[vanderZwan]

Based on their username I would guess "being not-white in a country that is totally convinced it isn't racist but is actually seriously racist".

Also, it's not discussed much but the Netherlands has a very serious "old boy network" problem where white douchebags who didn't achieve much during their studies except boozing with other white douchebags keep failing upwards.

It's the reason why me and my mixed ethnicity background do not regret emigrating either, despite the superior bike infrastructure and hagelslag.

[BlargMcLarg]

Mind you, literally anyone who doesn't fit this mentality in some way (ethnicity, sex, character, etc.) is quickly considered an outsider with problems getting in. You can be a white heterosexual native guy and still struggle because the Dutch mentality doesn't mesh with you personally. Very much because "boozing with other white douchebags" concerns all descriptors.

It's why the Dutch "kan niet"-mentality is so prominent.

[mtts]

Very much this. The Netherlands is essentially a frat house kept afloat by dangerously unregulated immigrant labor, a dwindling number of middle class professionals and tax laws that would be an embarrassment to all but the most unrepentant of tax havens.

[ChuckNorris89]

>but the Netherlands has a very serious "old boy network" problem where white douchebags who didn't achieve much during their studies except boozing with other white douchebags keep failing upwards.

This isn't some Dutch thing. I've seen the exact same thing in Germany, Austria and Switzerland at the big-name companies in those countries (like BMW, etc.).

Basically, to succeeded, be a white local from a mid-upper/upper class family, go to a famous uni there and party, and you'll fail yourself to the top management in a big company there quite nicely, while immigrants have glass ceilings to make sure they know their place.

[mahesh_rm]

Pretty much this. Despite the fact that I am blonde and from Europe. Plus (from my perspective and specific to the Netherlands): it's an ecosystem of speculating "professionals". The Tax stuff is all done in Dutch. Accountants and the likes demand huge fees, and the Tax Authority assumes you are a Tax Resident if you incorporate a BV there. It took 4 years after I left Amsterdam (and about 20k EUR) to get rid of the annoyance of the Belastingdienst / Accountants demanding I would file personal and business stuff there, while I was actually living in another continent. I have been living in more than 8 Countries up to now, and the Dutch Society is the only one I am positive I will never ever try to join again.

[vanderZwan]

We're in agreement - I did not mean to imply it's an exclusively Dutch problem, I was just pointing out that it's a problem that isn't brought up that much when people talk about issues in Dutch society.

Also, since "white" is a flexible term that varies per country but always basically designates which socially constructed ethnicities are the "exclusive clubs" on top of society, it should probably be pointed out to for everyone who has no experience with North-Western European whiteness that people from Eastern and Southern European countries are not considered white in these countries most of the time either, except perhaps when they're compared to immigrants from countries even further away.