Thread by @fgeerdink

rutte's subsequent governments have lead to scandals of truly epic proportions but dutch people keep voting for him. if you are priviliged, the scandals don't touch you so much, you see, but the dutch even contest the very existence of privilege.

https://twitter.com/trouwschmidt/status/1476493069944082437

there was a huge child benefits scandal affecting tens of thousands of people, often single moms with a migration background, totally ruining people's lives, and many children were placed in foster homes because of the tax authorities' cruelty. the government stepped down because

of this scandal but @MinPres just sees no problem in setting up a new gov with the same political parties 'because a lot has gone well in the last decade'. ruining people's lives and protecting corporate business has certainly gone very well.

homelessness has doubled in a decade in the netherlands. tens of thousands of people can't find a home to live, or afford it, waiting lists for affordable housing are insanely long (10+ years). rutte's governments boosted sales of houses, making real estate kings filthy rich.

about 'kings': pun intended. one of the real estate parasites is the king's brother. rents are sky rocketing. i am incredibly lucky to have bought an appartment back in 1991 where i could move back in after returning to NL: if not, i'd 100% sure be homeless now with my income.

discrimination at labor and housing market are all around, but not one policy has been implemented to tackle the problem. most political parties deny the very existence of institutional racism. do you know who was convicted for discrimination? rutte. "but a lot has gone well!"

meanwhile, NL has become a tax paradise for corporations and shady businesses (overlap!) and a narco state. minister @ferdgrapperhaus in parliament: "if we were a narco state, somebody with an exotic background from a cocaine gang from a far away country would be standing here."

not to mention the absolutely detrimental response to the corona crisis, leading to many more deaths than necessary, and to the further enrichment of well connected white men and boys, who just get away with it in broad daylight.

the cultural sector is being slaughtered with artists hardly getting compensated for theater and concert hall closures, with entitled parliamentarians saying artists can surely find another job. 🖕

climate change? not too urgent you'd think if you looked at dutch politics, but pretty urgent if you'd consider the well known fact that half the country is below sea level. "a lot has gone well in the last decade!" let if effing sink for god's sake.

there is zero vision, @MinPres has zero vision and something is wrong with him - a pm can't possibly be so detached from reality as he is. he is ice cold, has no heart or conscience, and builds politics on racist currents in society rather than on a wish for equality and justice.

that same entitled white scumbaggishness leads to tens of thousands of people drowning in the seas at europe's borders. people who are fleeing dictators europe makes 'deals' with, wars that enrich the west, neo-colonialism, poverty, hopelessness.

and while i would never deny there is good #journalism in the netherlands, he said she said journalism, incl platforming racism and fascism, is dominant. but the function of journalism is not being a service hatch, but finding truth and holding #power to account.

#journalism in the netherlands is so white it hurts your eyes. we need more awareness that whiteness rules society, that (esp male) white journalists are part of the dominant group in society and that priviliged position can obstruct good journalism if you're not aware of it.

being a #turkey and #kurdistan correspondent has changed me and sharpened my view on my own country - i didn't even have a specific view on the #netherlands before i left in 2006. okay, let me make a confession:

one of the reasons i left the #netherlands for #turkey in 2006 was that i felt in NL there weren't really big important topics to write about. i am shocked in retrospect about how my own whiteness had blinded me.

i learned incredibly much from the kurdish political movement and am forever indepted to them. looking at turkey and power through kurdish eyes triggered me to look at the netherlands through the eyes of marginalized groups in the netherlands. life changing, and grateful for it.

i also learned something else from the kurdish political movement, which helps me to not lose hope when looking at kurdistan but also at the netherlands and europe: the hope (for equality and freedom) is in the struggle. that's not just a slogan but a profound truth.

i'll continue to try to make my contribution to the #struggle for #equality and #freedom with my pen and won't neglect my duty to keep it sharp. (struggling a bit at the moment with my road in #journalism but i'm sure it will find a way.) ✌🏼✒