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/

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/

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!#Museums

ORIGINAL SOURCE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripley%27s_Believe_It_or_Not!

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/

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/

NOTES

[1]

WIKIPEDIA
INTERNATIONAL COLONIAL AND EXPORT EHIBITION

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ International_Colonial_and_Exp ort_Exhibition

WIKIPEDIA
COLONIAL EXHIBITION

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Colonial_exhibition

[2]

RIPLEY’S ’’BELIEVE IT OR NOT’’ AMSTERDAM

https://www.ripleys.com/amster dam/

[3]

WIKIPEDIA
RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT/MUSEUMS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Ripley%27s_Believe_It_or_Not !# Museums

ORIGINAL SOURCE

WIKIPEDIA
RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Ripley%27s_Believe_It_or_Not !

[4]

RIPLEY’S ’’BELIEVE IT OR NOT’’ AMSTERDAM

https://www.ripleys.com/amster dam/

[5]

WIKIPEDIA
SHRUNKEN HEAD/SIGNIFICANCE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Shrunken_head#Significance

ORIGINAL SOURCE

WIKIPEDIA
SHRUNKEN HEAD

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Shrunken_head

[6]

WIKIPEDIA
RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT/MUSEUMS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Ripley%27s_Believe_It_or_Not !# Museums

ORIGINAL SOURCE

WIKIPEDIA
RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Ripley%27s_Believe_It_or_Not !

[7]

WIKIPEDIA
ROBERT RIPLEY

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 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/ 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 /2015/01/believe-it-or-not-str ange-and-curious.html

[10]

WIKIPEDIA
INTERNATIONAL COLONIAL AND EXPORT EHIBITION

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ International_Colonial_and_Exp ort_Exhibition

WIKIPEDIA
COLONIAL EXHIBITION

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Colonial_exhibition