In 'Dam, alone, need help...

my experience is echoed by thye vast majority of expats and foreigners generally living in the netherlands. you are right that i came to amsterdam with stars in my eyes. in retrospect that was very naive but my view was actively encouraged by the dutch themselves. what i dislike is the mass national propogation of deception.

there are some very serious problems in the netherlands at the moment and even the dutch who agree that things need change are still promoting the dutch myth. they really value the fact that foreigners are fooled into believing that the netherlands is utopia. this deception is making the problem worse because the dutch only allow criticism from the inside (the white dutch inside) and they will not hear a word against anything dutch when spoken by anyone else. the truth is that valid criticism often comes from those living in the fringes of a society. in the netherlands, foreigners are restricted to speaking about how 'lekker' and gezellig' everything is and the minute one utters anything perceived as 'anti dutch' they are told to go back home if they don't like it.

i believe that the people who are blinded by the dutch perception are adding to the problem (and 90% of people here fall into that catagory). if the country criminalised pot this forum would cease to exist and all the amsterdam disciples would vanish into thin air. this fact alone should be enough to make people see the situation for what it is.

of course not all dutch are the way i describe and many are just as upset at the current situation as i am. the problem is that although apparently large, the group of dissenters is very quiet. i would often hear dutch people complain about the country amongst themselves but the minute a 'buitenlander' agrees with them the conversation would take a swift turn to 'you must go and practice your dutch' or 'why don't you just go home'.

 

bla bla bla bla bla, didnt read all that, its all the same anyway. but i was wondering, why dont you just go home? not for our sakes, but for your own. you effin hate it here, so why dont you?

 

Why all the hate... relax, and roll a joint like a true hippy

 

Never said i was a hippy. And why all the hate? Because its ridiculous to hate someone because their skin has more pigment, or their parents were born on a different piece of land. Its crap.

 

I like the buitenlanders. Tastes like chicken!

Jason, I don't know where you're from, but I'm pretty sure it's the same everywhere. If I went to, say, the states, and said to any random american 'hey, I'm not really satisfied with how reality differs from my former view of your country', would s/he say 'well, I guess we're going to have to do something about that for ya' ?

I'm not pro-dutch (and I'm not from amsterdam), I admit being happy living in a welfare-state but that's it. I don't care about queen or country. I don't even like the idea of countries - IMHO they're just a bunch of lines on a map anyway. So when someone complains to me about the netherlands, I'm more than okay with that, even if I may not agree. And I don't care whether it's an american who's here for the drugs or a morroccan who's here for a decent living. I'm as non-ethnocentric/patriottic/nationalistic as I can possibly be.

Racists deserve to have their genitalia nailed to a tree in the tigers' cage of Blijdorp.

 

as it happens, i am in australia at the moment. however, i retain strong ties to the netherlands and will be returning there from time to time.

what is dislike more than anything is the deception. there are many places which have less than desirable social and cultural climates, but the dutch are somewhat unique in that they are very invested in the 'idea' of their country being progressive and tolerant when they know it's just the opposite.

australians can be racist bigots also (hell, just look at our current government), but the australians who support those views do not also claim to be tolerant and accepting. at least there is some honesty about it.

 

people from all over the world lie, hate, are corrupt, etc, etc, etc.
The whole point is that when one goes to australia he wants to see a fuckin coala bear.
When you go to america you expect to see some guns.
go to france and you'll see a big steel tower and nice wine.
You'll be disappointed when you wont find that coala bear
You'll be reliefed when you dont see a gun hangin from every belt
and you'll have a hangover in france cause of the cheap wine you drank!

and the dutch will turn out to be a racist bunch of weed selling, cheese eating, money making, capitalist motherfuckers! Just because its everything you did'nt expect of them. I live there, in Den Haag. I go to the school with the biggest number of foreign students. they all share this opinion but none of them sounds so depressed like you Jason. I'm sorry

 

Sadly, you hear plenty of honesty about how much the 'allochtonen' are hated here.

 

Youre effin stupid if thats what you expect and want to see. The Eiffeltower is seriously overrated.

 

I know