I have been active on this site for a few months now and I realised that I never introduced myself properly.

As you all can read on the left side, I am not from the U.S. but was born and raised in the Netherlands. Why would a Dutch guy participate in discussions on an American debating site? To put it simply: I just wanted to get to know the real American people, not the flashy celebrities, big company executives or members of the administration. I do not want to base my opinion of the American people on information given by newschannels, the entertainment industry or popular spokespersons.

Besides that I just like to discuss things with other people.

About Me:

Okay, who is this guy from Amsterdam?

My real name is Renger Roderik Dekker and I have been born and raised here in Holland. Althought my profile info says I am from Amsterdam, I actually live in a smaller town 10 kilometers from the city called Monnickendam.

I have my own house, and I am trying to finish my final thesis as we speak. After finishing my university degree in Ancient History, I am planning to become a high school history teacher.

I talk completely different than I write. Writing is not my strongest point. When I talk it is like a waterfall of words, when I write I have to think and search for the right words.

I love to eat Italian or Chinese! Although .... boerenkool met worst, a Dutch dish of curly kail, gravy and a smoked sausage, is probably my favourite food in the whole world!

My all time favourite movies are the first Star Wars trilogy, the Lord of the Ring trilogy, Terminator 2, The Boondock Saints, Scarface, The Name of the Rose, Ace Ventura, Das Boot, Der Untergang, The Shining, Silence of the Lambs, Seven, Conan the Barbarian, a few Good Man, Once upon a time in the West ... just to name a few.

A good book I read recently was The Undutchables: an observation of the Netherlands: its culture and its inhabitants.. I laughed the whole way through reading it.

I used to listen to hiphop when I was a teenager, I used to suck up all the information out of magazines like the Scource, but lost my appetite when people like Russell Simmons, P. Diddy and Jermain Dupri turned hiphop into a mass entertainment industry. Nowadays, I listen to different styles of music. I like to listen to George Clinton, Bob Marley, The Doors, Marvin Gay, Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker, Coldplay, Ray Charles, Miles Davis and U2.

My favourite sport is, like most men in Holland, soccer. I have been playing soccer for almost whole my life and I am a loyal supporter of Ajax Amsterdam. I think the Dutch will have a really good chance of winning next years World Championship, hopefully after a thriling final against Brazil.

I have no religious background, my mother was brought up in a really modern and openminded catholic family, my farther was brought up in a socialistic family. I consider myself agnostic, I do not believe in the teaching or scriptures of modern day religions, but cannot loose the feeling that maybe there is something more between heaven and earth.

I strongly feel that politicians are in service of the people and they should do everything in their power to make sure that their choices benefit the society as a whole. Politicians should think bigger than their political party, they should think about the people.

I have always felt that society should be centered around people, not around money. I am a strong supporter of a strong social-democratic government: its social security programs and its focus on people rather than money alone.

I am an avid supporter of the Dutch drug-policy. Although there are still a lot of people that have strong moral objections, one cannot dismiss the fact that our policies are working and have achieved remarkable results. Just look at this figure from the annual report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).

Any questions ... I will gladly answer them

Wonderful introduction, Renger! Nice to meet you.

I really enjoy your posts (although I'm usually in the opposition ) it's so fun to have international participants. We truly appreciate your input.

Welcome Renger!

There are a few futball fans on the board. You certainly could have picked a worse team than Ajax!! Maybe we can hook up at next years World Cup, I’m trying like the dickens to get tickets.

Like Mrs. P stated, it’s always refreshing to hear opinions from outside the states. My aunt is from Holland, she’s from Sauss (sp?) southern part of the country, near Belgium. I always enjoy talking with her, she has a wonderful point of view and interesting opinions. And boy can she cook!

Enjoy your stay!

So...what are we really like?

And...

What's the avatar about?

Thank you for the kind words Mrs Pigpen. I really appreciate it.



Ajax is the best club in the world, although they are not the richest club in the world, they have a wonderful youth program and produced some of the best players. (my personal favourites are Johan Cruijff and Marco van Basten (ever seen the Bicycle kickhe did against FC Den Bosch, aaaahh ... almost pure perfection! )
The biggest problem for relative big clubs like Ajax in small countries like Holland is that the big money in other parts of Europe (especially Italy, Spain (Madrid? ) and England (Ibramovic? ) lure the best players away from home. They just try to cripple the competition that way. It is the reason why the English, Italian and Spanish leagues are so popular, but also the reason why other leagues are weak.

At this moment Ajax has a really young team of promising players, they lack some experience and professionalism, but maybe they can surprise the competition in the Champions League.

As a country we do not have that problem. When the Dutch national team plays, the best Dutch players play!! And now that Marco van Basten has become coach of the Dutch national team, we are ranking the topspot in the UEFA ranking(European Football Association) and rank third behind Brasil and Argentina on the FIFA (World Football Association) list. (Nice fact I saw: the U.S.A. is ranking sixth on this list, you are considered better than countries like France (7), England (8) and Italy (14), nicely done! )

Next year the World Championships will start in Germany, and who is going to win? .... Holland, of course!!
Getting tickets is going to be difficult, but not impossible. I visited Spain v.s. Slovenia during Euro2000, great experience, the Slovenians jumped with thousands of them at the same time singing "He who doesn't jump is not a Slovanian! Lalalalalala ... The whole stadium (The Amsterdam Arena) almost seemed to collapse! It would be fun to hook up when you're here in Europe during the WC. It will be a great experience!



Hmmm it is still to early to really tell.
Maybe I can tell you a few of my early findings, but please don't hold it against me if it is not 100% correct . I think, in general, Americans tend to be more cultural and political conservative than the Dutch. In comparison with the Dutch political landscape, both U.S. political parties should be considered as conservative right. Cultural conservative aspects are omnipresent, again in comparison with the Dutch culture, and tend to surface in topics about abortus, euthansia, drugs.
Besides that, Americans tend to be more religious than the Dutch. We have almost banned religion out of society, in our efford to separate Church form State.

On the other hand I must say, that Americans tend to be more concerned about politics than the Dutch. Passionate and interesting arguments I have seen while on AD, but I must also add that some people go to far in their defence or attack during or after a certain political event. Please people, no more party-bashing.

I think it is fair to say that there are some big political and cultural differences between Holland and the U.S. of A. But it are these differences that makes it interesting. If everybody was the same, the world would become a dull place to live in.



It is a picture of Guust Flater. He is from a French (or Belgian??) comic and one of my favourite comicbook characters. I don't think the comic has a lot of followers in the U.S., unfortunately.