Pinocchio in het Land van de Bezige Bijen

… of hoe kinderliteratuur niet altijd vrij van propaganda is. Het blijft toch een mooi verhaal ondanks de duidelijke verwijzing naar het arbeidsethos. Maar dit soort educatie in de vroege kinderjaren kan mede aan de basis liggen van de blijkbaar diep verankerde afkeer van werklozen in onze samenleving.

After walking a half hour, he came to a small country called the Land of the Busy Bees. The streets were filled with people running to and fro about their tasks. Everyone worked, everyone had something to do. Even if one were to search with a lantern, not one idle man or one tramp could have been found.

“I understand,” said Pinocchio at once wearily, “this is no place for me! I was not born for work.”

But in the meantime, he began to feel hungry, for it was twenty-four hours since he had eaten. What was to be done?

There were only two means left to him in order to get a bite to eat. He had either to work or to beg. He was ashamed to beg, because his father had always preached to him that begging should be done only by the sick or the old. He had said that the real poor in this world, deserving of our pity and help, were only those who, either through age or sickness, had lost the means of earning their bread with their own hands. All others should work, and if they didn’t, and went hungry, so much the worse for them.

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/C_Collodi/The_Adventures_of_Pinocchio/CHAPTER_24_p2.html

In het verdere verloop lees je hoe Pinocchio drie personen tegenkomt en hoe moeilijk die het hebben om Pinocchio te overtuigen om toch maar een beetje te werken voor zijn geld/eten. Het beeld van de luie werkloze is hiermee compleet.

Auteur: Chris de Keulenaar: https://www.facebook.com/cdekeule