What to do about white trash? [June 24, 2012]

A few years ago, Amsterdam was in the grip of a delightful family called the Tokkies. The Tokkies hit the headlines in 2003 after being involved in a very public spat with their neighbours which ended up with arson. The family went on to become television stars and featured in advertising campaigns which traded on their bad name.

Now another bunch of white trash have been hitting the headlines in the city's Nieuw-West.

According to the Telegraaf and the Parool, local housing corporation Rochdale would dearly like to take action against the brood after they scared off new arrivals, particularly hapless Moroccan families who had taken a shine to the low-rise housing block, complete with grass covered playground.

The aim of this bullying? Apparently its to keep out everyone else until their own friends and family are at the top of the housing list and so increase their hold on this little corner of the city.

They, of course, deny the claims very loudly and aggressively.

You know the type. Overweight, tattoos, nasty dogs, shaven heads and those bloody Canta tin can cars. They are apparently furious at being branded as Tokkies (even though some of them are related).

The police, housing corporation, Amsterdam mayor and local council officials are all involved in the talks to decide how to conquer this little island of lawlessness.

There is talk of surveillance cameras (as if they would last more than a few minutes) and creating 'dossiers' on the worst of the problem families.

But perhaps the easiest thing to is just to give up. Who'd want to live in the middle of that lot anyway? Put a fence around the block, let them all live together in beer-fuelled and social security-funded harmony and warn everyone else that they enter at their peril.