Belgians are Shocked by EU “Humor”

This is from Elsevier.

It was translated by VH, who provides the context of this bureaucratic attempt at humor:


An Internet video that should encourage voters to go to the poll box the for the elections for the European Parliament (June 4-7), has led to indignation in Belgium. In the movie, meant to be humorous, a murderer with an axe appears that recalls the murderer, Kim de Gelder, who massacred several people in a nursery in Dendermonde this past January:
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The Dendermonde nursery attack was a stabbing attack by Kim De Gelder on the Fabeltjesland daycare centre in the village of Sint-Gillis-bij-Dendermonde in Dendermonde, Belgium, at 10:00 a.m. on 23 January 2009. Three people were stabbed to death, and twelve were mutilated in the attack.

The attacker, alleged to be Kim De Gelder, a 20 year-old Belgian from Sinaai, entered the Fabeltjesland nursery, located in Sint-Gillis-bij-Dendermonde in Dendermonde, Belgium, through an unlocked side door, claiming he had a question. He then entered one of the rooms and began attacking small children before moving up some stairs, where he continued in another room. The man was reported to be wearing black and white makeup with his hair vividly coloured in red, similar to that of The Joker.

A massive search operation was mounted, and a man was captured by police a short while later, in the nearby town of Lebbeke….Police reported that he was carrying a list of nurseries, of which they suspect he may have been planning to attack as well.

Kim De Gelder was, in eyes of his friends and colleagues, a silent boy, who never said anything.

"Silent boy". That's become part of the profile, it seems.

So there you have the context of the “shock” a Belgian might experience upon viewing this “humorous” video that is part of a series on the European Parliament You Tube site with the phrase,

Voting is for everyone. So if you’re running a polling station, just stay cool and make it happen.

Some of the other video clips seem equally bizarre, but then I’m an American bumpkin. I don’t grasp the finer nuances of European humor. [In my defense, I will say that I definitely “get” Russian wit. In fact, my favorite joke is Russian. I use it as a kind of litmus test - i.e., if someone finds it funny, I know we’ll be sympatico]

The post at Elsevier concludes:

A spokesman for the European Parliament was said to be shocked at the equation [of the Dendermonde attacker and the fellow in the video - D] The mayor of Dendermonde (the Flemish city where the massacre took place last year) called the EU-commercial ‘tasteless’.

That's putting it mildly. These people are housed in the EU Parliament in Brussels, for heaven's sake. What were they thinking?? Better yet,what were they drinking?? Whatever they imbibed, it sure served to inhibit the part of the brain that flashes "INAPPROPRIATE! DON'T GO THERE!" On the other hand, the video is still up and has at least four stars, so there are some souls out there who find it amusing.


Hat tip: VH