Earlier today I drew an unfavorable comparison between the Danish response to Islamic intimidation and the Canadian one. But hardly any Western country, including the USA, compares favorably with Denmark in such matters.According to one of my Danish contacts, the Swedes and the Norwegians are not happy with the Danes’ irresponsible behavior in reprinting the latest batch of Motoons.
But Sweden is not monolithic about it: the newspaper Sydsvenskan printed one of the Motoons the other day — and then the editor-in-chief, Peter Melin, dropped dead on the job the next day. A Swedish jihad forum is very pleased with Allah’s intervention against the blasphemous infidel (I hope to have more news on this topic later).
Our Danish correspondent TB emailed me earlier today with this news about Norway:
And in Norway, the journalists on NRK (the national state-sponsored television network) are now for the first time ‘allowed’ to publish the cartoons: Wow, allowed to print a cartoon… ! Is this Monty Python or is this really happening?
I asked TB what made the Danes so different from their cousins across the Skagerrak. Here’s what he replied:
I don’t understand it either.- - - - - - - - -
I think that in Denmark we have been extremely lucky (so to speak) to have had the experience with the German occupation (although Norway had that, too).
Maybe that makes the Danes better than the Swedes at recognizing totalitarian movements. For example the DDF (Den Danske Forening) was formed by, among others, an old veteran from the resistance movements (he died last year). These people have been going through a true firestorm of allegations and labeling of racism etc. (whether any of these allegations were actually true I don’t know, but I have never seen any proof) during the past twenty years, but have kept warning about this inflow, especially of Muslims.
Now, a lot of people recognize the truth of what they have been saying all the time.
And then of course we have had the Danish Peoples Party, which is invaluable in this fight. On top of that we have paradoxically been blessed with some very strong anti-Islamic refugees from Iran like Farshad Kholghi, Mehdi Mozaffari, and others who have come forward to deliver some heavy blows against the Islamists.
A lot of very fine debaters have also weighed in. Lars Hedegaard, Helle Brix, Ole Hyltoft and others have done a lot, too. Actually they have been invaluable.
But the most important thing, as I see it, is the unlimited degree of free speech which has made it possible to debate these matters in public for a very long time. In Sweden, as you know, this debate is impossible for halal-hippie reasons.
I guess we are addicted to this right. It is the very foundation of our country. Not just to make us look nice on the surface, but simply because this right, by its very use (as ugly as it can sometimes be) assures that everything can be scrutinized.
As for the Swedes and the Norwegians being unhappy about us, I can fully understand. To them we are probably the black sheep of Scandinavia. Personally I take that as a compliment. In my view they have completely misunderstood what free speech is all about.
They still think that it is a right that one should only use with considerations. But then, of course, it’s worthless.
But strange it sure is. I used to like the Swedes and the Norwegians. Now I don’t know any more. They are, especially official Sweden, acting like traitors against their own values. And they don’t even see it. Or maybe they do it out of fear.
Or maybe they just cannot see Islam for all the Muslims?
19 comments:
Maybe, it's because Denmark never had any colonies. Is it possible that having colonies hurts national psyche so much?
These people have been going through a true firestorm of allegations and labeling of racism etc.
This is something Baron and Dymph should take to heart for much the same reason. Sure, your support of some folks in Europe comes under scrutiny, along with the yawkish yowls from Charles the Brainless and his hordes of I can Has caTS?; and sure, there are a couple of one trick ponies I've noticed hereabouts that you'd probably rather not have hereabouts, but that is a small price to pay for sticking to your guns.
Now, a lot of people recognize the truth of what they have been saying all the time.
...is the other side of the coin. When that time comes, don't expect any kudos or apologies from the current crop of self-righteous yodellers. People are strange in that way; they tend to rewrite their own history, and Charles will remember only that he knew all along that a necessary alliance needn't always smell like roses, and rarely ever does. He may even wonder out loud how so many people didn't see things with the degree of presience he did. But you'll know the truth. And so will we.
Ypp, can you say "Greenland"?
Ypp,
Denmark did have colonies, most importantly the Virgin Islands in the West Indies, and what is todays Ghana in Africa.
Denmark was also very active in the slave trade from Africa to the plantations in the West Indies. The transportation of slaves was abolished in 1792 and trading in the colonies was abolished in 1802. All slaves were freed in 1847.
By that time the colony in the Gold Coast had become meaningless and was sold to the British. The West Indies was sold to the US in 1916 after an offer we couldn't refuse. (The US was worried that Germany might seize the islands and use them as U-boat bases.)
Other colonies (not very successful) was in India and the Nicobar Islands.
Greenland was a colony up until 1956 and is now a more or less autonomous part of the realm.
So yes, Denmark have it's history as well.
You can read more here.
Ypp, can you say "Greenland"?
