"Leopold!"
Posted on 02/24/2021 3:25:32 PM PST by nickcarraway
During the whole month of February, starting this Monday, the people of Brussels are called upon to choose the new name of the longest tunnel in the country, Leopold II, from among 15 names of famous women, Brussels Mobility said in a press release.
The renaming procedure “to symbolically reinforce the place of women in the public space” began last year with a call for ideas to citizens and the reflection of a committee of experts.
Currently, 43% of the streets in Brussels bear the name of a person. Of these, only 6.1% of the streets are named after a woman.
Fifteen candidates are in the running, ten of which were selected by the committee of experts and five by the people of Brussels:
The ballot is open for one month via Brussels Mobility’s website, where more information can be found on each candidate.
The official name change will take place at the end of the renovation of the tunnel.
Name it “the Sprout”.........
Leopoldette.
It would disrespect him even as it retained history.
“Currently, 43% of the streets in Brussels bear the name of a person. Of these, only 6.1% of the streets are named after a woman.”
That is because as a general rule they don’t create much and do big things in a nation. They are consumers and managers of that which was made by men. It has always been thus.
I live in Belgium and read about Leopold II, screw him, he can rot in hell.
A big, dark, foreboding tunnel. Name it after a Kardashian.
Bingo.
Marie Curie, by far.
But they missed a chance to call it the Manneken Piss tube.
That’s a much better reason to change the name than the fact he was a man. The Congo Free State was his personal fiefdom that he ran with brutal mercenaries. He ruthlessly exploited slave labor to make himself filthy rich from ivory and rubber. World opinion finally made him turn administration over to the Belgian state. A truly evil man.
Leopold II was an evil SOB. He created the Heart of Darkness.
I don’t know, but I’d venture to say Leopold II was worse than Mussolini.
Absolutely. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a great exposition about the evil of King Leopold.
The Crime of the Congo by Arthur Conan Doyle
http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/37712
Arguably Leopold and his Belgian crooks performed the first big democide, murder by government, of the 20th Century.
Agreed, see my previous. What was going on was known at the time, and notable people tried to stop it.
Indeed, a monster of iniquity. This is a renaming I support, unlike renaming places call Washington.
I don’t know, but I’d venture to say Leopold II was worse than Mussolini.
What no one seems to remember is that when the Italian Parliament fired Mussolini, he went home. Later of course, he was arrested, imprisoned in a mountaintop resort/prison and was rescued by Otto Skorzeny an later set up a rump Italian government under Hitler’s protection.
Of all the dictators of WWII Mussolini has always struck me as the most human of the bunch. Perhaps that’s damning with faint praise...
Especially now, I suggest the change to "District of Corruption".
"Leopold!"
Mussolini was a criminal who used mustard gas on Ethiopians. Even Hitler never even considered doing such in battle. Had his former wife and his son killed.
I thought Hitler didn’t use poison gas because he knew he’d get it right back, from the sky every night?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.