The Dutch and/in me
In my last blog: The “age of consent is out by seven years”, I referred to the ”Dutch Protocol”. This was a human experiment conducted by a gender clinic in the Netherlands, where, for the first time, puberty blockers were prescribed to pre-teens diagnosed with gender dysphoria *. This was based on the idea that such treatment could stop sexual development in its tracks and provide a better prognosis than trying to do something about it at the more mature ages of 30 and upwards, when the full course of adolescent development had already run its course. It seemed like a good idea. But as we have discussed in previous blogs, the idea was hampered by poor ethical considerations, which should have overridden the possibility of such an idea being implemented. Furthermore, the outcomes were even poorer and should never have been emulated. Instead, they were obfuscated and used as a blueprint for gender treatment the world over. So they were leaders. It must be hard to admit you are wrong if the world is taking your lead.
The Dutch Model Is Falling Apart
But! It was typical Dutch that they should attempt it in the first place. “Reckless”, is what the abovementioned article called the behaviour of the Dutch clinic, which happens to be in Amsterdam, the centre of most things brazen in the Netherlands. Yes well. The Dutch do tend to go where angels fear to tread. Never mind the possibility of harm being done. They saw fit to fiddle and tinker with 70 childrens’ bodies and lives, in order to determine the validity of their theory. In other words, to see if they were right. And the Dutch love being right. And they love proving God wrong. That is the essence of Dutch stubbornness. They bow to no authority, especially not that of God. Anything goes and anything is possible. It is their strength and their downfall. It’s what makes them appear courageous (or reckless) to the rest of the world.
The “Dutch Protocol” in some ways is a blueprint of the way the Dutch conduct themselves in the world. It is a testament to their intelligence, their arrogance and their disregard for the sanctity or mystery of life. The Dutch are determined to demystify everything, simply by applying their minds to it. They reduce a problem into pragmatic and apparently humane aspects, but often land up with inhumane and even greater practical problems. It seems to involve a certain naiveté and idealism, which does not accommodate the vagaries of human nature and unintended consequences.
But let me introduce you to this nation; the nation I was born into, which occupies one of the smaller areas in Europe; much of it recovered from the sea and therefore forming the ”nether” lands. Almost a third of the country lies below sea level. Scary. But here lies the secret source of the Dutch mentality. In order to survive, the Dutch battled the natural forces of nature for 2000 years. It’s a part of their genetic make-up by now. In an article on how the Dutch created a 12th province through land reclamation, the old adage was quoted: “ While God created the Earth, the Dutch created the Netherlands". I rest my case.
How the Netherlands Reclaimed Land From the Sea
Think of Holland (the colloquial reference to the Netherlands and actually the name of one of its provinces) and you think of canals and windmills, but we do not necessarily realize that these two features of Dutch postcards were pivotal in the process of land reclamation after the St Lucia floods swept the country and killed 50000 people in 1287. That was not the end of such natural disasters and continuing until modern times, the Dutch have perfected methods of holding back the sea. It has led to them creating, what is considered one of the seven wonders of the Modern World: “a 19 mile-long dike called Afsluitdijk (the Closing Dike), turning the Zuiderzee sea into the IJsselmeer, a freshwater lake”. This includes: ”further protective dikes and works .. reclaiming the land of the Ijsselmeer”. Altogether this is known as the Netherlands North Sea Protection Works.7 Wonders of the Modern World
So, where the Dutch live, i.e. their particular location, has played a key role in the development of their fortitude, their ingenuity and their implacable determination. When you are stuck between the devil (Germany/Belgium?) and the deep blue sea, you not only have to come up with innovative solutions, but you need to be able to work and cooperate and quickly. Which again, pretty much sums up the Dutch talent for problem solving and their impatience with, dare I say it, protocol. The Dutch do not have time to beat about the bush. They usually get straight to the point and have no time for niceties or silly things like people’s feelings. Understandably so, because when faced with five -metre waves engulfing entire sections of your country, such considerations are simply obliterated by the priority of survival.
This intimate relationship with the sea has also meant the Dutch are a sea faring nation and again in true Dutch style, they like to take things to the extreme here too. In 2012, Laura Dekker became the youngest person to circumnavigate the world in her 38 ft yacht at the age of sixteen. The Dutch authorities were against it, but she did it anyway.
Laura Dekker, 16, becomes youngest ever to sail around the world solo
It was a Dutch sailing lab that assisted the Australians to design the keel that contributed towards the winning of the American Cup race in 1983.
Australian 'did not invent winged keel on yacht that won America's Cup
I believe this love for problem solving, and especially the love for unconventional solutions, derives from the magnitude of the threat presented by the sea, the need for self-preservation and a proclivity for everything that is fair, reasonable and true. To them rationality is of utmost importance. Although it takes them a while to admit they were wrong, they will always do so in the end, because of their love for what is true.
