I've finally started reading again, although I've taken up non-fiction. First up was Craze by Jessica Warner, a look at the Gin Acts of the 18th century and their impact on London society. As expected, alcohol has always been something of a weakness for the Brits -- in fact, I view us very much as a nation of functional alcoholics. Drinking for the purpose of getting drunk was as much a facet of the gin craze as it is of market towns today.
"In hot Tempers, it lets loose the Tongue to all the Indecencies and Rudeness of the most provoking Language, as wall as the most hellish Oaths and Curses, and is frequently followed by Quarrels and Fighting, and sometimes has been the Cause of Murder."
That was Sir John Gonson, supporter of the Society for the Reformation of Manners and the Socity for Promoting Christian Knowledge, but it might as well be -- minus the somewhat Germanic capitalization of nouns -- the Daily Mail today. And while the art and literature surrounding gin's popularity in the 18th century are entertaining to read, the author goes on to draw a far more interesting connection with the way that drugs and drug users (particularly women) are demonized today.
"Together, mothers and infants made the perfect poster children: one invited censure, and the other invited pity. Each, in its own way, horrified polite socity. It was a motif that would be repeated to great effect. In Victorian England, mothers who worked in factories were criticized for using opium to sedate thir infants, while more recently, images of "crack babies" have served to galvanize public opinion against crack cocaine."
This is of particular interest when you live in a country where (soft) drug use is not demonized, but decriminalized. While I must confess that I've never actually been inside a coffee shop here -- I don't smoke and they're full of stoned American frat boys -- they do have great advantages (apart from keeping all the frat boys in one place). If you remove the rebellious nature of the drug, it makes it less appealing to bolshie teenagers. Drug-related crime is less, with opportunistic bike theft and car break-ins the most common problems. And, best of all in the trading-mad Amsterdammers eyes, local businesses make a lot of money from drug tourism. Hard drugs, though, are a different story. The junkies here are far more visible than they are in other countries: I've seen them wandering the streets round here and being arrested for shop-lifting in the local supermarket. Their sunken, skull-revealing visages and air of utter misery serve as a pretty good warning for those who might be tempted to go beyond space cakes and joints. They might as well be wearing a sign marked "Just say no!'
Nancy Reagen: eat your heart out!
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Though I will admit that the junkies are far more visible in Amsterdam than in many other places, I will put forth that the statistical numbers of hard drug addicts are actually lower in Amsterdam than in other European cities like Paris and Rome. And, though they may indeed present a frightening visage, they appear to be far too stoned to do the average person any serious harm, unlike addicts in American cities.
I agree: They're pitiful rather than threatening -- although, I have seen them wandering along with a brick in hand, only to hear the crash of glass and wail of a car alarm seconds later. Oh well, as long as they leave my bike alone, we can coexist peacefully.
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