Share this page!

Ben Coates Profile picture
Twitter logo
24 Feb, 4 tweets, 2 min read
Amsterdam, less than 24 hours after Mark Rutte said we can afford to take some risks because people will be careful
See also the tone of countless tweets like these, and the gleeful replies. Yes, fifteen thousand people have died but what’s a few thousand more if you can drink a beer in the sun ha ha ha. Selfish f******g morons.
This is grotesque, and people involved should think about those now battling to save lives and feel deeply ashamed.
But it’s also a failure of government. If you end up where this stuff happens *regularly* & *predictably* through the year, then @MinPres, you’ve really screwed up
Update: police belatedly cleared the park and arrested someone... for throwing a bottle. Seriously, the health ministry might as well just give out free ice cream tomorrow.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Ben Coates

Ben Coates Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @bencoates1

Ben Coates Profile picture
25 Feb
Often the Netherlands feels like an amazingly wonderful, clever, kind and peaceful corner of the world.
But sometimes it just feels like an idiotic death cult.
This is why we can’t have nice things.
I said something similar yesterday but to be clear: this is obviously disgraceful and selfish behaviour by the people involved. If you know local hospitals are overwhelmed and then you still choose to go out for a beer, then you're just not as nice as you think you are.
BUT...
When these things happen it's also a failure of *government*. You can't spend a year saying masks are pointless, cutting penalties, repeatedly arguing Dutch people are "not children who need telling what to do" (Rutte) etc and then, when stuff like this happens, just blame "kids"
Read 4 tweets
Ben Coates Profile picture
23 Feb
In case you missed it, Thierry Baudet had quite an interesting time yesterday. Five choice moments from the Dutch election campaign trail:
The public should rise up and form a civilian army
The Nazis got treated unfairly when they stood trial at Nuremberg
Read 11 tweets
Ben Coates Profile picture
17 Dec 20
Thinking a lot this morning about Dutch attitudes to government failure today (given the news that having made bold pledges about delivering covid vaccines, preparations for actually doing this are running way behind schedule)
It’s often striking to me how benign Dutch people’s attitudes seem. The pandemic is a good example: NL has been battered badly, yet Rutte’s polling at record highs. Even when things go badly, the prevailing attitude seems to be: “give them a break, they’re doing their best!”
Why is this? I think there’s a few possible (overlapping) reasons:
Read 17 tweets
Ben Coates Profile picture
17 Dec 20
In case you missed it: if you’re Dutch, don’t get your hopes up for that vaccine.
Depressing not just as it’s depressing,but because it was wholly predictable. The January vaccination pledge was always absurd, but as usual they got away with making it. Over-promise, under-deliver
And no, it’s not just about the EMA. It’s about still being at the “huh, I guess we should probably start arranging things soon?” phase of planning roll-out.
Does anyone actually think Dutch people will get it at the same time/speed as Germans?
you all knew anyway
Read 4 tweets
Ben Coates Profile picture
14 Oct 20
As the Dutch government belatedly tightens coronavirus restrictions, you may be wondering how well hospitals are set up to handle corona patients. Well here’s a little story...
A relative of mine is in somewhat vulnerable health so has stayed away from busy places for months and been very careful. But this week they had an appointment at @GHZGouda in Gouda
(For the unfamiliar, this is one of South Holland’s major hospitals; a gleaming facility which looks more like a Google HQ. I’ve been treated there dozens of times myself and have said before that it’s excellent, which it usually is)
Read 14 tweets
Ben Coates Profile picture
13 Oct 20
I'm not sure I can face the emotional rollercoaster of live-tweeting Rutte's #persconferentie tonight - if you want that stuff in English, I'd recommend following the admirable @DutchNewsNL.
But if anyone cares, my preliminary hot take would probably be:
It's hard for non-experts to draw reliable conclusions from the last six months, but one seems to be: by postponing a lockdown you don't avoid having one- you just ensure it has to be even worse. That's what NL has done: avoided painful decisions, and hence made them more painful
The government now seems to be in the awful position where what they announce (bar closures, no team sports) will probably be enough to make everyone miserable and wreck the hospitality industry, but only put a dent in a new infections. A terrible situation, with no easy way out.
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @bencoates1 has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @bencoates1!

Read all threads by @bencoates1