SIRE launches their #DOESLIEF campaign today, asking the Dutch to be less prickly (douche-baggy or the nice Dutch word of ‘hufterig’). According to SIRE, the Dutch are pretty unbearable sometimes (really?! Muhaha) and need to change their ways for the good of the Netherlands and you unsuspecting internationals who just arrived here.
They’ve launched their campaign and it’s aimed at Dutch people, asking them to be less of an assh*le. Not all Dutch are bad, although the expectation of common decency is in decline: 8% of public transport workers have been spat at.
The most commonly used word by the Dutch on social media was “cancer”, as in “you are cancer” or “this is cancer”. The deeper you go the worse it seems.
The SIRE campaign targeted citizens of the Netherlands, asking that they put more effort into small and large acts of kindness.
Vandaag lanceren we onze nieuwe campagne: #DOESLIEF. Deze campagne confronteert Nederland met groot en klein onaardig gedrag. Lees er alles over op onze website! pic.twitter.com/1YsuK0hvmP
— SIRE (@stichtingSIRE) March 4, 2019
Is a #DOESLIEF campaign really necessary?
From a government report from the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP) was released in September last year. This is what spawned the SIRE campaign. The report was titled “the social state of the Netherlands 2018”. The study showed that the Netherlands, after the United States, has the highest inequality of wealth among 27 OECD countries studied (Reuters 2018).
Dutch directness can be like a breath of fresh air, if you normally live in a country where people talk to everyone else but you about your “problem”.
That being said, if you want to do business overseas with clients you may not want to be so abrasive. You could find yourself losing customers faster than you can find them.