Posted on September 11th, 2008 by A Broad in Holland
Too often in Europe, the pendulum of political sentiment swings wildly between fervent multiculturalism and democratic authoritarianism without stopping in the middle for a reasonable position. It’s dizzying, and it’s no wonder that it inspires feelings of persecution and paranoia from the resident Muslim communities.
The burqa issue is complicated. There are legitimate questions about whether most women […]
1609 Comments »
Filed under: Holland, crazy europeans
Posted on September 1st, 2008 by A Broad in Holland
Capitulation is becoming an art in Western Europe. Today brought news that the Dutch Van Abbemuseum has caved to the demands and threats of extremists who object to a planned march against the institution of Zwarte Pieten (”Black Petes”), the Dutch Santa’s helpers.
I’ve discussed Zwarte Piet previously, but as a recap, he is a black servant (slave?) of […]
3186 Comments »
Filed under: Holland, crazy europeans
Posted on June 25th, 2008 by A Broad in Holland
There are kooks in every country, and I usually just try to ignore them, but this is too perfect.
Apparently, thousands of Dutch are preparing for the end of the world (it’s nigh, according to the Mayan calendar, which ends in 2012). I’m not surprised to see broad support for end-of-the-world scenarios, no matter how obscure, but […]
7127 Comments »
Filed under: Holland
Posted on June 22nd, 2008 by A Broad in Holland
Hup Holland no more. After overcoming tremendous odds to trounce the French and the Italians, the Dutch lost to Russia 1-3 last night in the UEFA European Football Championship quarterfinals. On one hand, I feel bad for the Dutch fans who had their high hopes dashed. On the other, they’re crazy obnoxious, and I’m glad to be […]
321 Comments »
Filed under: Holland, crazy europeans
Posted on June 4th, 2008 by A Broad in Holland
For a country that has perfected Nanny Statism, The Netherlands is paradoxically libertarian when it comes to children. While doing some research for another piece, I found this article in The Independent gushing about Dutch-style child rearing, and it made me throw up in my mouth, just a little bit.
“Let them be free” is the […]
895 Comments »
Filed under: Holland, rant
Posted on June 2nd, 2008 by A Broad in Holland
Laurazee from trinidadian living in the netherlands has a few good posts examining the much vaunted Dutch tolerance.
This one rightly points out that Dutch society isn’t at all accepting of buitenlanders. Foreigners are welcome in The Netherlands if they are white and behave exactly like the Dutch. They’re also welcome to live as they please as long […]
3114 Comments »
Filed under: Holland, crazy europeans
Posted on March 3rd, 2008 by A Broad in Holland
I have a lot of libertarian leanings. You might say that I’m a libertarian sympathiser. I like small, limited government, fiscal conservatism, transparency, guns, low taxes, free trade, and individual responsibility. I am a greedy capitalist, and I don’t give a crap about who marries whom.
Drugs and prostitution are where I run into trouble with […]
1362 Comments »
Filed under: Holland