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'I Amsterdam' Sign Removed For Being Too 'Individualistic'

'I Amsterdam' Sign Removed For Being Too 'Individualistic'

What's happening?

Rachael Grealish

Rachael Grealish

Is it all in the name of being progressive or is it simply political correctness gone mad? Who knows, one thing's for certain it's led to the end of 'I Amsterdam' sign from its stop of prominence in the city.

The left-wing city council have had the iconic sign removed for being too 'individualistic' - whatever that means - and came to the conclusion the sign 'opposed progressive values' and 'rejected community spirit'.

The slogan was first placed in Museum Square in front of the Rijksmuseum (National Museum), in the Dutch capital, 14-years-ago and since has been a hotspot for thousands of tourists each year - now the letters have been put on to a lorry and locked away.

Behind the motion which led to the removal of the sign is Dutch city councillor Femke Roosma - who is a member of GroenLinks (Green Left).

'I Amsterdam' Sign Removed.
CEN

She said: "The message of 'I Amsterdam' is that we are all individuals in the city. We want to show something different: diversity, tolerance, solidarity."

Roosma obviously wasn't alone in her want to rid the letters, Amsterdam alderman for economic affairs, Udo Kock - a member of the left-liberal party D66 - said he thought about removing the sign 'for a while'.

He commented: "I gladly want to remove them because these letters in Museum Square have become a symbol for mass tourism and the negative effects of it."

However, not everyone is happy with the decision and many people have taken to social media to express just how they feel about the sign's sudden removal.

One person commented: "This sucks! The 'IAmsterdam' was a symbol of being one and belonging...now it's just a massive sign telling you what you already know; you're in Amsterdam. Well done with the over-the-top PC bullshit...I thought the Dutch were different..."

'I Amsterdam' Sign Removed.
CEN

Another said: "When they 'put your soul in storage', you can't escape the thought that you lost something of your freedom, can you?"

A third tweeted: "What kind of experience in Amsterdam would it be if we didn't ride our bikes over to the I am Amsterdam sign and fight with people to pose in one of the letters?"

They aren't alone in their want to see the sign again, a former Amsterdam alderman, Frits Huffnagel, was the one who came up with the idea of putting up the sign in the square back in 2004 and said the sign was meant to mean the opposite of what its critics have said.

"The Greens don't understand a thing about the campaign," he said, "I am part of Amsterdam. As a citizen, because I work there, or as a visitor. That together makes Amsterdam. That everyone wants to
belong to it. It is connecting people, you gather people under that slogan."

Is this a step too far? Should the sign have been removed? Does it promote the wrong message? It's all up in the air as the debate goes on - well, not for the sign, that's up in storage.

Featured Image Credit: CEN

Topics: World News, tourism