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To this day we don't know what happy slapping is
It was one of those media buzzwords used to describe the latest "dangerous new trend" in the UK a couple of years ago...haven't heard of it since.
Basically bored teenagers would beat someone up (or perhaps just randomly hit them once before running off) and film it on their mobile phones for a laugh. I seem to remember a case being in the news where a homeless man was kicked to death in London....for fun.
I didn't read the news story about Amsterdam but it's nothing new for fights to start because you spilled the wrong person's drink / kicked their hat / looked at them the wrong way. In the UK you will read occasionally about a punch up over a trivial incident ending in a death outside a club, or an argument in a chip shop where someone suddenly produces a knife and stabs someone....
I think Amsterdam is pretty safe, although I don't tend to hang around the RLD in the early hours of the morning.
To put things in perspective, in how many other cities around the world would you walk around the neighbourhood best known for prostitution, late at night, and expect to feel safe? All cities have some crime but Amsterdam is Disneyland in comparison to most places.