Tjebbe van Tijen via Chello on Sat, 18 Dec 2010 01:06:48 +0100 (CET)


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[Nettime-nl] Amsterdam shopping: courtesy slips away while turnover is on the rise.


Amsterdam shopping: courtesy slips away while turnover is on the rise.

December 18, 2010 by Tjebbe van Tijen 

The illustrated version can be found at the Limping Messenger

http://limpingmessenger.wordpress.com/2010/12/18/amsterdam-shopping-courtesy-slips-away-while-turnover-is-on-the-rise/

[pictogram of person falling because of slippery surface]


Uitglijden = to slip and modern Dutch society always eager for making a big bug without showing any courtesy is at its merciless best these days with regular snowfall.

The main shopping arcade street, Kalverstraat - good for a turn over of many millions these holy consuming days - has a parade of hundred thousands of unstable tripping shoes as not a penny is invested in doing anything about the slippery mass on the pavement. 

One may observe fragile older people making their unescorted foray for their daily milk and bread up the slippery stairs of the biggest luxurious supermarkets of Albert Heijn in the inner town (because often that are the only shops left in the area), with the multinational food chain not making any effort to help these customers, handicapped by the uncommon weather conditions... 

This is turning a 'happy white christmas' into 'a white terror' for those who have come to an age where a slip will not be followed by getting up again for a long while... The Netherlands stronghold of discourtesy. The Netherlands paradise of eager egoists. Whereby an extra stimulus for falling is offered by the polished expensive natural stone surfaces in these fashionable shops which have never been tested in such thousands of wet shoes entering conditions. My guess is that architects nowadays do not know anymore about the need of a good grip of a shoe sole on pavement and floors... and liability because of neglect of shopkeepers or municipality in such circumstances is hardly a known phenomenon in the Low Countries.


Tjebbe van Tijen
Imaginary Museum Projects
Dramatizing Historical Information
http://imaginarymuseum.org
web-blog: The Limping Messenger
http://limpingmessenger.wordpress.com/


PS De kleine lettertjes: van staatswege wordt mij gevraagd ieder van u uit te leggen dat dit een in de loop der tijd gegroeide lijst van email adressen is van mensen die ik ken of van wie ik weet dat zij - bij wijle - mijn commentaar op prijs stellen en dat in het geval dat dit niet, of niet meer het geval is, een enkel retourbericht waarin daarvan melding gemaakt wordt voldoende is om van mijn bescheiden lijstje afgevoerd te worden, waarbij het omgekeerde natuurlijk - van staatswege - ook toegestaan is, vrienden van u op deze lijst attent te maken en hen  te suggereren om mij een verzoek voor opname op deze lijst per email te sturen.

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