Ask a Belgian

[Jan H]

Are you a Walloon or a Fleming?

I am a Fleming

How do you feel about a Walloon prime-minister, the first in, I believe, 40 years?

In principle, I don't have a problem with a Walloon prime minister. I will judge his by his actions and those of his cabinet. I don't really like how he has been handling the negotiatons so far (espacially the stunt that he pulled last week by threatening to resign), but at least we are now closer to a government now than we have ever been in the pastyear and a half. Some people think they may be finished in a week or so.
The fact remains that his Dutch is horrible to listen to, but I think he has been trying to improve it.
He's not only the first Walloon prime minister since the 1970s, he will also be the first prime minister with an immigrant background (his parents came from Italy, and all of his brothers and sisters were born there), he will be our first gay prime minister as well (as far as I know...), and he has a PhD in chemical engineering, which is a nice change from the usual lawyers that get the job

And do you think the whole 'split Belgium up'-debacle is over now they've found some sort of solution for BHV?

no. the chance of that is almost 0.

 

[Jan H]

Are Belgian waffles really Belgian?

Yes, but we call them either "Brusselse wafels" or "Luikse wafels" (from Liège - similar to the ones from Brussels, but with added sugar in the dough)

One remark: we never eat wafels for breakfast. In Belgium, wafels are usually eaten around 4 o'clock, with some coffee or tea (similar to the British "tea time"), or sometimes also as just snack during the day (without adding any cream or fruit in that case).

 

[NiRv4n4]

When it comes to war/separation, who is your pick for the victor/region with best result: the Flemings or Walloons?

Being about a third/a half Flemish, I guess I am rooting for my ancestral cousins.

That is sort of a joke, but do you ever feel like your country is going to split up within the decade?

 

[alva848]

There's not going to be any war. The most thing to happen is some kind of devolution, a natural, gradual separation (which might very well speed up if and when the current king steps down/dies (successors are in the moran category, while he himself is still rather popular and imo, a big factor in keeping this nation together.))

a decade is probably a little bit too short but certainly not impossible imo.

 

[Tee Kay]

Are you disturbed that an initiator of a reign of terror during which 10 million people died is honoured by statues all over your country?

 

[velosepappe]

Are you disturbed that an initiator of a reign of terror during which 10 million people died is honoured by statues all over your country?

Not by the fact that there are statues, but I from the fact that it happened.

BTW, the statue depicts Leopold 2, the second king of Belgium, under who Belgium colonised what is now called Congo (then Belgian Congo), but who reigned it like his own private property. Many casualties among the local population, a very sad part of our history.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

One remark: we never eat wafels for breakfast. In Belgium, wafels are usually eaten around 4 o'clock, with some coffee or tea (similar to the British "tea time"), or sometimes also as just snack during the day (without adding any cream or fruit in that case).

Fascinating. Do you have anything like savory crepes, such as the Russian blini (блин&#1099, served with meat or mushrooms and sauce?

 

[strijder20]

Fascinating. Do you have anything like savory crepes, such as the Russian blini (блин&#1099, served with meat or mushrooms and sauce?

I never ate such a thing before. But I don't like meat, mushrooms or sauce, so that might have to do with it

Are you disturbed that an initiator of a reign of terror during which 10 million people died is honoured by statues all over your country?

10 million people, who cares, that's only the whole population of Belgium at the moment...


I'm not really disturbed by it. There are a lot of tyrants who are honoured world-wide (Genghis Khan by putting him in the Civ series, Mao Zedong who killed tens of millions of people). But although those statues might be there, I've never heard someone calling Leopold 2 a good person, and that's what counts for me.

When it comes to war/separation, who is your pick for the victor/region with best result: the Flemings or Walloons?

Being about a third/a half Flemish, I guess I am rooting for my ancestral cousins.

That is sort of a joke, but do you ever feel like your country is going to split up within the decade?

I'm Flemish, but I'd rather have no winners at all. More like a forced armistice by the EU or something.
I estimate there is a change of one in 3 of our country splitting apart or starting to do so in the next decade.

 

[Masada]

I'm not really disturbed by it. There are a lot of tyrants who are honoured world-wide (Genghis Khan by putting him in the Civ series, Mao Zedong who killed tens of millions of people). But although those statues might be there, I've never heard someone calling Leopold 2 a good person, and that's what counts for me.

er right because a video game and a Communist dictatorship are optimal comparators. Furthermore, the doods across the border from you have done an admirable job of removing certain people from their collective memory. I'm not sure why Belgium couldn't do something tasteful and do the same keeping in mind that Leopold II is an even bigger wankstain.

 

[anandus]

He's not only the first Walloon prime minister since the 1970s, he will also be the first prime minister with an immigrant background (his parent came from Italy, and all of his brothers and sisters were born there as well), he will be our first gay prime minister as well (as far as I know...), and he has a PhD in chemical engineering, which is a nice change from the usual lawyers that get the job of PM

Interesting, I didn't know that.
I always wondered why he had such an Italian-sounding name

Painful for the Vlaams Blok, though (an anti-immigration party in Flanders)

 

[Grisu]

how is the multi-linguality of belgium handled in the education system there? does the average Fleming speak decent french and vice versa?

