Let me also point out that doing so via the internet is a lot more comfortable than doing it live - I remember when being an American in Europe was an invitation to be harangued by some pustule whose daddy was a collaborator, or to be insulted by some right-thinking blinkered peasant who was outraged by the VietNam war. Or to see all Americans with out exception excoriated on a daily basis, in the press and in demonstrations on the streets of European cities.
Since the late sixties, Europeans have gotten kinda pissy about those Yanks.
And sanctimonious.
Which I frequently point out to my Dutch-speaking friends.
I have not yet forgiven the good people whose language I speak from making my childhood surreal. And vivid.
Though I appreciate their literature.
Dutch has an ear-feel entirely its own, and a flavour that cannot be reproduced in any other language.
A fine language, Dutch. And a great literature.
But sweet Cheesewhiz, what a bunch of blisters those kaaskoppen can be!
As reading the commentaries posted underneath an article about the arrest of the rodef Ahmed Saadat in the Algemeen Dagblad once again proved.
Here's one stellar example of an arrogant know-it-all anti-Semitic Dutchman:
"Het zoveelste bewijs dat Israel helemaal niet uit is op vrede. Dat woord kennen ze in dat schurkenland niet. Een laffe daad van een lafhartig volk ! Met deze daad heeft Israel wederom aangetoond geen democatisch land te zijn. Wie in dat fabeltje nog waarde en geloof hecht, verklaar ik voor gek."
---Windjes - Rotterdam - 14/03/06 - 17:25:56
[Translation: 'The so-many-eth proof that Israel is absolutely not interested in peace. They don't even know the word in that gangster country. The cowardly deed of a cowardly people! With this deed, Israel once again shows itself to be an undemocratic country. Whoever still believes that fable, I declare is meshugge.']
What's especially interesting about this comment is that the Netherlands was not particularly courageous during world war two - it took the Germans only three days to roll all over the place, and except for the huge number of collaborators, the place was remarkably quiet for the next five years.
In 1942 the Japs attacked in the Pacific, and despite having had years to prepare, Dutch defenses in the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) crumbled like rotten wood - with many military officers fleeing to Australia rather than remaining at their posts with their men. I believe that in their panic, they were the first people ever to hijack planes - there were several instances of Dutch officers commandeering aircraft at gunpoint in their mad rush to preserve their own hides and get to safety in Australia.
One might shper from this that some cheeseheads have a different definition of cowardice than you or I.
And given that in schoolyard fights they act like a vicious mob when attacking, and have no concept whatsoever of a fair one-on-one scrum, it would be correct to shper thus.
. . .
Here's another fine example of a know-it-all Dutch venombag - not even an exceptional one either.
"Wat een verschrikkelijk laffe daad van Israel. Wanneer grijpt de wereld nu eens in. Gek hé dat de Pallestijnen wraak nemen. Zij vechten voor hun vrijheid, alleen Israel heeft lak aan alle mensenrechten. Wat een verschrikkelijk volk is dat, ik hoop van harte dat de Pallestijnen hun rechtmatige land allemaal terug krijgen. Zij zijn geen terroristen maar vrijheidsstrijders en Israel is de bezetter. Groot Brittanië en de VS, wisten van deze laffe daad en hebben hieraan meegewerkt, anders is het wel erg toevallig dat ze er vlak voor vertrokken."
---Cor - nieuwkoop - 14/03/06 - 15:24:51
[Translation: 'What a horribly cowardly deed of Israel. When will the world finally intervene? Odd, eh, that the Palestinians take revenge - they're fighting for their freedom, but Israel disregards all human rights. What a despicable people they are, I hope with all my heart that the Palestinians get their rightful land back entirely; they aren't terrorists but freedom fighters and Israel is the occupier. Great Britain and the US knew of this dastardly deed and aided in perpetrating it.... or it's a remarkable coincidence that they left right before it happened.']
When I checked the website of the Algemeen Dagblad, the anti-Israel comments dominated.
As, indeed, they often do.
It could be thought, perhaps, that the politically correct and ever-so progressive sonei-Yisrael side is more likely to vent their bile on such sites, and do not represent the majority.
But I'm inclined to doubt that. I've lived there.
It's the opinionated loudmouths who dominate Dutch public discourse, and those who disagree usually find it wiser to keep quiet and pretend they don't know from Jack.
As they did during World War II - remember, almost everyone the Nazis killed was turned in by a countryman, and at the time no one said anything.
The Dutch mostly didn't deal with their collaborators until the allies had safely won, and even then, they "overlooked" too damn many for it to be coincidental (for which the parents of several of my classmates were living proof).
Yes, there are decent Dutchmen.
Many have emigrated to Canada, the U.S., Australia, or New Zealand.
And there are still a few left in the Netherlands.
As there always will be.
It's just such a pity they will never be the majority (even of Dutch journalists - few of them dare disagree with anybody, let alone the lowest common denominator).
[Yep, I'm also critical of the Dutch press. When writing about Israel, they almost invariably paint the Arabs as victims and the Israelis as bullies. It's a common failing of people from pissant unimportant little kak-hole countries to always take the side of the underdog. Dutch journalists do not have the originality it takes to realize that sometimes the underdog is deservedly the underdog. ]
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Of course, we voted for Bush.
So we shouldn't think ourselves any better.
We too have a majority of fools.
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