Dutch readers respond to Ukrant survey

The personal stories of prejudice and discrimination from international students surprised everyone last week, including Rector Magnificus Elmer Sterken, who spoke out about the issue on Friday. ‘We expect that we do not have intolerance at the university, but that is not the case’, he said after reading the article.

Shortly after the article went live, Mexican student Alejandra Hernandez informed the UKrant that a peer who used to teasingly refer to her as ‘Consuela’, a cartoon maid, had reached out to apologise. Several other students who contributed to the article reported similar responses from their own friends and colleagues. International students and staff showed up in comment sections, Facebook statuses, and private messages to say: ‘it’s about time someone said something.’

Dutch readers have responded as well. Many say the topic deserves attention; others offer thoughtful criticisms and clarifying observations. A few, however, disagree that subtle prejudice is a problem at all.

‘We’re listening’

At first, student Sara Omlor wasn’t sure how to respond to the buzz around the articles. ‘As a Dutch person, I felt it was time to listen rather than to say anything.’ But she also identifies with the internationals who spoke out. After living in the US, she thought returning to Groningen for school would feel like a homecoming. ‘Instead I was greeted with something new: an outsider feeling. It feels like being here is an exclusive club. It must be really hard, moving to an entirely unfamiliar place and going through these things on a regular basis. It really is time for us to listen in.’

Don’t wave the experiences of others away as if they don’t matter

Omlor isn’t the only one extending a call to listen. One commenter on the UKrant webpage writes, ‘to my fellow Dutchies: I see too much talking and no listening. Don’t wave the experiences of others away as if they don’t matter. We have achieved great things but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t listen to input from others. The moment you think you are the hottest shit around is the moment you stop improving.’

There are limits

Hendrik Timmer is a RUG graduate who works with international students. He thinks it’s an important discussion to have – his students have shared similar stories with him in the past. ‘It was also my initial reaction that this is all because of our directness; we are used to making odd jokes to each other and maybe it’s just a matter of getting used to it. But what we often don’t realise is that we have limits to what we joke about even among ourselves.’ Timmer says it’s helpful to recognize that other people have limits too.

Commenter Rachel K. acknowledges that inappropriate comments have consequences: ‘We need to realise we are losing good people by making them feel insecure’, she says. But at the same time, she doesn’t believe stereotyping comments are targeted. Rather, they are part of a cultural tendency to poke fun at each other.

Nicknames

‘Look at the nicknames we use. Especially, for instance, among men in the academy. They might refer to each other as ‘dickhead’ – that would be something that is perfectly normal to say, just to make fun. I can imagine for an international that can be quite shocking. But I personally would feel more insulted if people didn’t joke with me.’

She wonders if the ‘Consuela’ story could actually be a tale of integration: ‘Of course I don’t know the exact circumstances, but I can imagine that the nickname could have been a sign of acceptance, of being part of the team.’ It might not occur to Dutch students that these jokes are hurtful to others, because they have been the butt of such jokes all their lives and ‘are so used to it themselves’.

That’s not ‘directness’

But not everyone is used to it. Krina Huisman is a PhD student at the RUG; she was shocked by some of the comments. ‘These are rude comments, at times blatantly racist, made by rude people’. But she doesn’t believe they are examples of ‘Dutch directness’, either. Huisman would not hesitate to speak out against them. And that, she says, ‘is a better example of Dutch directness: expressing one’s feelings and addressing a problem head-on.’

There is a very relevant difference between being rude and being direct

Huisman thinks that the language barrier can also make direct comments seem even more confrontational than intended. She says it would be good if Dutch students were more aware of this. Associate professor of linguistics Mark De Vries agrees that language differences might mask benign intentions. And ‘intentions do matter’, he writes in the comments. ‘An awkward formulation can be unintentionally offensive and without any implied negative stereotypes – despite what the hearer might infer.’

De Vries also warns against making inaccurate generalisations. ‘There is a very relevant difference between racism and stereotyping’, he says, ‘and there is a very relevant difference between being rude and being direct.’

Identity politics

UKrant commenter Caroline makes a similar point. ‘Stereotyping is not the same as Dutch directness and most certainly not the same as racism.’ She thinks the conversation is in danger of stereotyping the very group it accuses of stereotyping. She doesn’t appreciate an approach that ‘invites international students to point fingers and say, “me too”.’

Student Ludo Aerts, who contributed to the original article, worries that it strikes an artificially divisive tone. ‘If we really want to make things better, does focusing on the dichotomy between Dutch and internationals help?’ he asks. ‘Or does it just reinforce a kind of identity politics: a clear narrative of victims and perpetrators?’

Resist the endless cries of whiny children pretending to be academics

Aerts doesn’t think Dutch students will participate in a discussion where they have to play the bad guy. Some will receive the critique with an open mind, he says, ‘but I can also see people saying, “there go those special snowflakes”. They will only see an article like this as a reinforcement of their own negative views.’

And in some corners of the comment section, that’s exactly what happened.

‘Marxist snowflakes’

Sven Schiepers, who is not from the RUG but graduated recently from the University of Maastricht, was forwarded a link to the article by a friend at the RUG. In the comment section, he says the complaints exemplify an ideological threat to society: ‘the new age hipster trend of feeling offended all the time’.

Schiepers wants to resist the ‘endless cries’ of ‘whiny children pretending to be academics, like the author.’ Why should we tolerate such people and their desire to legislate behaviour? He wonders. ‘There’s a great danger that these views are taking over the institutions within our society. It’s about grabbing power; I think it’s a threat. It will be an authoritarian future.’

Several commenters say the Dutch should not entertain the trend of victim hysteria moving across the Western world. It’s all a bunch of Marxist nonsense, Schiepers says. ‘Stop your silly outrage. Society is not and never will be your safe-space utopia. This piece is intersectional lunacy.’

Commenter Otto von Seissendreck puts it more succinctly: ‘Grow some balls. And if you don’t like it here, you’re free to go.’

Dutch