Major riots in The Netherlands over Coronavirus lockdowns.

 

Police respond to the riots. BBC/EPA.

Major riots have struck in the Netherlands over Coronavirus lockdowns. BBC. The Dutch government has issued a curfew in the first stay at home order since the Nazi occupation during World War II. In response there has been riots for the past three nights in 10 cities in the Netherlands. The riots involved many incidents of damage and looting. The government is condemning the riots and claiming that they are not about the Coronavirus restrictions at all. Many have expressed shock that riots have hit the relatively peaceful Netherlands. 

My Comment:

Looks like 2021 is going to be a year of civil unrest. In addition to the problems the United States will likely have, Russia and India also have major riots happening right now. But I don't think anyone was expecting riots in The Netherlands. 

But it shouldn't be a surprise. I think civil unrest is an inevitable consequence for locking down for a disease that kills less than 1% of the people it infects. These lockdowns have such a negative effect on anything that isn't stopping the virus that I am surprised that there hasn't been dramatically more violence. 

Lockdowns eliminate much of what keeps people busy. If people are sitting around, not able to go out, not able to drink with their friends, not able to even try to find a partner, they will react poorly. It's extremely frustrating and we have to remember that rioting can be both entertaining and a way to express anger. 

The economic damage is a big deal too. If people are out of work that's one last thing to keep them busy and it cause a huge amount of anger. People lose their jobs and livelihood and are not able to provide for themselves and their family. Once that happens all bets are off.

The Dutch are blaming these riots on criminals who just want to destroy things. I think there is some truth to that as rioting is almost always an excuse for people to loot and burn things. But like the Black Lives Matter riots in the United States, it was the lockdowns that made this situation in the first place. There is no excuse for rioting (unless an election is stolen) but that doesn't mean that the Dutch government is clean here. 

As for the virus itself, I do think we are close to being the end of the Coronavirus pandemic. The vaccines are slowly rolling out and it won't be much longer before I get my doses myself. With so many people either infected or vaccinated the virus will run out of hosts and will die out. All the lockdowns have done is delay this inevitability and doing it now when the vaccines are coming out just seems foolish.