 

[Jan H]

how is the multi-linguality of belgium handled in the education system there? does the average Fleming speak decent french and vice versa?

Every Fleming gets French as second language in high school (and English as third), but in general knowledge of French is declining in favour of English. My own French is horrible, but I think I can make myself understandable

In Wallonia, high school students can choose between English or Dutch as 2nd language (and the other as third). I believe the current situation is about 50/50 choosing Dutch or English.

The situation in Brussels is a bit different. A lot of french-speaking parents sent their children to Flemish-speaking schools, because the educational standards are said to be higher. I think in time this will increase the number of functionally bi-lingual people there (in the past, a lot of francophone inhabitants of Brussels simply refused to speak Dutch).

 

[imperialman]

Is it true that Belgium was a country invented so that Britain and Germany would have somewhere to sort out their differences?

 

[strijder20]

er right because a video game and a Communist dictatorship are optimal comparators. Furthermore, the doods across the border from you have done an admirable job of removing certain people from their collective memory. I'm not sure why Belgium couldn't do something tasteful and do the same keeping in mind that Leopold II is an even bigger wankstain.

Uh, I'm sorry, I really don't care who has a statue and who doesn't. I'm not that nationalistic. Removing them from the collective memory? Great, let's remove the second world war from our collective memory, so noone realizes what the dangers of a fascist dictatorship are.
I don't see the statues as a way of honouring someone, more as a way of remembering someone. And as I mentioned, regardless of the statues there are very few people here with a positive mindset about him.

Is it true that Belgium was a country invented so that Britain and Germany would have somewhere to sort out their differences?

Yes. There were some riots in Flanders before against the Netherlands, though, so it was a solution for that too.

 

[Masada]

Uh, I'm sorry, I really don't care who has a statue and who doesn't. I'm not that nationalistic.

Riiiiiiight. I don't see how that reconciles with the 'this isn't a big thing, China and Firaxis does it too' explanation? Because I guess you don't care about it enough to not apologise for it being there in the first case.

Removing them from the collective memory? Great, let's remove the second world war from our collective memory, so noone realizes what the dangers of a fascist dictatorship are.

I suppose if Germany maintained a huge statue of Adolf Hitler brandishing a gas chamber we might be able to talk!

I don't see the statues as a way of honouring someone, more as a way of remembering someone. And as I mentioned, regardless of the statues there are very few people here with a positive mindset about him.

Leopold II riding a horse, wielding a sword, spiffy in his martial garb and out in public is Belgians want to remember him? Jeez. That's messed up.

 

[strijder20]

Riiiiiiight. I don't see how that reconciles with the 'this isn't a big thing, China and Firaxis does it too' explanation? Because I guess you don't care about it enough to not apologise for it being there in the first case.

No, I am sorry because I seem to have angered you.

I suppose if Germany maintained a huge statue of Adolf Hitler brandishing a gas chamber we might be able to talk!

Would that give a positive or a negative image of Hitler?

Leopold II riding a horse, wielding a sword, spiffy in his martial garb and out in public is Belgians want to remember him? Jeez. That's messed up.

Yes, as a brutal conqueror who used methods which were completely obsolete by the era he lived in.

 

[Tee Kay]

Yes, as a brutal conqueror who used methods which were completely obsolete by the era he lived in.

That's an interesting way to think about it.

 

[Jan H]

Many historical figures have positive and negative aspects. One can remember someone for his positive aspects (e.g. beautiful buildings in Brussels and Ostend), while certainly not forgetting about the negative ones (have you read Congo, A History by David Van Reybrouck...)

Didn't George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and most of the founding fathers own slaves?

The number of 10 million (or 50% of the original population) is an educated guess. A part of the deaths is also explained by imported diseases, not just from the brutality of the colonial regime of the Congo Freestate. I have read much worse estimates of the death rates of the native populations of North and South America... But of course that doesn't justify anything.

 

[Tycho Brahe]

Only 3 , but I have 150 Suske en Wiske books and the entire series of Thorgal.

I didn't see the film, but I think I would still prefer the old animation films - I own a few.

Suske en Wiske? I've never heard about them before? And here I thought I knew my european comics. 26 of their albums is even translated to danish. Weird?!?! Maybe I was too old when they were published. If its a series for children?

 

[Tycho Brahe]

Many historical figures have positive and negative aspects. One can remember someone for his positive aspects (e.g. beautiful buildings in Brussels and Ostend), while certainly not forgetting about the negative ones (have you read Congo, A History by David Van Reybrouck...)

Didn't George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and most of the founding fathers own slaves?

The number of 10 million (or 50% of the original population) is an educated guess. A part of the deaths is also explained by imported diseases, not just from the brutality of the colonial regime of the Congo Freestate. I have read much worse estimates of the death rates of the native populations of North and South America... But of course that doesn't justify anything.

I think there's a bit of a diference between owning slaves and doing what was done to the people of Congo.