Cool Pirates
In Holland, “a city where Tulip Time is all but sacred,” the Cool Cities program is invoked to explain the unauthorized presence of 19 teens dressed like pirates at the city’s Tulip Time parade, for which they were each fined $100.
In Holland, “a city where Tulip Time is all but sacred,” the Cool Cities program is invoked to explain the unauthorized presence of 19 teens dressed like pirates at the city’s Tulip Time parade, for which they were each fined $100.
Pirates are welcome in Ann Arbor
posted by mucho gusto on May 18th, 2004 at 12:27 pm eyarr!
posted by ed on May 18th, 2004 at 3:33 pm eMatey!
posted by Anonymous on May 18th, 2004 at 3:39 pm eMaybe they were Dutch pirates?
posted by Brandon on May 18th, 2004 at 3:52 pm eHas anyone heard about the new pirate movie, by the way?
posted by Brandon on May 18th, 2004 at 3:52 pm eIt’s just like AAIO to stir up trouble when there is none. Pirates haven’t been allowed in Holland since 1845. It all has to do with a deal with neighboring Zeeland. If you looked closely, there was another picture in the paper about Ninjas on parade.
posted by Obi on May 18th, 2004 at 7:14 pm eHolland, MI is the Disneyland of Dutch culture. Hollandites’ fascism regarding the precious Tulip Time parade is laughable on several levels. There were scads of (17th century and beyond) Dutch pirates. And such parade fascism is antithetical to famed Dutch tolerance–which has some exceptions, I hasten to add, such as the Pim Fortuyn assassination or the hideous 1623 Amboina massacre in the Spice Islands. Not to mention the Netherlands’s enthusiastic participation in the slave trade–the first slaves in the U.S. arrived via a Dutch ship. At any rate, spare me (half-Dutch) the choreographed street-sweeping and the high-gloss wooden shoes…paardenkeutels zijn geen vijgen.
posted by Laura on May 18th, 2004 at 8:16 pm eLaura, Tulip Time is more about us Dutch-Americans, whose ancestors fled the Netherlands starting in the mid-1800s because it was becoming too tolerant (granting equal rights to Catholics and others) than it does with the Netherlands itself or the Dutch Caribbean or such things. Yes, the street-sweeping is ridiculous (but does have its roots in history), but those klompen sure ain’t shiny when I see them (although klompen dancing is definitely not Dutch… it was invented for Tulip Time in the early 20th Century by a local high school teacher). And parading without a permit is an offense limited to Holland– even Captain America got locked up for that one. I sure as hell bet tolerant New York wouldn’t allow a bunch of random folks to join-in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, either. But more power to those pirate kids…. wooden legs, wooden shoes– can’t we all just get along?
By the way, if you haven’t seen the new pirate movie…. it’d rated “Aaaaaarrrrgh!”
How much does corn cost for pirates?
posted by Brandon on May 18th, 2004 at 9:08 pm eugh… pardon the grammatical mess that is the previous post.
posted by Brandon on May 18th, 2004 at 9:10 pm eI was hoping the also Dutch-American Brandon would weigh in on this…but I can’t for the life of me sort out what his point is…and no one so far translated or cogently commented on my Dutch proverb…so till further notice I rule.
posted by Laura on May 18th, 2004 at 11:13 pm eAt least that was weird. Let’s face it, Dutch people arresting teenagers for dressing up like pirates is interesting, and a lot less banal than Bobos moving to a college town and complaining about the college students.
posted by Lucky Jackson on May 19th, 2004 at 8:53 am eThese pirate jokes are lost on you folks…
Pirates buy corn for… a buck-an-ear.
posted by Brandon on May 19th, 2004 at 12:33 pm eAnd their socks are arrrrrrgyle.
posted by js on May 19th, 2004 at 5:28 pm eThey don’t brush their teeth, they garrrrgle.
(I think only elephant jokes have a similar number of related gags).
So would pirates favorite television show have been Harrrrrt to Harrrrrrt?
And their favorite sitcom character Arrrrrrchie Bunker?
I loved the quote at the end of the article–”There are not enough pirates in Holland compared to the Dutch,” he said. “We are just trying to support Gov. Granholm’s Cool Cities program.” “
posted by 971TheDriveFan on May 19th, 2004 at 8:26 pm eThey shop at yarrrrrrd sales. Or Tarrrrrrget.
posted by Brandon on May 19th, 2004 at 10:22 pm eAnd thus starts a new Holland tradition - the post-Tulip parade bail-raising car wash.
posted by Gargoyle on May 20th, 2004 at 4:35 pm eI am Dutch.
posted by Mimi on May 22nd, 2004 at 6:54 pm eThis means, i am born and raised in Holland EUROPE.
IMO those people who CALL themselves Dutch in the USA are a joke.
All i hear from people who have been there is they keep up stereo types like Tulips, wooden shoes and windmills, but don’t speak a word of the language.
No wonder many Americans don’t seem to know anything else about our country, oh..and ofcourse the dang prositutes in Amsterdam and the coffee shops …
There’s a lot more to our country then that, and i am shure no one dressed up like pirates would have been arrested here.
Sounds like pirate harrassment to me.
posted by Anonymous on May 23rd, 2004 at 12:02 am ePirates might be welcome in Ann Arbor, but in Saline (five minutes south) we have a “Ninja Only” policy.
posted by The WiseGuy on May 30th, 2004 at 7:38 pm ei’m Irish i would like to say well done to the dutch soccer team tonight even though they lost it was a great game should have won the checks were lucky i think it is great to see the dutch and Davis back on from and maybe you can win out europe2004
posted by joey on June 19th, 2004 at 6:54 pm e