Known by and large as one of the most diverse cities in the world, Amsterdam is often labeled by outsiders as an abnormally tolerant city. This is not necessarily true. From an outsider’s perspective, the evidence to support such a statement undoubtedly exists. With its progressive attitude towards recreational drugs, prostitution, diversity, same-sex marriage, and euthanasia, the Dutch capital has often been the world leader in enacting legislation to legalize or tolerate such things ("Why Is Amsterdam so Tolerant?”). This progressive attitude is often falsely equated to tolerance by many. People assume that because the government tolerates these issues that are still not widely accepted, the Dutch people must also be very tolerant. This misconception
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This view is typically held by the government and the city’s people in the sense that things that are seemingly unlawful are permitted to occur despite legislation that deems it illegal (Shorto 15). This differs from the definition of tolerance because the people do not necessarily show a “willingness to accept” these illegal acts, but rather the government tolerates them by enacting legislation to protect such acts. A great example of the idea of gedogen is prostitution in Amsterdam. Prior to 2000, prostitution was not entirely legal in Amsterdam (“Amsterdam Prostitution.”). The government was aware that prostitution would occur regardless of the legal status they provided, so rather than letting it go unregulated, which has shown to lead to violence and disease, they legalized it. Once legalized, they were able to regulate it and protect prostitutes and the public from harm and prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases within their city. This policy of toleration has proven to benefit the Dutch in terms national STD and teen pregnancy rates, with the Netherlands consistently having lower rates of teen pregnancy, HIV, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, and Chlamydia when compared to other European countries as well as the United States (Wade). The idea that prostitution is not something the people accept or empathize with and yet the government still allows it to exist is a great representation of the meaning of the term. The misconception many people have about Dutch tolerance stems from a lack of understanding of the Dutch mentality can be corrected by taking a deeper look into the idea of gedogen and more detailed instances in which it is
This view is typically held by the government and the city’s people in the sense that things that are seemingly unlawful are permitted to occur despite legislation that deems it illegal (Shorto 15). This differs from the definition of tolerance because the people do not necessarily show a “willingness to accept” these illegal acts, but rather the government tolerates them by enacting legislation to protect such acts. A great example of the idea of gedogen is prostitution in Amsterdam. Prior to 2000, prostitution was not entirely legal in Amsterdam (“Amsterdam Prostitution.”). The government was aware that prostitution would occur regardless of the legal status they provided, so rather than letting it go unregulated, which has shown to lead to violence and disease, they legalized it. Once legalized, they were able to regulate it and protect prostitutes and the public from harm and prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases within their city. This policy of toleration has proven to benefit the Dutch in terms national STD and teen pregnancy rates, with the Netherlands consistently having lower rates of teen pregnancy, HIV, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, and Chlamydia when compared to other European countries as well as the United States (Wade). The idea that prostitution is not something the people accept or empathize with and yet the government still allows it to exist is a great representation of the meaning of the term. The misconception many people have about Dutch tolerance stems from a lack of understanding of the Dutch mentality can be corrected by taking a deeper look into the idea of gedogen and more detailed instances in which it is