I continue to find it absolutely shocking that FOX news airs complete bullshit -
http://www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/330471/7e3dccdb/foxnews_over_onze_coffeeshops.html
C'mon, FOX news... I know you're a politically right-wing, biased, shitty news station but at least have the decency to provide your nearly 90 million international viewers with correct information. Bill O'Reilly... fine. He's an idiot. But a corporation such as the Fox Entertainment Group should pay better attention to the crap piping into millions of households.
To provide clarity to this "Amsterdam is a mess" business.
Yes, in the recent past the CDA (Christian Democrat Appeal) that has held the majority of seats in Dutch parliment for quite a few years is beginning to make a push toward conservatism. Now, keep in mind... the CDA is less religious and less conservative that the Democratic Party in the United States. Even though they are the most conservative party in power... they would never use the word "God" in a speech and they deny using the bible for grounds on which to govern. Instead, they say they use the bible for "inspiration." But regardless... yes, they have recently been making a move toward conservatism. Which by the way, is mostly looked down upon by many Dutch citizens, particularly those living in large cities, such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag, etc.
What has changed? Well, on December 1st... shrooms were outlawed. Why? Because of numerous deadly accidents that have occured with tourists. (For example, a french girl ate mushrooms and drank alcohol and proceeded to jump off a bridge into the canal. Again - this was a tourist.) However, despite the fact that mushrooms were outlawed because of accidents with tourists... you can still buy them. The Dutch police aren't even cracking down and hand written signs are being posted on smartshops saying "We still have mushrooms left!" Why? Because for the most part... mushrooms don't cause a problem. And the Dutch police know it. How many deaths are related to drunk driving in America? And drunk driving on behalf of underage kids in America? Far, far more than the accidents and deaths that have been caused by mushrooms and I don't see alcohol being outlawed in the US anytime soon.
Secondly, throughout the past couple years a few of the red light district windows and brothels have been shut down to house fashion stores. New fashion designers are given a place in the red light district to rent for very cheap and the theory is within a year, they will be famous enough to open up their own shops the following year and new designer will replace their red light district spot. Guess what? It hasn't worked at all. No one goes in to the stores and the majority of Dutch citizens believe the whole fashion thing is foolish and ridiculous. Because it failed so miserably over the past year... it may not continue.
Thirdly, 43 coffeeshops in Amsterdam are intended to close by 2011, including some really famous, touristy shops. Why? Not because coffeeshops are run by drug lords but because the CDA decided any coffeeshops within a certain distance from high schools should not be able to function. This of course, is ridiculous. First of all... the coffeeshop business is supported by tourism, not Dutch high school students. In fact, the majority of Dutch people do not smoke weed and if they do... it's quite rare. About 99% of the Dutch people I have met do not smoke weed. Plus, even if the high school students wanted to smoke weed... its not like they couldn't walk another block or two to pick some up. Insane.
Anyway... I am assuming these are the 3 changes that Bill O'Reilly and his highly educated blonde bombshell newscasters are referring to. So, no, I'm sorry but Amsterdam isn't a "mess" and drug addicts nor criminals have anything to do with it. In fact, it's the "inspired" morality of the CDA itching to push Holland toward conservatism.
My opinion? It isn't going to work. This is going to be a phase that will soon turn around. Yes, in terms of laws, The Netherlands is one of the most liberal countries in the world. But unfortunately... socially they aren't the same. There is a huge conservative and Christian community living outside of the major cities and although their percentage is small, at least compared the religious population in the Netherlands, their influence is not invisible. But, the Dutch are known for their tolerance. "Gedogen." Not their acceptance. The Dutch people are extraordinarily passive and tolerant when it comes to these issues and I think that mentality will win over everything else. It has in the past.
Oh and one more thing... to quote one of those blonde girls -
"The Dutch have wonderfully naive ideas about teaching their children to have safe sex and smoke grass."
That MAY be the most ill-informed statement I have EVER heard. (Probably not... but it's at least in the top 10.) First of all, The Netherlands has a much lower teen pregnancy and abortion rate than America, among other countries. And American teenagers are proven to lose their virginity much sooner than Dutch teenagers. In fact... The Netherlands has the THE LOWEST teen pregnancy rate in the world. (5 in 1,000 teenage girls) as opposed to America which has THE HIGHEST teen pregnancy rate in the world (53 in 1,000 teenage girls). So yeah, I guess The Netherlands has got it wrong. I suppose their low teen pregnancy rate is a result of their "naive" ideas. Secondly... as I stated above, the majority of Dutch people, both young and old, don't smoke weed. Again, that industry is supported primarily by tourism. Much of which is American tourism, thank you very much.
To sum things up... I am not at all happy to be returning to my wonderful country of Bill O'Reilly and FOX news. I am genuinely concerned about how I will feel when I am not indoors and with my family, Christian or Dana... or someone I like. Venturing off into the great unknown of say, the wonderfully American Palisades center is not something I'm looking forward to.
Monday, December 15, 2008
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