Fear Of Fellow Men

I was having a walk around a lake yesterday. I saw two small islands, and decided to visit them. As a Finnish person I'm used to freedom, which is difficult to understand in modern western society. As many countries advertize themselves as "the land of the free" although they are anything but, we have to redefine freedom, or invent a new word that has the same meaning as the old word, "freedom".

Without giving it much thought, I started to walk straight forward to the shore and after few trees and bushes I bumped into a fence. With barbed-wire on top. Ok... I go around it. After 300 metres, there was a prison complex. They don't call it a prison complex, but a combined gym and swimming hall. People pay for someone to imprison themselves in a small room where they walk in this device without moving at the same time when I walk around the prison complex completely free, and can enjoy the little nature Amsterdam can offer. Same physical effect, but mental effect... that's different.

I went past the prison, following the barbed-wire fence. Saw a double-fenced area for children. The bastards should be locked in, I guess.

After a long walk I managed to get to the end of the fence. And saw a small plank, about 150 metres long, going to the nearest island. And the fence was going through the water to the island. From the prison complex's yard there was a bridge going to the island, I saw. Although it had a gate at both ends. Walking the plank wouldn't be smart either. Not only because I could fall into the water, but the fence also blocked the way.

I came to thinking. What are these people afraid of? That I break in to the gym from the back door and use their facilities for free? If I could walk the plank, swim around the fence, hike through the island, climb over the barbed-wire, swim to the shore and break in, would I really need the gym or the swimming hall?

Why was the water fenced? Do they think I'm gonna nick the water? And why the planks were placed that far away? So that I cannot take a boat, load in a propane tank, go next to the metal fence and cut through the steel pipes just to get to a gym?

Why all the security? Why the fences? These people are not going to use the acres and acres of land anyways. They prefer to imprison themselves into small rooms, instead of any resemblance of nature. The gym doesn't need all that space.

I'm sure these people feel safe only when they go from the gym to their anti-theft cars, drive home to their prison, close the steel vault-door behind them, go to their sleeping chamber, lock all the five locks and barricades the chamber door.

The lack of nature makes Dutch fear anything natural. Shallow country makes what kind of people?