It makes the Dutch one of the most progressive and liberal nations in the world, to the point where sometimes unintended consequences come at dire cost of lives and well-being. Because they like to take the lead, set new trends and break down mores for others to follow, they unfortunately do not have the luxury of learning from other nations’ mistakes. An example of this Dutch form of brazen practicality, is its legalization of prostitution in 1999. In so doing, they became the first European nation to legalize prostitution between two consenting adults. “Moreover, in 2020, with the “Sexual offences act,” the meaning of the term rape was modified to gather all sexual acts against the will of the person. Thus, the Netherlands …lowered the penalty for the crime of rape, since all involuntary sexual acts are grouped in one denomination”. All this was done ostensibly to allow “sex workers to have better working conditions and to be better protected”. Unfortunately, this reasonableness or fairness, or call it misplaced liberal idealism; has caused the reframing of sex and prostitution as mere banal human behaviour, and “has led to the normalization of sex”. In turn, this has resulted in: ”the prostitution business (becoming) a fertile soil for human traffickers in the Netherlands. It is estimated that the number of human trafficking victims is around 6,250, with approximately 1,300 of those victims being underage Dutch girls. The majority of these victims are used for forced prostitution and sexual exploitation.” And it is said that these are very conservative and under-reported numbers. So much for liberal idealism. “Ja…”. As one would say in Dutch. Usually said with a little shrug and a sigh. As though to say; well, we smart Dutch people have tried our best, but the rest of humanity has let us down. In fact, the problems the Dutch tried to solve with legalization, have blossomed into a nightmare of social ills like child sexual abuse, drug trafficking and child sex pornography: “Young women are not the only victims of this system: children are being used too, whether it is sex trafficking, begging, or drug trafficking. According to a report, among the pornographic images and films that abuse children, almost half of them come from the Netherlands which is a “safe haven for child sexual abuse.”
Legal prostitution and human trafficking in the Netherlands
Apropos this topic; I was visiting my father in Holland in 1994, and we were watching TV. A programme came on. A young woman knocked on her neighbour’s door, asked him for some sugar and this process apparently included a quick fuck atop the washing machine. Or maybe that was how she paid for it. Who knows. The transaction did not take long and she was on her way again, sugar in hand. The whole matter seemed to have less significance than a cup of tea or quick conversation. Just a quick shared sneeze, was all it was. Having just arrived from most of a lifetime in conservative South Africa, you can imagine I was a tad disturbed. And this was on general TV in the afternoon! This is what sex has been reduced to. “Allemaal hoela” as a Dutch comedian once said. A possible translation being “hey, anything goes”. It reduces the act of sex to one so insignificant that it vulgarizes the persons involved. I am all for realism and not being overly prudish, (which has its own dark underbelly), but this has taken natural to unnatural extremes and has trivialized what is essentially sacred. It cheapens and devalues the behaviour and by extension the people that engage in it. The pimp in the clip referenced below, compares choosing a prostitute to ordering a pizza. There you have it.
The Amsterdam Red Light District | Nefarious Documentary Clip
The same trivialization has taken place in terms of psychoactive drugs, where again, the Dutch were the first to legalize the use of cannabis in certain “coffee shops” in Amsterdam. This reasonableness on the part of the Dutch was again misunderstood and abused and has created a massive headache, with drug syndicates from Eastern Europe taking over the city. Drugs and prostitution have now caused such a problem, that the Dutch speak of a shadow government running the country. What?!!
The power of the drugs mafia - Cocaine and the Netherlands | DW Documentary
The Dutch like to normalize dysfunctional behaviour by using a blanket term, which loosely translated, means harmless fun. The term is “leuk”. “Leuk” is one of those words that can be used equally well to describe the activity of savouring a salty herring or engaging in an alcohol -fuelled rampage through the red- light district of Amsterdam, where the prostitutes display their wares in the windows. “Leuk” caters for all activities, from benign to malign, but “leuk” will justify it for you. Because you find it “leuk”, hey, then we should cater for it. Right? Wrong! This disguises the complete lack of regard for undesirable and serious unintended consequences which affect…. humans!
The basis for the legalization of prostitution of course straddles an ongoing controversy or debate. Do women (and some men) genuinely enjoy having sex for a living? Is it “leuk” for them? They will have us believe that it is.And that at least there should be a place where such people have the freedom of choice to conduct this form of living. That’s the liberal Dutch then, taking liberalism too far. Yes, I know it’s the oldest profession in the world, but its not a profession we grow up wanting to practice. It’s a last resort and it’s a shit choice to have.
While the Dutch appear to have no sacred cows, their cows certainly are. Sacred, that is. Dairy farmers are under pressure by their own government to reduce their livestock “by 30% in an effort to halve its nitrogen and ammonia pollution by 2030. As a result of this “green” policy, many farmers will be driven out of business. And the farmers do not find this very “leuk” at all. But there’s that crazy idealistic liberalism.
Video: Dutch Farmers Rise Up Against Food System ‘Reset’
On this topic, it is interesting to note that the Dutch have for many years been the tallest people in the world. No longer apparently. The Montenegrins now grace the top of the podium and the Dutch are second. And how did this come about? Not genes, but NUTRITION is to thank for this. The diet of the Dutch. Being a combination of dairy, pork and wheat. Thus the sacred cows. And pigs.
