Here's an example of the Dutch living in another century. This is so absurd, I just couldn't resist. My son's school teacher is now insisting that he wear a tight little swim pant to the school swimming class. He currently wears long swimming shorts, which for reasons unknown, is unacceptable swim attire. Maybe they're afraid he'll become a gansta if he keeps wearing long swimming shorts. He does have long hair! Long shorts. Long hair. That all adds up to no good.
I think most men and boys prefer loose fitting attire for comfort. Oddly, it's only his new, snotty, "upper crust" hyper-Dutch school that makes such requirements. The same school that has no qualms about taking small children on school trips in cars without child safety seats. Wow, they really have their priorities straight.
The same teacher also insists that my son is in need of urgent speech therapy, something we also didn't see a reason for. When we finally took him to the speech therapist, she couldn't see a reason, either. She told us that his Dutch is perfect, but his school teacher insists that he makes "English" sounds. Must be due to his shifty American mother teaching him English, or "American," as the Dutch are so fond of calling our "language." Only the English can really speak English. I guess there's also "Australian," "New Zealandian," "Canadian," "Irishian," and other languages/dialects. I can't wait until he starts studying English in school and they insist that he speak with a Kentian English accent.
Here's another fun fact: In the school art show last year, one of the third grade teachers had this great art project. One hundred dollar bills with a photo of each pupil in place of whatever president is on that bill, and in place of "The United States of America," "The Bogus States of America," or something like that. I really wish I'd taken a picture of that one. What a tolerant bunch the Dutch are. I can understand being against the current administration. The Dutch government has been supportive of Bush. Even the Queen went to visit him. Perhaps the Dutch school teacher can make a bashing art project out of that with his students this year.
This same teacher is my son's chess teacher at school. Last year, again for reasons unknown, he stopped giving him chess homework, resulting in him not finishing the course. This just happened to coincide with the afternoon I came to introduce myself, and he found out that I'm American. Coincidence?
It's remarkable how petty and xenophobic the liberal minded Dutch have become. As I've always said, "tolerance" isn't the same thing as "acceptance," and it's a far cry from actually welcoming someone! I'm sure that the Dutch have always looked upon "outsiders," or people who are different from them, with suspicion, have held them at arm's length, have allowed "them" to exist here, as long as they stay in their own little corner. After all, isn't integration just another form of control?
Even if you do learn the language, and do your best to mix in, it's never good enough. You'll always have an accent. Your Dutch will always be inferior, and so will you. You'll always be a foreigner, and foreigner is a four letter word in this society. Even if, as in my case, you become Dutch, you can never be considered Dutch by a white Dutch person.
A friend of mine left with her family after finishing medical school here several years ago. She was an American of Indian descent, small with very dark skin. While interning at Dutch hospitals people mistook her for a cleaning person. She was constantly berated for her American-Dutch accent. When asked by white Dutch people where she was from, she'd tell them that she was American, to which they'd reply, "But NO, where are you REALLY from?" "Uh, America." Incidentally, she also has a Dutch passport.
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