Outsiders

The story about Antillean students who feel like outsiders in the Netherlands deserves some further thought. Obviously, we do not condone or support discrimination in any way. Yet we know that it exists, not only in Donald Trump’s locker rooms but in many other places too.

Wishing that discrimination and racism disappear is like asking Santa Claus for that Ferrari you’ll never drive.

So what to do?

The thing to realize is that discriminatory and racist remarks say more about the one who makes them than they do about their targets.

This is how Dutch kids used to reply to insults: Wat je zegt dat ben je zelf.

And this is true: we all are the words that we use.

Targets of discriminatory or racist remarks should therefore feel comfortable.

What does not concern you cannot hurt you either.