{"article":{"id":296690,"heading":"Ripley's Believe it Or Not Musea are racist!\/Letter of protest","author":"Astrid Essed","created":"2018-05-02 12:13:43","modified":"2018-05-02 20:58:22","last_modified":"Thu, 03 May 2018 03:58:22","article":"

RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT MUSEA ARE RACIST!\/LETTER

TO RIPLEY'S ''BELIEVE IT OR NOT'' AMSTERDAM



SEE ALSO THE LINK TO MY WEBSITE, BUT

READ THE UNDERLYING INTRODUCTION FIRST, PLEASE

UNDER MY INTRODUCTION FOLLOWS MY LETTER

OF PROTEST

LINK TO MY WEBSITE



https:\/\/www.astridessed.nl\/ripleys-believe-it-or-not-musea-are-racist-letter-to-ripleys-believe-it-or-not-amsterdam\/<\/a>

INTRODUCTION:



BACKGROUND OF MY LETTER OF PROTEST:TO RIPLEY'S

MUSEUM AMSTERDAM

Dear Readers,

Sitting at a trainstation in the Netherlands, I discovered a shocking,

racist billboard, displaying a man with a shrunken head [a non-western

ritual] in his hand and a racist and insulting image of a native American man or

woman [that was not clear] with an abnormal long neck, decorated with a

racist fabricated image of an African necklace.

He or she playing a guitar, that ended in an animal with two heads.

I had enough of it!

Further reading displayed that it was a reclame promotion

for Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum Amsterdam!

SEE THE RACIST INSULTING ATROCITIES, AMONG ELSE A

FEMALE HAND, HOLDING A SHRUNKEN HEAD!

https:\/\/www.ripleys.com\/amsterdam\/<\/a>



My further investigation displayed that the Ripley's Musea are worldwide

and originated in the USA

See

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ripley%27s_Believe_It_or_Not<\/a>!#Museums

ORIGINAL SOURCE



https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ripley%27s_Believe_It_or_Not<\/a>!



Thus I wrote a fierce letter to Ripley's Believe it or Not Amsterdam!

https:\/\/www.astridessed.nl\/ripleys-believe-it-or-not-musea-are-racist-letter-to-ripleys-believe-it-or-not-amsterdam\/<\/a>

I intend to write the other Musea also, especially the ones in the USA

But I appeal to you:



PROTEST AT ALL THE USA OR OTHER MUSEA [DEPENDS ON

WHERE YOU LIVE ON THIS GOOD EARTH, THIS IS A

GENERAL SUMMON] WITH

PICKETLINES, DEMONSTRATIONS OR SEND THEM

MAiLS OR WRITTEN LETTERS!

YOU CAN USE MY LETTER AS AN EXAMPLE.

START PETITIONS!!!

GET THEM!!

THIS RACIST GARBAGE HAS TO STOP!

WE ARE LIVING IN 2018

NOT IN 1818

THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION TO BRING MORE

EQUALITY IN THIS WORLD!!!!

SEE MY LETTER BELOW



Kind greetings

Astrid Essed

Amsterdam

The Netherlands



LETTER OF PROTEST TO RIPLEY'S ''BELIEVE IT OR NOT''

MUSEUM AMSTERDAM:



RIPLEY'S MUSEUM

''BELIEVE IT OR NOT''

AMSTERDAM



TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND

MANAGEMENT



Subject:

Your total lack of respect for non-western

people



Dear Directors and Management,



Sitting at a station at saturday 28th of april I could NOT

believe my eyes, seeing a billboard with a man in a

colonial sun helmet, holding

a shrunken head in his hand,, apparently from some non-western human

being.

When I looked further I saw an image of a native American man

[or woman, that was not visible] with an abnormal long neck

[obviously fotoshopped for fun!] with a fabricated African necklace

on the abnormal neck,

playing a guitar, that ended in a sort of animal with two heads.

