Immigration is the most infected subject in Sweden at the moment. It is not enough to be neutral to our mass immigration (more than 100 000 immigrants in 2009), you need to be positive and even love it (according to the leader of the Social Democrat Party Mona Sahlin: “We must love the multicultural society”).
Even though her party is not in power at the moment, this mantra is prevailing in Sweden. Now I will show one example of the propaganda and the opinion that is – completely overt – published i Swedish media.
In the state-owned radio channel 1, there is a programme called The World of Knowledge (Vetandets värld), that always has been renowned for a scientific and serious angle of approach. But on 5 January 2010, the subject matter is Talk or Keep Silent on Xenophobia. The programme’s reputation sinks as a stone. Why? The programme shows an awkwardly low level, when persons from the Left Party’s youth league and Mikael Hjelm, a researcher at the Sociological Institute at Umeå University, are allowed to make incorrect and misleading statements about the party the Sweden Democrats. The conclusions about on why certain groups are more negative to immigration halt seriously and more resemble a job ordered from the political correct politicians in the parliament.
During the 19 minutes’ long programme, the Sweden Democrats are mentioned 16 times but no one from the party is allowed to be present and comment on the conclusions. The word xenophobe/xenophobic is mentioned no less than 43 times. It is grave when the state employs someone who does not share the democratic values, i.e. someone that does not respect that people hold and state different opinions. They set up that working class people are more xenophobic than people with academic exams. But they cannot draw the conclusion that working class people have to live in the same suburbs as the immigrants and by that experience the negative sides of the multicultural project. University-trained people have enough money to buy houses in other area. It has nothing with the level of education to do.
They draw the conclusion that people in Sweden have a higher level of education than Sweden’s neighbouring countries, where xenophobia is much more widespread. This is actually what the allege, insolently enough.
I intend to show you more flagrant examples of this phenomenon in my next blog posts.
I am glad you wrote this. You wrote it well, and this needs to come out in the light- in english!
I’m one of the swedes that live in a suburb with mostly muslim immigrants. I am being spit at for being a swede, my kids are the only swedes in their classes. Swedish girls are called whores because they don’t wear a burka. If I defend myself or my kids I’m “racist”.
I am amazed at what’s going on in Sweden and how politicians are ignoring (purosely, they have an agenda) what’s going on and how they back-tie law enforcement.
I was one of those who saw nothing wrong with immmigration, I lived in a fancy area of town, but many years and troubles later my life is less fortunate and I see what’s really going on.
I can see why it’s so easy to ignore the problem and be “for” multiculturalism- as long as it’s not in your own back yard, and as long as it’s not your car that is set on fire, or your brother that get beat up while taking a break during his shift as a trolley- chauffeur.
I coudnt find the program. Can you help?
I have now found the correct link:
http://www.sr.se/webbradio/webbradio.asp?type=db&Id=2128781&BroadcastDate=&IsBlock=
The name of the programme should be “The World of Knowlege” (Vetandets värld) and nothing else.
Thanks, but I should have been more exact. I meant “Vetandets värld”. They had programs on Jan 8 and Jan 15. I really would like to listen. My interest is to try to find the “weak” spots, i.e. how to make these people start to doubt their own (distorted) view of the Swedish reality and of what moral political behavior means. Not that I have much hope 🙂
I was taken by the story of Lena S. One should really make a TV program about her experiences, maybe for YouTube. It is something that could have a national impact. (But one would have to find someone who is able to move after the videos are posted). In general, the reality of the suburbs must be forced upon all the comfortable “old” Swedes who live in their own “protected” areas.
As we know, ALL the dominant media and political parties in Sweden suppress crime statistics, the ethnicity of violent criminals, information on ANY problems caused by immigration and almost all criticism pf immigration policy. Though they justify this repression in moral terms, what they really achieve is a buildup towards a dysfunctional society that clings to official versions of truths and punishes even gentle criticism by exclusion. Probably all of us “critics” have painful experiences of this. How can you constructively solve problems, if you are not even allowed to mention them. The bottled-up anger among “old” Swedes hits many, including all those immigrants who are law-abiding and hard-working. (Some of them are my friends.)
In this situation, we have no choice but to use all media weapons to our disposal. But our strongest arguments are moral ones. If we forget to treat ALL people with respect, we and Sweden will loose this fight.
It’s hell being free, white and over 21 in the Western world nowadays. You have no rights whatsoever and if you complain, you’re a racist. It’s a crazy world we live in.