Driving on a provincial road in the middle of the Netherlands, I see an inverted flag fluttering on every lamppost for miles. There must be hundreds. Why is there a shiver running through me right now? Flag display is less serious than violence and intimidation. I am simply not receptive to indignation about the ‘desecration’ of the national tricolor. The confrontation with the ubiquity of the farmers’ protest may take some getting used to for a city dweller, but no surprise if you follow the news.
It strikes me that each flag is brand new, and exactly the same size. That they are all very neatly attached at exactly the same height, with Tie wraps. Do you get that high when you’re on a tractor, or did you use a cherry picker? In any case, it took a lot of work and a lot of money.
The sudden suspicion of a well-oiled organization that pretends to interpret the spontaneous voice of the people, somewhere there lies my unease.