On her\/his head he [or she] wore a sort of headdress, consisting

of all non-western cultural symbols in the world [feathers, woollen balls, etc]

It was as if I were transmitted into the 19 century colonial times, the times

of the colonial exhibitions about ''primitive people'' [1]

Because after a further investigation I learnt that the billboard was

a reclame for your Ripley's Museum Amsterdam! [2]

The ''Ripley musea'' seem

to be a worldwide epidemia [another word I can't find

for it], since there are a lot of musea in the USA [I will write

to them too, don't you worry!], in Asia and Europe, as in Denmark, Great

Britain and here in the Netherlands, Amsterdam! [3]

And you, Ripley's Museum, Amsterdam, I take by the head firstly!

Listen further!



RIPLEY MUSEA\/DISRESPECTFUL AND RACIST!

It strikes me, that the whole concept of the musea is utterly

disrespectful against non western cultures and people!

You will argue, perhaps, that your Ripley Museum Amsterdam,

which I am targetting here, harbours

all sorts of ''oddities'' and ''fun stuff'', which has nothing to do with non

western culture whatsoever!

That's true, viewing the ''attractions'' that are showed in the

museum! [4]

But precisely that is the insulting thing, since it is not the issue,

that shrunken heads don't exist as a sort of ritual by some

people [actually they are] [5], but the fact that your

museum places ''funny stuffs'' besides shrunken heads and

other non western cultural symbols and even besides

images from non-western people in their traditional

dressing!

Thus:

Placing non-western cultural symbols, as images of traditional

non-western people together with ''fun stuffs'', is RACIST and

INSULTING towards non-western people.

SHAME TO YOU

SHAME TO ALL BOARDS OF DIRECTORS AND MANAGERS

OF THE WORLDWIDE RIPLEY MUSEA!!



RIPLEY MUSEA\/ORIGINS



Of course I know, that the whole concept of Ripley Musea [6] is originated

from the ideas of a man, named Robert Ripley [7], an amateur anthropologist

, who has created the ''Ripley's Believe it or Not'' newspaper,

panel series, radio show, and television show which feature odd facts from around the world [8]

And his concept, view of the world, was racist! [9]



Now I can easily forgive Robert Ripley, who, being born in 1890, got

probably a racist concept as poison in his youth porridge and was a child

of his [racist] times.

But nowadays, IN THE 21TH CENTURY, 2018, Ripley's Musea have

no excuses for displaying shrunken heads which people

actually can touch, and dispaying non-western people in

their traditional [or fantasy] clothes.

Just for.....FUN........



EPILOGUE

I write you this letter to show you my indignation, that in the very 21st

century, after the end of apartheid and the racist Jim Crow South

of the USA, as the end of colonialism, there are musea, which

resemble racist and colonialist exhibitions [10], displaying

non-western traditions and people as ''funny stuffs''

Your museum is one of the examples.



SHAME, SHAME, SHAME TO YOU!

I don't know how much protests there were against the Ripley

''Believe it or Not'' Musea, but at least I raise my voice against it

and I will make sure, that others hear about this!



However, I ask, no DEMAND from you, not to close your

museum, but that you remove the insulting images of

shrunken heads and the displaying of non-western

people in traditional clothing, from your

collection.

That you have a collection of funny stuff:

FINE

But NOT including non-western traditions and people!

BUT NON WESTERN TRADITIONS ARE NOT FUNNY,

BUT CULTURAL CUSTOMS!

NON WESTERN PEOPLE ARE NOT ''FUNNY'', BUT HUMAN

BEINGS!

If you continue to expose this racist stuff, you will bear the

consequences and will be known as RACIST, INSULTING

AND NEO COLONIAL!



Make the right choice and wake up in the 21th century!

Thanks for reading this letter.



