Johan Derksen lashed out at table guest Heleen van Royen yesterday in the live broadcast of Today Inside. He thinks she is saying stupid things about the Qatar discussion.
Qatar is not exactly a champion of human rights and that is why many people think that we as the Netherlands should not send dignitaries to this host country of the World Cup. Johan Derksen agrees; he would find it especially scandalous if the king went there.
Helen disagree
Johan thinks that King Willem-Alexander should stay at home. “The king can now show if he has character and a conscience. He could now say as a person: ‘Yes, if 75 percent of the people don’t want me to go, who am I to go? But I already know what’s coming. He will immediately go ‘in the interest of the Netherlands’. Then you get that bullshit.”
His dinner guest Heleen van Royen disagrees. “I always find it… We’re always pointing fingers like: don’t do this! I always find it very difficult when you are going to tell someone else what to do or not to do.”
finger pointing
Heleen believes that people should decide for themselves. “If Máxima or Willem-Alexander or anyone else thinks: no, I can’t reconcile this with my conscience because workers have died for that stadium, I’m not going there, then I understand. But I don’t understand why anyone else is going to say: ‘You can’t go there, because I think it’s a shame what happened there.’”
What nonsense, says Johan. “Dear Heleen, it is representatives of the people who represent politicians and the king also represents the people. And 75 percent of the people don’t want them to go. Is that finger pointing?! A lot of finger pointing. They can’t ignore that!”
Helen: “Yeah, I don’t know.”
‘Stupid things!’
A moment later, Heleen remarks: “But Johan, are you going to watch those matches? You really shouldn’t do that.”
Then Johan hits hard. “No, but now you keep saying stupid things.”
Heleen: “Hello, principles! If you think it’s disgusting and you say: ‘We shouldn’t do it, we shouldn’t go there’… So you think we shouldn’t have played football there?”
Johan: “I think so too, but we can’t avoid it. Then you will be kicked out of FIFA and then you will blow up the entire Dutch football. We must go, but with protest and fresh reluctance.”
peanuts
Heleen: “You should also introduce yourself: suppose there is a talk show in Qatar and that people there want to go to the Netherlands and that other people then start attacking those who say: ‘Are you going to the Netherlands?! With that allowance affair?! Are you going there, to that country that is so scandalous with its own citizens?’”
Johan: “Isn’t that peanuts compared to 6,500 deaths?”
Heleen: “Yes, or the people in Groningen whose houses have not yet been repaired. It’s always so easy to point to other countries.”
Johan: “Okay, so from now on we don’t point to countries anymore, we are not critical and we think everything is beautiful? You’re talking out of your ass.”
Heleen: “No, I’m not talking out of my ass.”
