A Dictionary of Dutchness

Zinloos geweld

On 13 September 1997 Meindert Tjoelker was kicked to death in Leeuwarden by young men whom he had tried to stop vandalising a bike. The local police chief described Tjoelker, who was about to get married, as a victim of zinloos geweld (senseless violence). The phrase is now used to describe all pointless acts of violence. The foundation against senseless violence uses a ladybird as its symbol.