SPAIN'S 'EQUALITY STAMP' BACKFIRES
In a well-meaning attempt to shine a light on racial inequality and promote diversity, Spain introduced 'Equality Stamps' as part of the European Diversity Month, an event which coincides with the first anniversary of the death of George Floyd, an African-American, murdered by a White American police officer. The State-owned Correos Espana or Spanish Post Office, issed a set of four "Equality Stamps" intended to "send a message against racial inequality".
This politically correct gesture has dramatically back-fired, serving only to highlight racial inequality and causing more problems than it has solved. Spain's postal service is now being accused of racism after issuing a set of unequally priced skin-coloured stamps. With the stamps priced differently, and worse, with the lightest colour costing €1.60 (£1.38), more than the darkest one at a mere €0.70 (60p), a controversy has broken around why the lighter skin-coloured stamps are worth more than the darker ones? To some, the Spanish Post Office's pricing smacks of unconscious European racism.
This brouhaha re-introduces what was once said about stamps bearing the heads of unpopular monarchs, presidents and tyrants. Anyone who posts a stamp with their heads on has to lick their backsides! Fortunately, the racists among us need do no such thing. It appears, sadly, that these Equality Stamps are all self-adhesive - no licking required, just some commonsense in its application. Which is more than you can say about this heated debate with its for and against racist undertones. What a muddle all have made.
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It is a bad design by all counts. An easy solution is to overprint them with the same value! Also personally I think there is a huge gap between the meaning of racial equality and "equality".
Yes, in attempting to show equality between the races they should have issued all four stamps with the same value. Obviously that did not meet the Spanish Post Office's need for having a set of four different values.
In considering your proposal for overprinting all with the same value, I foresee a small problem which some will turn into a further furore. Black ink will work as an overprint on the first three values. However, as you cannot print black on black the most logical choice is to overprint the black stamp with white ink. There will be some, no doubt, who will raise huge objections to overprinting a black stamp with white. Having white on top of black is yet a further example of White Supremacy. I think the solution is to overprint all four stamps using blood red, a colour common to all and something that is likely to be spilled the longer this spurious and tendentious debate continues to serve the interests of aggrieved political minorities. I am not Spanish but if these stamps were issued in the UK I would not care a monkey's if the European coloured stamp was the lower value. Oops. Sorry!! Is mentioning monkeys okay?
I always thought the aggrieved minority in Spain were the Basques! Is that the cream colour? I also hate all this hypocrisy and the "woke" speeches and writing.