They have been there for a few weeks now as a symbol of tolerance: the rainbow benches in front of the town hall in Purmerend. But there is confusion about the color order on the benches. Is it correct or are the rainbow colors applied the wrong way round?
A spokesperson for the municipality argues against news partner RTV Purmerend that mistakes have been made. He explains that it is a matter of perspective. If you are sitting, the color order is correct if you are not walking past.
just right
None of the passers-by we spoke to had seen anything out of the ordinary. One Purmerender cycling past had already heard of it, but thinks the confusion about the rainbow benches is fine. “It will then be talked about all the more and that is good for the message of tolerance,” the statement said.
A lady driving by in her scooter insists that the order is intended that way, but that it means something different than the ‘regular’ rainbow flag. A bit like the inverted Dutch flag also means something different than the regular one. The woman does not want to explain what that other meaning of the rainbow bank is.
Officially
Officially, the rainbow consists of seven colors, starting from top to bottom with red and ending with violet. The abbreviation of the colors is represented by the letters ROYGBIV, pronounced Roy G. Biv in the corridors. The letters stand for the colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet
Amended
The council believes it has made no mistake. Because: ‘The color sequence on the rainbow benches in Purmerend remains a matter of perspective’. However, the municipality has announced that the color schemes on both benches will be adjusted soon.