Kind greetings

Astrid Essed

Amsterdam

SEE FOR NOTES THE LINK TO MY WEBSITE AND

THE UNDERLYING WRITTEN NOTES

LINK TO MY WEBSITE



https:\/\/www.astridessed.nl\/ripleys-believe-it-or-not-musea-are-racist-letter-to-ripleys-believe-it-or-not-amsterdam\/<\/a>



NOTES





[1]



WIKIPEDIA

INTERNATIONAL COLONIAL AND EXPORT EHIBITION

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/<\/a> International_Colonial_and_Exp ort_Exhibition



WIKIPEDIA

COLONIAL EXHIBITION



https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/<\/a> Colonial_exhibition





[2]



RIPLEY'S ''BELIEVE IT OR NOT'' AMSTERDAM



https:\/\/www.ripleys.com\/amster<\/a> dam\/





[3]



WIKIPEDIA

RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT\/MUSEUMS



https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/<\/a> Ripley%27s_Believe_It_or_Not!# Museums



ORIGINAL SOURCE

WIKIPEDIA

RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/<\/a> Ripley%27s_Believe_It_or_Not!





[4]



RIPLEY'S ''BELIEVE IT OR NOT'' AMSTERDAM



https:\/\/www.ripleys.com\/amster<\/a> dam\/





[5]



WIKIPEDIA

SHRUNKEN HEAD\/SIGNIFICANCE



https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/<\/a> Shrunken_head#Significance



ORIGINAL SOURCE



WIKIPEDIA

SHRUNKEN HEAD



https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/<\/a> Shrunken_head



[6]



WIKIPEDIA

RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT\/MUSEUMS



https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/<\/a> Ripley%27s_Believe_It_or_Not!# Museums



ORIGINAL SOURCE

WIKIPEDIA

RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/<\/a> Ripley%27s_Believe_It_or_Not!









[7]



WIKIPEDIA

ROBERT RIPLEY



https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/<\/a> Robert_Ripley



[8]



'' LeRoy Robert Ripley (December 25, 1890 – May 27, 1949)[1] was an American cartoonist, entrepren eur, and amateur anthropologist who is known for creating the Ripley's Believe It or Not! newspaper panel series, radio show, and television show which feature odd facts from around the world.''



WIKIPEDIA

ROBERT RIPLEY



https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/<\/a> Robert_Ripley





[9]



'' Thompson notes that Ripley, as a product of his time, was unsurprisingly racist, often complaining about different ethnicities including “Mohammedans” of the Middle East and their “headache scarves” (his term for turban). It should come as no shock that Ripley harboured these prejudices, or that he saw no problem with putting people he deemed “interesting” and “unique” on display.''

MUSINGS:

[MASTER OF MUSEUM STUDIES BLOG AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO]

BELIEVE IT OR NOT: THE STRANGE AND CURIOUS

LIFE OF ROBERT RIPLEY

20 JANUARY 2015

http:\/\/musingsmmst.blogspot.nl<\/a> \/2015\/01\/believe-it-or-not-str ange-and-curious.html



[10]



WIKIPEDIA

INTERNATIONAL COLONIAL AND EXPORT EHIBITION

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/<\/a> International_Colonial_and_Exp ort_Exhibition



WIKIPEDIA

COLONIAL EXHIBITION



https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/<\/a> Colonial_exhibition





<\/p>\n","contact":"","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"It is UNBELIEVABLE, but true. In the 21st century, after the end of apartheid and\r\ncolonialism, there are worldwide ''Ripley's Believe it or not'' Musea, showing\r\n''fun stuff'' and ''oddities'' No problem? Were it not, that shrunken heads [an old\r\nnon-western ritual] and non-western people as native Americans and their imagination\r\nof some African people are displayed openly! You even can hold a ''shrunken head'' in\r\nyour hand! Time for a fierce letter to Ripley's Amsterdam! SHAME, O SHAME!","numcomment":1,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2018\/05\/296690.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":296692,"heading":"We have one in Hollywood, CA","article":"It's over in the touristy area.\r\n\r\n","author":"johnk","parent_id":296690,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2018-05-02 20:58:22","modified":"2018-05-02 20:58:22","fileurl":""}]}