"Gedogen"

Gedogen

The Netherlands

The Dutch verb gedogen is not really translatable, to English nor to any other language. The term is Dutch, the idea behind it is Dutch, and it only works in Holland, anyway. It would be nice to think that it could transcend the national borders of this tiny northern-European country, but it probably never will.

"Gedogen" translates most closely to "tolerate." That's what we call the phenomenon in English - tolerance. Tolerance is passive, though. "Gedogen" is active. "Gedogen" is an open-eyed tolerance, and a matter of governmental policy.

If there is a social matter that will not allow a concrete solution, the Dutch will "gedogen" it. The typical example for foreigners are prostitution and "soft drugs." The Dutch know that these are never going to go away. Everybody knows that. The Dutch acknowledge it officially. Eradication of the basis of the problem is not always practical, and so, for the Dutch, it is not always the goal. Indeed, the concept of "problem" is subject to interpretation. The "problem" of sex and drugs is often one of perception, and frequently the perception is colored by predisposed morality. These are factors - there are many others. "Gedogen" acknowledges this.

"Gedogen" is practical, and it seems to work very well. (For examples, The Netherlands has a low rate of AIDS infection, and its patterns of drug abuse are moderate.)

My Dutch girlfriend gave me the best definition of "gedogen" that I've heard. She was looking over my shoulder at a page I was writing about Rob Oudkerk, a politician in some public embarrassment over his visits to a streetwalkers' zone. I had noted that this is legal in Holland. Kim corrected me: when you gedogen a matter, it is "not legal, but not illegal."