The color Orange is for the Dutch (not the NRA)

Orange is for the Dutch, not the NRA. And here is a little rant on why the Netherlands is not happy about this. NRA, listen up!

Dear NRA,

Sorry to bud in here – we’re not usually too interested in stepping into the gory mess you call ‘personal liberties’, but since you’re staking claims to colors now – and we’re not too excited about having to wash the blood stains out of ours we just kind of want to say something.

My problem with the NRA and their claim for the color orange

First of all, we support the fact that Americans can live their lives as they please, after all you let us do the same. If 100 gun deaths a day is an acceptable price for the average American to sleep peacefully, we will call that fair enough. There’s one problem though, there’s a majority of Americans who want to see changes to gun laws, common sense modifications to laws and an amendment nearly a quarter of a millennium old. And then there’s you, you who stand in the way of every effort to bring change, you who refuse to listen to a majority of your own people – because really, let’s be honest it earns you a good buck or two in the process as well – and now have the audacity to dictate which colors “belong to you”. Really? No, just no.

The difference between the color orange in Holland and in the U.S.

Last Friday people marched, by the thousands, for National Gun Violence Awareness Day – which we’re sure you agree – is their right as per the First Amendment. Or do those only work in your benefit?
Sorry, we digress, from what we understand the “WearOrangeMovement” wore, what a surprise, orange! And you know what? We’re actually okay with that – cause orange is a color for everybody, and by common interpretation it stands for happiness, determination, change, passion and encouragement – really, it’s kind f a healthy color, like that likewise named citrus fruit. And no, we’re not making a pun about the 45th President.

It appears to us that those interpretations of orange are exactly what the protesters stand for, they want a nation and a people that can live happily instead of in fear, they are determined to bring change with great passion and encouraging others to join in. Do you see how that kind of matches?

Because friends matter

And then there’s you, and your argument that orange belongs to you because “safety vests are orange”, which is of course an elementary school level way to argue your case. Speaking of schools! It seems that a lot of school going kids these days, and their parents, aren’t that happy anymore – it seems as if there’s some kind of dread hanging over them, and much of America, we wonder what it is… Oh, right! ‘Mental health crisis’, right? Nice spin!

 

Instead of taking orange, here is another suggestion for the NRA

Lets be honest here, there’s probably a color better associated with you – red. Or maybe we can call it “Blood red”, you know, like the stuff that comes oozing out of people after they take half a dozen of those .223 lead wrapped “gifts of freedom” to the abdomen at supersonic speed. And come on, you can’t tell us red’s not your color! Not while it features so prominently as part of your logo since your founding days, as the color of the prominent “NRA”-font and usually your apparel. Why not go with red? It’s aggressive, assertive, angry, dangerous and full of wrath – which has got to float your boat!

Why would you abandon the stripes on the American flag, for which so much blood has been spilled, and squabble over orange? Or is it just that you can’t tolerate anybody saying something opposite to your talking points? People that aren’t willing to swallow just because you tell them to?

Why orange belongs to the Netherlands and not the NRA

You want to play “claim the color orange”? Okay, we’ll play – orange is ours. Yeah, really – you may have been around since 1851, which is cute and all with the Wild West image, but we’ve had orange as a national color since 1572 in the War of Independence against Spain. That’s about three centuries ahead of you, in case you don’t want to do the math and we know you don’t like statistics and all that factual hoopla being thrown at you.

It’s also the color of our royal house, the House of Orange-Nassau, who also played a leading role in the previously mentioned war – see how that connects and all? We have orange as a national color and as a result, the Dutch ships that dropped clandestine loads of gunpowder, arms and other supplies to aid America in its own War of Independence of, also waved that orange tri-color. And yes, today we have a red, white and blue flag – we have that much in common – but we still wave an orange banner, wear orange on national holidays and every time a national sports team competes, orange is the preferred choice of color. And it’s been that way ever since those days, roughly 450 years ago, so yes – we claim orange over your “safety vests”-argument.

At least we still have the Dutch Orange Spirit.

Orange is for the Dutch – go f*** yourself NRA

So that settles it, if we’re going to play the claim game – we claim orange. But you know what the difference between you and us is? We’re not petty, so we’re going to go right ahead and say we share orange with Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, WearOrangeMovement and all the other groups that seek to improve America – because a nation that no longer sees its own flaws, that no longer seeks to improve itself and forever clings onto a self-aggrandizing version of itself – that’s a nation going backwards. Do you see any flaws with yourself NRA? Or America? Of course not, thanks for proving our point. Good luck to you, and please, leave orange alone.

And this is why orange is for the Dutch, not the NRA! What is your opinion on the NRA and their claim to the color orange? Let us know in the comments below!

1 COMMENT

  1. What a terrible article making fun of other peoples treasured liberties. Instead of looking into the issue from both sides. This very unjournalistic article does what the Dutch normally do. They will say out loud “every one has the freedom to democratically decidede what to do”, and then think “but the Dutch know what is best”.
    There is freedom in The Netherlands, but not freedom of speech. On paper there is freedom to express your opinion, but in reality one can only have the general liberal opinion, especially in the media.
    There is a pro gay marriage group, being against is not allowed.
    There is euthanasia, being against is the wrong opinion.
    There is abortion, being against will make you outcast.
    There is freedom to talk about US politics, but only when you are pro Democrats.
    Dutch are against lying under oath, yet they welcome Bill C as a hero.
    In The NL we have the freedom to protect out (EU) borders, but when US wants to do the same the Dutch make fun of them.
    Especially during the possible reelection of Obama and in the beginning of the “battle” between Hillary en Donald it was amazing and shocking to see that the Dutch main stream media was so partial and did not even try to present a balanced set of views & facts to its audience.
    A website like this should at least try to getting people closer. Not divide them by zooming in on the differences , or . . . . . . . . stick to real journalism !
    Duncan M

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related posts

Latest posts

Dutch Quirk #82: Grow really, really tall

Probably the most noticeable thing about living in the Netherlands is just how freaking tall everyone is here. It's totally normal to walk around...

It’s cherry blossom season in the Netherlands (but not for long!)

Surprisingly, it's not all about the tulips here in the Netherlands. We also have other beautiful things to see in the spring: gorgeous cherry...

This Dutch supermarket is ditching meat discounts: Here’s why

With the skyrocketing price of groceries in the Netherlands, kortingen (discounts) are the saving grace of many supermarket shoppers. Now, however, it looks as...

It's happening

Upcoming events

The latest Dutch news.
In your inbox.