The Prickly Swedish Question
The American press doesn’t seem to have written much about the Swedish elections, perhaps because they’re Swedish elections, and when your newshole has shrunk to a diameter so narrow fleas must go single-file to pass through, there’s just no room. This piece in the Guardian has some context, and no, it’s not OMG NAZIS as you might expect from the source.
There are two interesting issues that cry out for Steynian analysis. One, what happens when the gatekeepers declare certain subjects beyond the pale for public discussion? Hint: you get OMG NAZIS, who are all too eager to discuss the ideas on terms polite society would prefer not to use, but are regarded by some as “refreshingly honest” and “overdue.” Then the debate becomes about the debaters.
There’s also the matter of taking a nation-state based on ethnicity and rebranding it along internationalist lines - as if “Swedishness” was some free-floating set of attributes, a group of ideas about social policy unmoored from the ethnically homogenous culture that previously defined the country. That probably works for a while when times are good, but when things get tight or social cohesion deliquesces, you’re going to have a lot of people who want to get back to the idea of “Sweden” meaning “Swedes,” not “a progressive stance on immigration.” No one should be surprised there are parties in the wings who are more than happy to talk about that very issue.
At least it’s good to see the Nazi rallies in England aren’t very well-attended.
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May '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
Having read about the "no-go" immigrant enclaves in Malmö, Sweden, into which public safety officials (even police) dare not go, the success of the Sweden Democrats isn't a surprise. Having part of your country off-limits to your own law enforcement is just one of those Things That Should Not Be.
Aug '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
Especially like the furniture grouping and the cheerful blue area rug !
At least they're right wing thugs with some sense of homey ambiance. And then there's the raging fireplaces in the imaginations of the overwrought socialists who spent all morning drawing witty but pointed signs about rights and community.
I can imagine the melee when things get ugly. Flying flotbrods smack into pitas with a crack ! Hummus smeared against walls, as pickled herring slickens the streets already covered in sweet mint tea and akavit. Actually, it's making me hungry for some potato sausage.
Then the real battle, though I don't think anyone has guns, so it'll be scimitars and viking battle axes.
Sweden has loss it's innocence and let the barbarians have the gatekeys.
Sort of like Minnesota when they opened the gates to the Norwegians.
You can always tell a swede . But you can't tell him much !
Sep '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
Posted without further comment:
Ten thousand Swedes
Ran through the weeds,
Chased by one Norwegian.
The chaff from the weeds
Made snoose for the Swedes
And they called it Copenhagen.
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
Craig: I am half-Swedish, so those are fighting words, or would be, if I wasn't half Swedish. Instead I will refer the matter to the Hague. Expect to hear a strongly-worded condemnation in a year or two!
Jun '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
Al-Jazeera English: The rise of the right (in Sweden)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHeEGNIjXCM
Sep '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
Mr. Lileks,
Being at least nominally Irish, I don't have a dog in the scandahoovian fight. But also being from Arkansas and a long time-- though now ex--smokeless user (a good name for a band) it was edifying to learn from whence Copenhagen originated. You were trying to make a serious point, and I apologize (necessary for ricochet.com Code of Conduct purposes) for taking this down to third grade level. But Flownover started it...
May '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
Learning you are half-Swedish makes me respect your sense of humor even more. You're like one of those amputees who runs marathons or something.
Sep '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
mesquito
Learning you are half-Swedish makes me respect your sense of humor even more. You're like one of those amputees who runs marathons or something. · Sep 21 at 4:14pm
LOL
Aug '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
Gentlemen; My humble apologies. Of an advanced age, I still figured out that OMG meant something other than a larger size in shirts at Cabela's. My mistake was translating the NAZIS into Normal American Zaftig Islamophobes. Heck , I was called that the other day at the Tea Party Rally at the Grange Hall. So....I figured wrongly that it was some kind of Ikea wonkette riff. Back to looking for the Horst Wessel song by Ry Cooder with Hezbollah superstar Ali Farkle Sparkle. inshallah home !
Sep '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
Trying to picture Wonkette at the Ikea store rocking out to Ry Cooder;s cover of the Horst Wessel song. Django Reinhardt had the best Horst Wessel cover I believe I ever heard, the Klezmer influence was unmistakable, though lamentable. I'm sure he regrets that session.
Jun '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
mesquito
Learning you are half-Swedish makes me respect your sense of humor even more. You're like one of those amputees who runs marathons or something. · Sep 21 at 4:14pm
A Swede having fun, and almost smiling once:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_WRpJOTqYM
Aug '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
Craig I'm pretty sure that Django was counting the days until he should leave Paris. But....as things were, he left a couple days early, meeting a gal named Ilsa. But I digress.....The Klezmer is what's always missing. Mobial history brings us to the start. The (N) Lileks Scholarship Initiative !
May '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
And if anyone is tempted to argue that we Norwegians are as humor-impaired as the Swedes, remember: We award the Nobel Peace Prize.
Sep '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
For Flownover: Was Django's Ilsa, also a she wolf of the SS? I think I know the answer to that...
For Mosquito: Touche, and well played and all like that... And when do I get mine?
May '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
Craig McLaughlin: For Flownover: Was Django's Ilsa, also a she wolf of the SS? I think I know the answer to that...
For Mosquito: Touche, and well played and all like that... And when do I get mine? · Sep 21 at 6:08pm
You're overqualified.
Aug '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
AQT ask Quentin Tarantino ouch.… !
May '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
The frightening thing, James, is the amount of Steynian analysis we already have for this story: America Alone predicted the rise of the nationalist, explicitly anti-immigrant parties now gaining influence in Europe.
A related question comes to mind: will the American media's eagerness to label anyone to the right of Barney Frank a bigot limit the spread of similar groups here in the States, or will it only make the appeal of such groups stronger when the dam eventually breaks?
Aug '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
niemoller Mahmoud NY how many times how embarrassing
Aug '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
You guys are too advanced for me.
Jun '10
Re: The Prickly Swedish Question
My favorite line from this skit - one that no one ever "gets" when I use it in airports when watching politicians on televisions...
"He's right you know" - spoken at the elbow of someone watching with a thick German accent.
MSNBC plays that role now for Obama, sort of like Fox with Bush...