Cultural Self-Denial

 
Our Scandinavian correspondent Rune offers his translation of these excerpts from "Swedish Culture - over and done with?" from a Norwegian newspaper (he doesn't specify which paper) :

	"Is Swedish culture worth keeping?" I put this question to Lise Bergh, the Swedish government representative of immigration policies, on the Nordic conference on immigration in Stavanger [Norwegian city] April 7th. "What is Swedish culture? And then I suppose I have answered the question" answered Berg without trying to conceal her cultural-self disparagement in either words or facial expressions. As you make your bed so you lie [what goes around comes around] as they say. In Sweden, the leadership seems to show Europe's most extensive cultural self-denial, or rather -- a deeply felt self loathing, which many feel is the perfect recipe for driving a peaceful nation to destruction.
	My question to Lise Bergh was far from randomly formulated. Half a year ago, from a pulpit in a Mosque belonging to the Kurdish Organisation, and "respectfully" veiled, the former minister for integration. Mona Sahlin, said that many Swedes are envious of the immigrants because they, unlike the Swedes, have a culture, a history, something which ties them together. The Swedes only have some foolish anniversaries and such folly. As the former Danish minister for integration, Karen Jespersen, commented: "Cultural self-denial hardly gets any more disgusting or scary"
	[...]
	This ideology of self-disparagement focused on the Swedes as potential and/or real racists, is also documented by Jonathan Friedman, professor of social-anthropology at the University of Lund. This day, every fifth citizen of Sweden has an immigrant background, i.e. around 1.7 million; of these around 1.3 million are of non-western origin (2002 numbers). Sweden is the most multicultural society of Europe. However to think aloud that the welfare society and nation of Sweden could do with an immigration pause, in light of the massive integration problems, offers you up, according to Friedman, to the following association string: "You are xenophobic. Therefore you are a racist. And therefore you are a Nazi." Friedman spoke recently at the Organisation for Professors at the University of Oslo [capital city of Norway] (April 12th). With his "ethnic" background, he is one of the very few critics whom are allowed to speak without being run out of his home or sacked from his work. Friedman is crystal clear in his assessment of Sweden's future; Sweden is rotting. And it rots quickly.
	Sweden is, like Norway [but unlike Denmark], officially defined as a multicultural state. But Sweden has gone far further that our [Norwegian] leaders. The Swedish multicultural state does not have a national history, that would mean structural racism, because immigrants are new citizens -- and what of their history? Sweden has become one of the most segregated societies of Europe. Immigrants integrate themselves more and more into their own ethnic groups. The miserable integration of non-western immigrants into what (was once) the Swedish society both with regards to value and economics, has led to Sweden descending to an economic 18th spot in Europe (BNP pr. capita). The murder rate, Friedman told, is the largest within OECD, double that of the USA (10.5 murder / 100,000 citizens in Sweden, vers. 5.5 in the USA). And in an immigrant city as Malmø 70% of all rapes are committed by immigrants, a town which has 5-6 times the number of rapes per capita than the close, but much larger, city of Copenhagen. Victims are predominantly ethnic Swedish women. The crime rate increases year to year. More than 40% of the population in Malmø are immigrants. In less than 10 years, Malmø will be majority Moslem. Already today the most popular name for newborn babies is Mohammed. Infrastructure is falling apart, especially with schools and hospitals. Something also Lise Bergh mentions, but with the agenda of critisisng the Swedish government of not being up to the job of structural replanning - not a word about there perhaps being limits to the number of immigrants the country can absorb.
	Friedman thinks a sort of personal surveillance society has evolved. Everybody keeps an eye on everybody else, always on the lookout for whether a person is "good or evil". There is a striking fear of being apart. Shame and control culture dominate the daily lives and has resulted in people having become very unsafe and feeling insecure. To say what you think has become very difficult in such a society. According to Friedman, you speak vaguely, defensively, not to open yourself for attacks. Actual knowledge is pushed to the back. Motive and suspicion is put the front. Trivialities gets science funds, because they are non-dangerous - first sign that science is dying.

This is a frightening account. Is Sweden the canary in the coal mine for the rest of Western culture?

An interesting question is this: How many Swedes are departing their homeland for more hospitable locales? Readers who have information on this topic are invited to respond.