There are a few things we Belgians have a lot of: beer, chocolate, governments (we have seven), bakers, chemists, unsightly buildings, and also... serial killers. As of this morning, we officially have another one.
I just don't get it. There are not even eleven million of us. We can't "blame it on the foreigners" (although I'm sure some will find a way) because most are home-grown. We have it good. We're ranked 14th in the world for wealth. We have chocolate, we have beer. And yet. And yet.
This last one was a quiet teacher, living in a very small town. He would probably never have been found out had he not killed two of his all-too-young neighbours last week. They were 18 and 22. A week later, and he has already confessed to the murder of another young girl.
Incomprehensible.
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I have often asked this question. Something built into the racial consciousness I guess.
ReplyDeleteAlice Miller, Poisonous Pedagogy, explains it well.
On a lighter note, where I live there arealso many, many chemists. Also butchers and 2 euroshops. No idea why.
I have a very good friend that lives in Knokke. So I call over for a visit every now and then.
ReplyDeleteI do not know anything about killers, but Christ you lot are near on as bad as the Swiss for thing being either forbidden or mandatory. And if ever I've seen a place in dire need of going on the piss for a month it's Belgium.
Don't worry, here in Chicago we're apparently on a par with Baghdad for murders! You've a long way to go.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it odd how most serial killers are white males? Of course, there are always the exceptions but...
ReplyDeleteAnd I would assume that Belgium is up to its armpits in white males.
you have beer and you have chocolate yet you export these two very precious commodoties. Perhaps that has caused some to short circuit in their wiring. I, for one, cannot fathom any other reason. (yes, at certain times of the month i would kill if someone took away my chocolate)
ReplyDeleteOn a serious note though, there must be something seriously wrong in their heads. Just this afternoon I was reading a british paper (albeit from 22nd december) about a guy who woke up in a bad mood, went to the local store, bought a knife and knifed a young woman to death. With no previous record of any incidents and no evidence of severe mental health disorders. He even said himself he just woke up in a bad mood and decided to kill someone.
I can't even graps the idea of killing someone. Have I felt rage before? Certainly; have I thought in my head that I wished someone was dead? Unfortunately, guilty of that as well. However, I cannot for hte life of me "get" what goes on in people's minds who DO.
ReplyDeleteoops. that serious comment was made much less serious by my typos. Because I meant "grasp," and I misspelled and it looks like GRAPES, and what the hell do grapes have to do with anything? sheesh.
ReplyDelete@Jo - Do you have a lot of Irish serial killers then?
ReplyDelete@Vince - I detect a touch of negativity about us there.
@Expat Mum - That must be scary as well. At least we have less of the tit-for-tat murder. Just a lot of the psycho-no-reason kind.
@Ms. Moon - White males indeed. I'm living with two of them. I'm getting worried now. Seriously, though - it's as if they don't have enough to worry about or something.
@Irishangell - Something must indeed be very wrong. This one guy snapped recently and killed these two neighbours after the boyfriend of the two bullied him (or so he says). I bet that wouldn't have happened if the boyfriend had known he was living next to such a psycho killer.
@Kori - I think that's my main thought today, next to sadness for the families. Just how, and why???
The problem with asking why is that you will never get an answer that makes you understand.
ReplyDeleteNot at all, I rather like the Belgians I've met. And I've even been to the top of Ijzer tower.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is a kind of copycat mentality? Maybe lots of people harbour these urges but they are only prompted to do it when they see other examples (I do hope this isn't the case, by the way).
ReplyDeleteOr maybe Belgium is just better at catching them....after all, Hercule Poirot was Belgian wasn't he?
Very sad. At least they caught the guy, though.
ReplyDeleteUm, no hon, I have asked that question about Belgium.
ReplyDeleteI think we might have one serial killer, in the south east, maybe two working together apparently, but to be honest, I try not to think about it.
We have lots of domestic murders, and drugland murders. Not so much with the serial killing, unless they're very good at it.
The Belgians do have a history of rather sinister and dark murderers (as opposed to the cheery ones).
ReplyDeleteIt's an odd trait of a nation that I genuinely like as a people.
Heard this story on the radio this morning. Nuts.
Yes serial killers are usually white males and they've usually had a weird relationship with their mother. Therefore I blame the mothers. That's usually what we do when there's no other explanation.
ReplyDeleteBloody hell. Sad. It happens, thankfully it's still rare...
ReplyDeleteIt's scary and sad and disturbing all at the same time. Who knows what's going on in that messed up mind they have.
ReplyDeleteWe had one in the town I currently live in. His mom worked with me at the nursing home and his sister used to babysit my hubby. Way too close to home for my liking and his poor mom.
In this case I think it had more to do with his dad than his mom as his dad was the "mans man" and his mom was beaten down. But we'll never know what really went on just what we "think" and can guess, either way it's so not my idea of safe.
Italians have an extremely low serial killer count. Only one I can recall, called appropriately, Il Mostro, the monster. But the Mafia filled that vacuum, of course.
ReplyDeleteMy take on the lack of serial killers here is the mother expects everyone to be home for lunch and dinner and if you're not you'll be killed. Plus the moms snoop like crazy and she'd be in your face if she found a bloody knife or a secret cave in your room with children hidden inside.
This maternal control over her sons lasts until she dies and single men usually live with their moms so there is just no way they can be free for a kill spree.
1889 was the year of possibly NZs last serial killer and she was white female. We do have a lot of other sick crimes but we don't specialise in " serial crimes" fortunately. Unfortunately Belgium does reach the news here for its 'sick' crimes. Maybe our badies just don't get caught?
ReplyDeleteAh geez. I'll never understand why people do these things.
ReplyDeleteIt could be worse, you could be in Austria - imprisoning young girls for years on end.
ReplyDeleteYes that is a very opinionated and biased view about Austria. But they once fined us 120Euros for a minor traffic offence (we didn't even know about the vignettes!) and I have never forgiven them for it.
What some people will do will always remain completely inexplicable.
Ahhhh. Comment killer just swallowed my comment.
ReplyDeleteI am Austrian. Imagine what damage could be done if I moved to Belgium.
sad sad scary. ugh.
ReplyDelete@Steph - Probably not. So depressing.
ReplyDelete@nappy valley girl - Maybe. I just hope that doesn't mean we get even more now. I'm going with your "better at catching them" theory.
@Badass Geek - That is one consolation.
@Xbox - It is ridiculous. They're going to investigate him in the Netherlands as well, apparently - he used to live there.
@Emily O - Very useful strategy.
@Lady Mama - Less and less around here...
@Meghan - That is WAY too close for comfort.
@geeksinrome - Hurray for intrusive mamas!
@Countess - That was the last one??? Freakish. Maybe it's true though that more get caught here. We do live very close to each other. I imagine it's easier to hide what you're doing in New Zealand.
ReplyDelete@Mad Woman - I wonder if understanding would help at all.
@Brit in Bosnia - Well, we had one that did that, too, I'm afraid.
@Metropolitan Mum - Yeah, you better stay out. On the other hand, your lederhosen will give you away so we'll be on high alert.
@Bethany - ugh just about covers it.
Clearly the serial killers aren't eating enough of that chocolate.
ReplyDelete