Via Right, Wing-Nut! and Misha at The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler comes this article from Brussels, Belgium, that's right, folks, the heart of enlightened, gun-free, oh-so-tolerant Europe:
Last Wednesday Joe Van Holsbeeck, 17 years of age, was murdered in Brussels Central Station. He was stabbed five times in the heart by North African youths. They demanded that he give them his MP3 player. When Joe refused he was savagely murdered. The atrocity happened during the evening rush hour on a crowded platform. Though there were hundreds of people on the platform, no-one interfered – perhaps because many people do not notice what is happening around them on a crowded, noisy and busy platform where passengers are rushing to catch their trains.
Read the whole thing, and the peerless Emperor's commentary on the actions of various players in this tragedy, as he does much better than I ever could. But I would like to comment on one thing:
Yesterday Marc Joris, a VB politician who is a member of the provincial council of East Flanders, criticised an initiative of VLD Governor André Denys against arms possession. The authorities are worried that more and more Belgians are arming themselves because they feel they are no longer adequately protected by the police. It is illegal to carry arms in Belgium, where even a pepper spray is considered to be an illegal weapon. According to Joris bearing a weapon can be a protection against crime. “There is no proof that societies are safer when citizens are not allowed to carry arms,” Joris said. Governor Denys retorted: "I am the Governor of East Flanders, not of Texas. [...] I do not want to live in such a society [where citizens are allowed to possess arms]."
Yes, indeed. We just cannot have the common folk be trusted with the means to protect themselves against those shiftless, morally bankrupt thugs who would take their stuff, and, as we see here, their very lives. That just would never do. Let them eat cake, excuse me, call 911...the police will always get there in time to protect them! And Besides that, they're the only ones professional enough! A Brit expat once told me, "I never could understand you crazy Americans and your fascination with guns." But I'd bet my last paycheck that if Joe Van Holsbeck had a .45 at his disposal with a couple of extra magazines, he'd still be alive today. Rest in peace, Joe Van Holsbeck...and burn in hell, Andre Denys.
|