A beautiful, but broken city...
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| I don't think helmets are a thing in Amsterdam... |
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| I think this must've been the lady from Mary Poppins... |
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| For you, Mom |
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| This is what the rest of the world believes the American diet consists of.. |
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| The singing was about equal to the costume. |
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| So. Many. Bikes. |
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| ...and flowers. Lots of flowers along the canals. |
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| Harlem (about 30 minutes outside Amsterdam). |
I just want to comment briefly on the Red Light District of Amsterdam. I didn't spend much time there, except for a couple of brief interludes where I found myself accidentally in it (quite easy to do unfortunately). I'm by no means an expert on to what degree the legalization of prostitution does or does not increase the rate of sex trafficking (statistics vary widely depending on what source you refer to, some say it increases trafficking greatly, others say it lowers it drastically). Regardless, as a Christian, I believe that all of us as humans reflect God in Whose image we were made. Having women displayed in windows as objects for sale is incredibly degrading to any human being, whether they "choose" it or not. Some prostitutes strongly advocate for their right to work in the city, but even if we don't view this from a Christian perspective we need to seriously question what social and structural issues would lead women to feel that their best option for earning an income is through prostitution.