So, what is the Dutch in me? And how Dutch am I really? It’s an interesting story. Good-looking Dutch boy meets sexy Dutch girl. They have relations. He holds her on the line. She tells him to fuck off, or Dutch words to that effect. He begs her to come back. She falls pregnant (me) and they decide to get married. At the magistrate’s court. Because neither of them is religious. In fact, they are vehemently atheistic. My mother’s father used to beat her for going out with Catholic boys, BECAUSE they were Catholic. Typical Dutch. And my father once hauled me out of a church gathering (it was a quiz on John and a very happy- clappy church or charismatic, as they say), to my mortification (yes, that is a word). He then told me he had seen more sincere people in mosques and synagogues. So ja, it was a different upbringing, to say the least. Not very South African, which is where I found myself from the age of three months. South Africa, that is. See pic below of baby Natalie en route from The Netherlands.
I was also labelled “the atheist” at my school. Notice the use of “the” and not “an”. There were no other atheists as far as they could tell. Not because I did not believe in God, but because I believed in extra-terrestrials. In a South African school that is considered pretty off the wall crazy and basically communist. In fact, one of the heart throbs in my class thought I was a communist, something I found out many years later. Hilarious! If you don’t believe in the God of their understanding, you must be a “commie”! (Old South African term for the ultimate evil enemy-the COMMUNIST!). So South African. At the time anyway.
And me? Well, I don’t think I realized how Dutch I was. Or still am. Apart from feeling quite comfortable to question mainstream beliefs and consider, what appeared to me pretty considerable and undeniable evidence for the presence of extra-terrestrials in our past and present, I was also considered “voor-op-die-wa” (cheeky and overly curious) by my teachers, because I dared to ask questions or make comments. This was unheard of and quite outrageous. I really could not understand what all the fuss was about. Surely this was what a teacher’s job was? To explain, to TEACH and to answer questions?? But apparently not. It was the Dutch in me. The KAASKOP! Cheesehead. A typical appellation given to Dutch people in South Africa. A bit akin to the “Rooinek” for people of British origin.
As a child in South Africa, you were not expected to question adults, or authority. Full stop. Whereas my parents were not intimidated by anyone in authority. Just because someone said so did not mean it could not be questioned or ignored. This is what I received from them. The gift of independent and critical thinking. The gift of saying: hang on a minute, no! I am eternally grateful to them for that.
I still find it rather strange that while Afrikaners are the direct descendants of the Dutch, and while they are also famous for their ingenuity and stubborn forbearance, they are also known to be quite conservative and Calvinistic. And perhaps this was the Dutch at the time that they arrived at the southern tip of Africa, or maybe the African sun and mountains (of which there are none in Holland) burnt the living crap out of their arrogance. Who knows. But there is a distinct distinction between these two nations today in terms of what is considered acceptable social behaviour and style of thinking.
Being a Dutch mother to essentially South African children was difficult. Is still difficult. The generation gap was widened by the cultural divide. I am and was considered “rude”, “crazy” and “outrageous” on many an occasion, whereas, on deeper reflection, I was just being Dutch. The same could be said for my mother, the grandmother of my children. She didn’t pull any punches and would put other people’s children straight in restaurants. She was often in the social dog box. The other day, someone said of me: she has no filters. That’s the Dutch in me.
This Dutch form of defiance and clear lack of deference, is something that has gotten me into trouble in relationships, work, training situations and socially. It is misunderstood. It’s just me being Dutch. Getting straight to the point and identifying the white elephant for what it is, is a Dutch characteristic. We do NOT beat about the bush. It’s not that we intend to shock or hurt, (although “die waarheid maak soms seer”- the truth sometimes hurts in Afrikaans) we are merely stating the obvious. We don’t understand why people can’t take the truth or are afraid to identify the problem for what it is. In our view this is stupidity and a gross waste of time. It’s nothing personal. It’s not something we then go on to begrudge anyone. Once it’s said, its done. And so is this piece.
*Gender dysphoria:
Gender dysphoria is defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) which provides for one overarching diagnosis of gender dysphoria with separate specific criteria for children and for adolescents and adults:
“In adolescents and adults gender dysphoria diagnosis involves a difference between one’s experienced gender and assigned gender, and significant distress or problems functioning. It lasts at least six months and is shown by at least two of the following:
1. A marked incongruence between one’s experienced / expressed gender and primary and / or secondary sex characteristics
2. A strong desire to be rid of one’s primary and / or secondary sex characteristics
3. A strong desire for the primary and / or secondary sex characteristics of the other gender
4. A strong desire to be of the other gender
5. A strong desire to be treated as the other gender
6. A strong conviction that one has the typical feelings and reactions of the other gender.
In children, gender dysphoria diagnosis involves at least six of the following and an associated significant distress or impairment in function, lasting at least six months: