All this proves is that the Belgian law is stupid. They have to somehow argue that the above isn’t racist just so they don’t have to ban it. Here’s an idea: don’t ban books. That way you won’t have to make up excuses for this dumb shit. 

“The representations (of African people) by Herge are a reflection of his time…”

Yes. A time when racist publishers put racist images in racist publications. They weren’t naive innocents without the benefits of our great Enlightenment. They were adult human beings with agency and common sense and they knew what the fuck they were doing. This thing was published in 1931. People didn’t know what racism was in 1931?

This is circa 1938 Germany. About seven years after Tintin in the Congo. I dunno. You think people were still unable to figure that one out? I mean, after all, it’s just a reflection of the times. And as we all know, it’s a mistake to judge actions of the past by the standards of today. (Good news! In the future, you will be excused for all the ignorant gay jokes you make all day.)

Fuck you. Fuck you running.

Just don’t ban books. You think you’re a free, open society? Fine, then be one. Western Europeans like to think they’re open and free right up until the moment some black African shows up at Immigration. I get that: who likes black people? But this one’s easy. Don’t enshrine in law the attempt to forget your society’s moral failings, and you won’t have to contort yourself to fit under the lowest bar imaginable.