Amerika - Ethan Bledsoe

Hallo!  Mijn naam is Ethan Bledsoe en ik ben negentien jaar oud. Ik woon in Ann Arbor, maar ik kom uit Midland, Michigan. Midland is een stad in de midden van Michigan. Ik studeer computer science en ben een student aan de Universiteit van Michigan.  Het is mijn tweede jaar. Ik vind de Universiteit erg mooi.

                                                         Ik ben in de midden

                                  "The tridge" in Midland Michigan, (tri + bridge)


Zwarte Piet:

Before I get into the topic of Zwarte Piet, I think it's only fair to mention America's habit of sometimes going overboard in trying to make everything "politically correct" so they don't seem racist or insensitive. For example the need to call everyone that is black, African American. Regardless if they are in fact African or American. In other words no it is not cool to call someone from England African American just because they are black. But this is a whole other topic, I just wanted to acknowledge that yes, the U.S occasionally has a more sensitive approach to issues considering "political correctness". In my opinion Zwarte Piet is not one of these situation. Regardless of a countries history it is not really acceptable to walk around in blackface. Blackface is more than just the paint on a persons face it is the portrayal of a black person as having a lower level of intelligence and a subservient personality. This singling out based on race is what makes the tradition unacceptable in my mind and in the minds of many other Americans.