sun 01 apr 2007 13:08:18 — raamgracht
forbidden to hang around
in certain squares in the outer parts of amsterdam now, it's against the law to hang around in the plaza. many residents are annoyed by the behavior of the kids in the street. "hangjongeren" they call them. so they've put into effect a "samenscholingsverbod" in various places. no loitering, in other words.
ok so they should stay home and play video games i guess.
the teenagers don't have anywhere special to go, so they go hang out in the plaza. that's kinda what plazas were made for, of course. urban centers where people can gather. but adults don't like to gather any more. they like to stay in their living rooms. that's why we hardly know each other.
if the so-called "hangjongeren" were surrounded by the rest of humanity, they would be outnumbered and might check their attitude a little. but because the rest of us have become so withdrawn, we don't go out and hang there with them en masse. and because of how some people are acting, instead of going out there and mixing with them, we're using the law to forbid them to gather -- in the very places that are meant for gathering.
do you get it now, when i say that our world is designed wrong?