Connecting the Dots:

It seems to me that the some of news articles here in the Netherlands are in code. For example, on May 14, 2006, there was riotous behavior in Noordwijk, Netherlands. During the early morning hours, 50 young adults tried to overturn a police car and, 100 of the same threw rocks at the police officers. There was no information in the Telegraaf newspaper article, as to the origin of the behavior. To me, this sort of activity would require some further exaplanation. Here, however, there was none.

After speaking with a Dutch friend, I have told that this is typical, as people here know, without being told, what happens in these situations, as they are so common. In this case, the trouble was caused by drunken fighting, among two groups from outside of Noordwijk. When the police became involved, the groups joined to go against the authorities. To me, this was shocking. But to the friend, it was nothing new, as he noted to me that there is some lack of respct directed towards police officers here. As the underlying factor, which remains unstated, there seems to be frustration on the part of young adults concerned that their privacy freedoms are being infringed upon by the authorities and government, the police officers being a part of that infrastructure.

Being a bystander, I can only infer that this difference in journalistic style gives the reader pause to think and cause to ask further questions of his fellow readers, who may, like my dutch friend did, explain what it all means.

http://www2.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/article42266211.ece