The nation was shocked by the murder of a high school teacher in Den Haag. Hans van Wieren, a 49-year old father of two was shot in the head in the school’s crowded cafeteria.
Delen
The confessed murdered, Murat D., a disgruntled 17-year-old pupil with a history of drug and alcohol abuse and violent behavior, had recently been suspended from the technical & catering high school. Following the killing, the nation then had to endure a media feeding frenzy. Much media attention focused on a small group of Murat’s friends who congregated outside the school to express sympathy and support for the murderer, waving signs saying, “Murat, we love you”. An editorial in De Telegraaf newspaper said, ,,If anything typifies the current state of affairs in the Netherlands, then it’s this demonstration by Murat’s supporters.” One newspaper wondered how a teenager got hold of a gun, while another sought to blame increasing violence in schools on the emergence of an immigrant ghetto culture in Holland%s big cities, where poverty is mixed with an alleged hostility towards the West. Referring to the fact that the killer is from a Turkish immigrant family, one newspaper claimed it’s quite common for Turks to own guns, ,,as a sign of their manliness”. However, a clinical psychologist, writing in the Algemeen Dagblad claimed the murder was further proof of the perverse egotism of Western culture: ,,For every violent Turk I could easily introduce you to two violent Dutch people.” This, he wrote, is because ,,we’ve lost the human measure”.Our ego’s are inflated. We have an exaggerated need to defend our private interests.” The psychologist also blamed Jerry Springer and demanded such “degrading” programs be removed from the airwaves. A week later, in Amsterdam, a staff member of a school for the learning disabled was stabbed by a 35-year old former student. Unsurprisingly, a recent survey found that two out of every three Dutch people are dissatisfied with how crime is being tackled. Citizens now want tougher action against criminal behavior, more policemen and stiffer sentences for criminals. Elsewhere, a Rotterdam shoe store was robbed on the very day the store reopened after the 18-year-old son of the owner was shot dead in a robbery of the same store in October. The nation%s shopkeepers meanwhile were discussing what to do with apprehended shoplifters while waiting for the police to arrive. One proposal, called the ‘cage plan’, was for shopkeepers to put suspected thieves in a cage, preferably on public display in the shop window.
Queen Beatrix and Crown Prince William Alexander visited Thailand, where King Bhumibol welcomed them. The state visit coincides with the 400th anniversary of ties between Thailand and the Netherlands. During the Queen’s visit, Thailand decided to release Dutch nationals held in Thai prisons, convicted of drug smuggling. No doubt the Dutch royals are envious of 75-year-old King Bhumibol, the world’s longest-serving monarch, who not only has greater influence in judicial matters but also enjoys divine status in Thailand, where court etiquette requires visitors to be introduced to the King with this opening line: ‘He who now addresses you is not more than a particle of dust on the soles of your Majesty’s shoes.’ Despite the recession, Dutch people are spending more on their weddings than ever before. The average cost of a wedding is now over ten thousand euros (up from eight thousand euros in 2002). Pretty lavish spending considering the fact that 30% of Dutch marriages end in divorce. In Amsterdam, high profile city aldermen Rob Oudkerk was momentarily divorced from his senses, confessing in a national magazine interview that he regularly visited prostitutes in a Den Haag red-light zone notorious for its illegal-alien, heroin-addicted prostitutes. Oudkerk was forced to resign. There was also bad news for a 34-year old Dutch artist who was taken to court for an ‘artistic’ experiment that led to the death of 18 goldfish. The artist dipped the living goldfish in a pot of paint and then put the paint-covered fish on a piece of paper. The paint streaks left by the dying, wriggling goldfish were then framed and presented as abstract expressionist artwork. A public prosecutor demanded the artist be charged with torture, the museum removed the offending work and the artist received death threats from animal lovers. And finally, the strict new nationwide ban on smoking inside all buildings has hit Dutch magician Willem de Korte, known as Kortini, particularly hard. Kortini’s best trick involves making a burning cigarette vanish into thin air, without a puff of smoke remaining. Kortini’s devastated by the new law: ,,I can’t very well say to my audience, ‘Well, let’s all put on our coats and go outside for the next act…”’