Wikipedia is your friend :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_colonial_empire
Elliot
Ah, you beat me to it Mikael :-)
Honestly, I think the difference between the Nordic countries is nothing but surface. Nothing to do with colonies (Denmark used to have plenty and not so long ago Denmark was a 'multi-cultural' entity encompassing Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders, Inuits, Germans and whatnot). I worked a lot in Sweden and Norway and one thing is evident however: Swedes and Norwegians believe in authorities, Danes do not. Danes tend to laugh or just shrug whenever a bureaucrat or stupid politician comes up with something idiotic, Swedes and Norwegians obey, no questions asked. But that said, I'm 100% sure that when things get just a little bit nastier, they too will 'go bezerk'. Am I too optimistic?
" ... the editor-in-chief, Peter Melin, dropped dead on the job the next day."
Er ... I think 'at work' might have been better than 'on the job'. I take it you aren't aware of what the average Brit immediately thinks of by the expression 'on the job'?
Nice way to go though. :)
I would not insist on "Colonial" hypothesis, but it is not that silly. Denmark may have had some small colonies, but they were "unsuccessful". As a foreigner, I heard about many colonial countries, but never about Denmark. That says something. As for Greenland, that is rather a huge iceberg with few aborigenal people on it, so it is not a colony.
Having a colony may install in the national psyche the idea of self-greatness. I am quite sure that current appeasement policy of Europe comes from the feeling of greatness. Like, we are too mighty to pay attention to such a nonsense, we are higher than that. Like you know, in a year or two we will settle at the Moon. Who cares about some uneducated miserables when progress is that great.
kepiblanc:
good comment, but I'd like to add something:
Danish politicians have learned to listen to people's opinion on multiculturalism, Islam, mass-immigration. They seem to be more afraid of that, than godhedsindustrien - the goodness industry.
In Sweden, however, it's exactly the opposite. Here, they have been in charge in media as well as politics for almost 20 years and transformed Landskrona, Malmö, Gothenburg's suburbs, Södertälje - etc etc - into cultural garbage dumps. The trend-break has yet not come in Sweden. I believe it will arrive with the general elections in 2014. Not in the elections in two years; then, the Sweden Democrats will probably enter the parliament, it's true, but not get enough proportion to make an impact. The Social Democrats will, along with the Greens and the "post-Communist" Left Party, regain power and take some other hundreds of thousands of Muslims in to live on welfare forever (just like the "conservative" government is doing right now!) When traditional Social Democrat-voters realise that the suggested "cultural enrichment" is nothing but cultural extermination of Sweden and its people, they will vote SD and hopefully, something similar to VKO - that is, the Venstre-Konservative-Dansk Folkeparti coalition of Denmark - can emerge in Sweden.
By then, when more cities are "culturally enriched" by Muslim violence, rapes and robberies, perhaps some 10% votes SD and journalists & politicians come to realise that multiculruralism equals the collapse of Sweden in its entirety and that the Swedes neither asked for it nor were asked about it. That's what happened in Denmark, right? Am I being too optimistic?
If not, I hope you Danes greet us Swedish refugees of Multiculturalism with pleasure. We are a very peaceful people and will assimilate within a few years only! You're language is a mind blower, but we'll learn it!
Well this is entirely untrue not all of the norwegian papers have not printed the muhammed cartoons, actually one small newspaper has.
her
See, actually one norwegian newspaper has printed this. I am norwegian myself, and I want to say we are not as crazy as the swedes when it comes to political correctness we have some backbone here in this country!
Carpemter said: If not, I hope you Danes greet us Swedish refugees of Multiculturalism with pleasure. We are a very peaceful people and will assimilate within a few years only! You're language is a mind blower, but we'll learn it!
Carpenter, you'll be most welcome of course, but why not see to it that it never happens? - Stay & fight! - And our language? - It's the same as yours, just with an accent and a drop of flavour from 'Rød Aalborg' rather than 'Renat'. (Do you know the song "En skål for det blinkende søernes bånd...").
Lol Kepiblanc swedes are having a hard time understanding danish because your language has so much soft vowels. It is like this:
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
:D
Although it is very easy to read but the oral language is very different from the written language in my oppinion.
But anyway this youtube episode might clarify what norwegians think of your language, very funny dude!
her
And this is just a funny picture...
here
saladin89--
The Baron loves Denmark so much that I gave him a present of Danish lessons for Christmas.
It seems to me that in order to pronounce Danish correctly, you must first fill your mouth with pancake batter and simply speak English.... voila! Danish language.
Here in Norway we say you must put a hot potato in your mouth to speak Danish properly ;)
Doesn't sound as funny in English as it does in Norwegian though.
De snakker som de har en varm potet i kjeften jo!
Hope I don't offend any Danish dudes here, just joking around hehe.
And by the way the cool thing about learning Danish is that you can easily understand Norwegian and Swedish too. Norwegian is very similar to Danish, but not that "soft" if you know what I mean. I can read anything Swedish or Danish and to some extent Islandic.
And first and foremost Danish is a great tongue for laughing...
Kepiblanc: first and foremost Danish is a great tongue for laughing
Being half Danish and trilingual, goodness knows how much I love swapping tongues!
I'm trying to learn Danish with a book and CD. Udtalen er meget besvaerlig. You don't pronunce the consonants at the end of the word. like hvor bliver Jens dog af. Dog is pronounced Dow. The grammer is similar to english though. Jeg holder af den.
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