• Carsten Pfau

    Hi

    posted by  Carsten Pfau in Germany forum 

    First of all, black is by far my favorite color. Whenever I can, I chose black - clothes, furniture, cars - you know.

    The statement "black is the color of the devil" is merely an opinion. And, by the way, it´s simply not true. In most depictions, the devil is red, or painted as a goat-like creature. Demons are usually believed to be black, or rather "dark", for that matter. Darth Vader is dressed in black (Hollywood influences people much more than one would admit).

    I would define racism as the feeling of rejection or even hate towards a person, or people, based only on race, nothing else. Therefore, racism can be experienced by anyone, at any given moment. The person who stated that "black is the color of the devil" would probably cheer for a black running back who´s about to score a touchdown, or doesn´t feel any hate towards the chinese restaurant owner who sells him a hot plate of kung pow chicken every now and then. I believe it´s a long way from subconsciously describing Darth Vader and actually feeling hate against another race. A very long way... By the way, priests usually dress in black...

    So - the very serious issue of racism should not be confused with comments or trivial opinions that could be construed only by the devil´s advocat himself as racism.

    Concerning your question - the devil as the one personification of all evil doesn´t really exist in most cultures. Probably, the depiction of demons or "dark spirits" in black, as it can be observed in art, religion or even history may come from people fearing the night - and the danger it used to represent to ancient humans.

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