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January 17, 2009

The Dutch national identity

David Paulin
The canals in Holland have frozen over -- for the first time in years -- and the Dutch were out skating on them. The NYT and IHT have a big piece on it. I'm sure you've already seen it, but maybe not.  Here's a graph that really stuck out for me:

With an influx of immigrants, the country has been struggling to maintain what it considers its Dutch soul, and Gustafsson was one of many here who thought the skating experience enabled the Dutch to reconnect with their identity. "There were only Dutch people on the ice," he said. "I saw no people of Arab descent."

Now that's pretty sad, isn't it? Skating, during a cold snap, is a way for the Dutch to reconnect with their national identity. Of course, it's also odd that things are so cold in the Netherlands in light of purported global warming, but that's another issue.

Thomas Lifson adds:

Black racialists call Caucasians "ice people" in contrast to blacks who are "sun people." What does that make Arabs, who are Caucasians?

And what about the underrepresentation of black athletes in the NHL? Racism?

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