Free 1995 - The UnDutchables by Colin White, Laurie Boucke Page B

made for the day. During the demonstration, you will naturally notice increased police presence. Do not be dismayed. They are individuals first and policemen second. Some will even gladly display your campaign button on their uniform. If so requested, police car(s) will follow your demonstration along its defined route to ensure your cause is heard and not disrupted.
    Non-approved demonstrations are not permitted, but are often allowed if they are orderly and do not disturb traffic—and depending on the appearance of the protesters and the general acceptance of the goal. Police support during the proceedings is limited.
    It must be emphasized that many of the causes have the good of the nation, minorities, the oppressed or all of (wo) mankind in mind. Whatever the subject matter, they are an ongoing example of democracy in progress. What appears to be a Dutch addiction to this process strikes visitors to the country as rather curious. Perhaps these passionate demonstrations and debates account in part for the relatively low level of violence in an increasingly violent era.
    Demonstrating and protesting first became popular and fashionable following World War II. Many 60+ers do not appreciate such activities. As one overseas correspondent writes,
This type of thing is not dignified and not in line with the traditional sobriety of the Dutch. It is more a recent phenomenon which may well disappear as time goes by. I personally hope so, as I would hate this trend to become a Dutch characteristic .
’The Dutch Way’
    The most successful of Dutch causes are elevated to the rank of ‘The Dutch Way,’ which is an adulation bestowed upon those principles and prejudices that command the support of 250% of the population. In this respect, the housing rights issue of the 1970’s and 1980’s commands the prime example. Long-suffering parents were anxious for their post-pubic offspring to vacate the nest while the enfants terribles themselves could not wait to feather their own nests. But there are few empty homes.
    A typically Dutch answer to this situation was to form pressure groups known to the outside world as krakers . The krakers , who enjoyed their heyday in the 1980’s, fanatically opposed the acquisition of empty buildings for speculation—all reasonable and uninhabited space should be translated into subsidized housing for them. This is ‘ The Dutch Way.’
    Krakers invaded vacant places: office blocks, individual flats, shops, warehouses or any other construction that was vacant for more than a few days. The kraker -cause came to a head during violent riots in Amsterdam. The police were forced to call in the army which brought in a tank to move the crowd. The confrontation ended only when the city agreed to renovate the occupied building for the squatters. ‘ We have the squatters under control now …’ A city housing official summed it up by stating that the job would cost more than a million guilders, ‘… an expensive way to deal with a little social unrest. But it’s The Dutch Way .’
    The krakers have since dropped from the limelight, their particular cause appearing old-fashioned to the masses. A 1991 attempt to revive public support by invading a small island was met with little more than a sarcastic smirk by the general populace and a request from the Rijkswaterstaat to ‘kindly vacate the premises.’
    No doubt partially due to the support and success of the krakers ’ tactics in Amsterdam, RaRa ( de Revolutionaire Anti Racistische Actie ) exploded terrorist bombs at the Amsterdam home of the Secretary of State and at the Palace of Justice in The Hague in 1991. The cause in question was a series of governmental proposals on reforming political asylum and its abuse. Public reaction was one of outrage and horror, giving hope to all that this kind of senseless anti-Dutch activity will NOT become The NEW Dutch Way.
The House of Her
    Women’s liberation is probably the most extreme example of the