The nation was shocked by the murder of a high school teacher in Den Haag. Hans van Wieren, a 49-year old father of two was shot in the head in the school’s crowded cafeteria. The confessed murdered, Murat D., a disgruntled 17-year-old pupil with a history of drug and alcohol abuse and violent behavior, had recently been suspended from the technical & catering high school. Following the killing, the nation then had to endure a media feeding frenzy. Much media attention focused on a small group of Murat’s friends who congregated outside the school to express sympathy and support for the murderer, waving signs saying, “Murat, we love you”. An editorial in De Telegraaf newspaper said, ,,If anything typifies the current state of affairs in the Netherlands, then it’s this demonstration by Murat’s supporters.” One newspaper wondered how a teenager got hold of a gun, while another sought to blame increasing violence in schools on the emergence of an immigrant ghetto culture in Holland%s big cities, where poverty is mixed with an alleged hostility towards the West. Referring to the fact that the killer is from a Turkish immigrant family, one newspaper claimed it’s quite common for Turks to own guns, ,,as a sign of their manliness”. However, a clinical psychologist, writing in the Algemeen Dagblad claimed the murder was further proof of the perverse egotism of Western culture: ,,For every violent Turk I could easily introduce you to two violent Dutch people.” This, he wrote, is because ,,we’ve lost the human measure”.Our ego’s are inflated. We have an exaggerated need to defend our private interests.” The psychologist also blamed Jerry Springer and demanded such “degrading” programs be removed from the airwaves. A week later, in Amsterdam, a staff member of a school for the learning disabled was stabbed by a 35-year old former student. Unsurprisingly, a recent survey found that two out of every three Dutch people are dissatisfied with how crime is being tackled. Citizens now want tougher action against criminal behavior, more policemen and stiffer sentences for criminals. Elsewhere, a Rotterdam shoe store was robbed on the very day the store reopened after the 18-year-old son of the owner was shot dead in a robbery of the same store in October. The nation%s shopkeepers meanwhile were discussing what to do with apprehended shoplifters while waiting for the police to arrive. One proposal, called the ‘cage plan’, was for shopkeepers to put suspected thieves in a cage, preferably on public display in the shop window.
Queen Beatrix and Crown Prince William Alexander visited Thailand, where King Bhumibol welcomed them. The state visit coincides with the 400th anniversary of ties between Thailand and the Netherlands. During the Queen’s visit, Thailand decided to release Dutch nationals held in Thai prisons, convicted of drug smuggling. No doubt the Dutch royals are envious of 75-year-old King Bhumibol, the world’s longest-serving monarch, who not only has greater influence in judicial matters but also enjoys divine status in Thailand, where court etiquette requires visitors to be introduced to the King with this opening line: ‘He who now addresses you is not more than a particle of dust on the soles of your Majesty’s shoes.’ Despite the recession, Dutch people are spending more on their weddings than ever before. The average cost of a wedding is now over ten thousand euros (up from eight thousand euros in 2002). Pretty lavish spending considering the fact that 30% of Dutch marriages end in divorce. In Amsterdam, high profile city aldermen Rob Oudkerk was momentarily divorced from his senses, confessing in a national magazine interview that he regularly visited prostitutes in a Den Haag red-light zone notorious for its illegal-alien, heroin-addicted prostitutes. Oudkerk was forced to resign. There was also bad news for a 34-year old Dutch artist who was taken to court for an ‘artistic’ experiment that led to the death of 18 goldfish. The artist dipped the living goldfish in a pot of paint and then put the paint-covered fish on a piece of paper. The paint streaks left by the dying, wriggling goldfish were then framed and presented as abstract expressionist artwork. A public prosecutor demanded the artist be charged with torture, the museum removed the offending work and the artist received death threats from animal lovers. And finally, the strict new nationwide ban on smoking inside all buildings has hit Dutch magician Willem de Korte, known as Kortini, particularly hard. Kortini’s best trick involves making a burning cigarette vanish into thin air, without a puff of smoke remaining. Kortini’s devastated by the new law: ,,I can’t very well say to my audience, ‘Well, let’s all put on our coats and go outside for the next act…”’
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