As much as other European colonialists have fucked up Africa over the years, I don't think any one person can have more blame for that than Leopold II of Belgium. Just ran the place like his own personal genocidal fiefdom.
this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2024
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Dude was one of the biggest scumbags in human history, but not many people know about him.
Behind the Bastards did a multiple episodes on him. Yeah, fuck that guy.
I know about him from "We Didn't Start the Fire"
Billy Joel was a boomer, and he's right. It was always burning since the world's been turning.
I know about him! He's the hot dude who married Kate after making all the Otis elevators stop. And then he jumped through timelines with burn-victim Van Wilder.
It literally was his own personal fiefdom because he directly owned it. It wasn't until all the bad press came out that the Belgian government forced him to hand it over to Belgium proper. The Belgian government then proceeded to do a light form of Leopold's system: forced labor via imprisonment but without the incentive to chop off limbs.
The court ordered the state to pay the women €50,000 in damages each for the suffering caused by breaking their ties to their mothers, home environments and loss of identity. It also said the government must pay “more than €1m” in legal costs.
The women had limited damages they sought to €50,000, because if they had lost they would be liable to pay the state compensation based on the original claim.
Ok that's crazy. They sued the government due to their forced removal from their families, but if they lost the court case (which they did the first time), they would have to pay the Belgium government the amount they sued it for? That sounds exceedingly fucked.
It probably shouldn't apply to suing the Government, but I think it's a good idea.
Stops the stupid sue-happy culture the US loves so much.
The litigousness of the US is greatly exaggerated. Largely by big companies, trying to close off the one resource common folk have in dealing with them if they ever screw us over. Meanwhile, large conpanies file roughly 4 times as many suits than individuals, and are reprimanded for frivolous suits far more often.
Not the full cost but a percentage. I still think it's dumb
Justice is slow
If ever for many.
Is it justice if those guilty never see consequences?