posted on 12/28/2014 8:02:40 PM PST by Steelfish
Madrids White Politicians Must Stop Blacking Up For Three Kings Parade Online petition of 62,000 signatories demands black man play role of Balthazar in citys traditional 12th night cavalcade
The Three Kings - Melchior, Balthazar and Caspar in Madrids traditional 12th night procession. James Badcock 28 December 2014
Tired of seeing white politicians black up for a childrens post-Christmas street parade, almost 62,000 people have signed an online petition demanding that Madrid council choose a black man to play the role of Balthazar in the citys Three Kings cavalcade next week.
Arguing that it is senseless and unnecessary in this day and age for the king Balthazar to be a white man painted black, signatories of the petition on change.org have criticised what they see as an offensive and anachronistic practice.
Children arent stupid; they realise its a con when they see a white man who has blacked up, said one signatory. Children must know that black people are not just immigrants on boats or street vendors without papers, remarked another.
Madrid city hall insists the choice is not racist but simply traditional. Since the return of democracy after the death of Franco, the right to be one of the Three Kings has been decided by city councillors drawing lots.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
But it’s OK to have a black Heimdall.
Zoroastrians were probably the only culture at the time who were actively involved in both astronomical observations and astrological interpretations.
If it's ok for Hollyweird's biggest liberals to dress up in black face, why isn't ok for everyone else? Oh yeah, I forgot all about liberal hypocrisy.
This is Spanish tradition, going back much more than 40 years.
We had the Reyes Magos even in Manila, at least the Spanish community did, run out of the Casino Espanol, the Spanish social club. They would even borrow camels from the Manila zoo. And Baltasar was always black.
This bit of one being black is an old Spanish tradition.
Believe me, the Spanish in those days weren’t the least bit PC. The opposite of PC, if anything.
it’s not okay.
If you remember there was a firestorm when this happened. Supposedly a stunned, embarrassed silence. the next day the papers wereall over it. Whoopie and he were forced to say that she was leased by it.
But it was the end of the romance. they broke yp shortly after.
I don’t have a dog in this fight, not even a Spaniel,but the citizens of Spain have always been known to prize the whiteness of their complections. It may go back as far as saying pale skin was an indicator of how much time you had to spend in the sun to make a living. This elitist attitude goes way back. When enough big business owners want it to change,it will.
The Bible doesn’t give the number, name or skin color. They came from the east. We might suppose this meant from Persia. We might also think Daniel shared prophesies of the time of the coming of the Messiah, and that the Star would guide them to the place.
It is possible the Magi were a diverse group. The advanced state of scientific knowledge, especially astronomy, could have attracted others. So, perhaps one was Caucasian (a Persian), another Mongolian and a third Negroid. Early depictions of the Magi had them be Persians. But, later depictions featured a racially-diverse group.
The real “proof” of the Magi being diverse is the universality of the Christian message. We know in our heart that it would please God that his son would be welcomed into the world by representatives of the entire human race, and by simple shepherds as well as by wise men.
Exactly!
Only by "tradition" did the Magi even get named.
Supposedly they were astrologers.
Not necessarily "kings".
That's the way I've always thought of the story.
Could be Indonesian!
Well Daniel was made the HEAD of the Magi. In Babylon and Persia! All directives for their activities lead directly to him. Daniel knew and provided for the expedition 5 centuries before hand. He was clearly given knowledge from someone outside our analog time line view.
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