Watched "The Life of David Gale". Good film! Although I guess I'm a bit bias, as I both love Kate Winslet AND films about the death penalty.
Not sure why I love films about the death penalty so much, but it probably has something to do with that they make me very emotional. Angry, sad, frustrated. Or maybe I just love to cry. They always make me cry. So did this one.
In the film the statistics "66 percent of the American people support the death penalty" was mentioned. That can't be true I thought. But I googled it, and it seems to be fairly true.
Then I decided to google the same thing, but this time about the Swedish people. I found that the newspaper Aftonbladet had done a survey asking their readers if the death penalty was right or wrong. 40 % said it was right, and 60 % answered that it was wrong.
As I'm not a big fan of Aftonbladet, and as I do not understand why people read it or consider it news, I kept on checking.
I found that another survey had asked if there was any crime that should be possible to be punished by death. Almost half of all Swedes said yes. When the question was changed to "Should Sweden's strongest penalty, life in prison, be changed to death penalty" about 20 % answered that it should.
So, I'm not sure exactly how many of the Swedish population that are pro death penalty. But whether it's 20 %, 40 % or 50 %, it's way too many.
I'm glad though that it seems unlikely that the death penalty will ever be reinstated in Sweden.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
I smell racism
People in the Swedish government is researching/suggesting the possibilities for state financed education of imams in Sweden. Yes, obviously this government does have a few good ideas. Who would have guessed.
The suggestion is that the education will not be on a University level, but rather on a so called high school level. Many muslim organizations in Sweden are positive to this, as long as the terms of the education is to be put together by both the Muslim organizations and the state, and that the state doesn't interfere in the religious parts of the education. In England this kind of education already exists.
One reason mentioned for this kind of education is that imams are not only religious leaders, but also mentors. If the mentor is not knowledgeable about Swedish society, e.g., his/hers advice as a mentor for young people, e.g., could sometimes become misguiding. Also there's a shortage of imams in Sweden, according to an article in the newspaper DN, which forces muslim organizations to ask for help from abroad. This could also lead to misguidance and other problems, according to the article.
The people responsible for this suggestion also, according to the article, mention that this could avoid radical paths of islam. That, as a reason for the education, I'm sceptic about. It suggests things that I do not agree with. But apart from that, I think the education is a great idea.
The same newspaper has a survey online, asking its readers if this is right or wrong. 30 % think it's right. 70 % think it's wrong.
What's wrong with it? We already educate Christian priests on a University level, financed by the state. Why not imams?
I doubt that the results would be 30 to 70 if the same question had been asked about the education of Christian priests,
I smell racism.
The suggestion is that the education will not be on a University level, but rather on a so called high school level. Many muslim organizations in Sweden are positive to this, as long as the terms of the education is to be put together by both the Muslim organizations and the state, and that the state doesn't interfere in the religious parts of the education. In England this kind of education already exists.
One reason mentioned for this kind of education is that imams are not only religious leaders, but also mentors. If the mentor is not knowledgeable about Swedish society, e.g., his/hers advice as a mentor for young people, e.g., could sometimes become misguiding. Also there's a shortage of imams in Sweden, according to an article in the newspaper DN, which forces muslim organizations to ask for help from abroad. This could also lead to misguidance and other problems, according to the article.
The people responsible for this suggestion also, according to the article, mention that this could avoid radical paths of islam. That, as a reason for the education, I'm sceptic about. It suggests things that I do not agree with. But apart from that, I think the education is a great idea.
The same newspaper has a survey online, asking its readers if this is right or wrong. 30 % think it's right. 70 % think it's wrong.
What's wrong with it? We already educate Christian priests on a University level, financed by the state. Why not imams?
I doubt that the results would be 30 to 70 if the same question had been asked about the education of Christian priests,
I smell racism.
Monday, February 4, 2008
When political correctness becomes prejudice and racist
We've had another so called honor killing in Sweden. A young girl was killed by two of her male relatives.
It angers me that idiots like that exist. And it angers me that Sweden is so useless in dealing with these kind of issues.
In Sweden, where everything is supposed to be politically correct, we sometimes shoot ourselves in the foot. In the urge to give people the right to their own culture, we instead become prejudice and racist. And we leave women that are victims to violence in the name of honor, to fend for themselves. They are put in another category than women born as Swedes.
Examples of how political correctness becomes racism:
1. The head master at a school decided that the kids were not allowed to wear Swedish football shirts, as it could offend people from other countries. Who is the one doing the offending? The head master of course, by assuming that people from other countries and/or cultures would have a problem with something like that. That is prejudice and racist to me.
2. Or the university class that said that they did not like calling themselves Swedes as that could offend and was excluding towards none Swedes. Calling yourself a Swede, or a woman, or a Northerner, or a student, or white is not a problem, if you ask me. That's one way we use to make sense of the world. The problems is rather what you do, say, think and how you act. That's were the problem in the exclusion process steps in.
3. Or, to get back to the subject, when Swedish politicians are assuming that honor violence and killing is a part of another culture and should therefore be more or less ignored.
The women being victims of this, would they say that it's a part of their culture, or rather that it's just a few people claiming that it is. Men that do not participate in this kind of behavior, would they say that it's a part of their culture, or rather that certain people just takes certain parts of the culture to the extreme, making it what it's not and never was.
Something needs to be done here.
It angers me that idiots like that exist. And it angers me that Sweden is so useless in dealing with these kind of issues.
In Sweden, where everything is supposed to be politically correct, we sometimes shoot ourselves in the foot. In the urge to give people the right to their own culture, we instead become prejudice and racist. And we leave women that are victims to violence in the name of honor, to fend for themselves. They are put in another category than women born as Swedes.
Examples of how political correctness becomes racism:
1. The head master at a school decided that the kids were not allowed to wear Swedish football shirts, as it could offend people from other countries. Who is the one doing the offending? The head master of course, by assuming that people from other countries and/or cultures would have a problem with something like that. That is prejudice and racist to me.
2. Or the university class that said that they did not like calling themselves Swedes as that could offend and was excluding towards none Swedes. Calling yourself a Swede, or a woman, or a Northerner, or a student, or white is not a problem, if you ask me. That's one way we use to make sense of the world. The problems is rather what you do, say, think and how you act. That's were the problem in the exclusion process steps in.
3. Or, to get back to the subject, when Swedish politicians are assuming that honor violence and killing is a part of another culture and should therefore be more or less ignored.
The women being victims of this, would they say that it's a part of their culture, or rather that it's just a few people claiming that it is. Men that do not participate in this kind of behavior, would they say that it's a part of their culture, or rather that certain people just takes certain parts of the culture to the extreme, making it what it's not and never was.
Something needs to be done here.
Thanks Mr. Bush
There's not a lot to be grateful to George Bush about. But yesterday it hit me that I am very grateful to him about one thing (and I'm not even American).
I'm grateful that he has screwed up so badly that the American people will probably vote for someone as "far away as possible" from the typical candidate, and from Bush.
Therefore I am pretty sure that there will be either a woman or a black man in the White House soon.
Because I am not sure that that would have happened otherwise.
I could be wrong. Not an expert. But the theory seems reasonable.
I'm grateful that he has screwed up so badly that the American people will probably vote for someone as "far away as possible" from the typical candidate, and from Bush.
Therefore I am pretty sure that there will be either a woman or a black man in the White House soon.
Because I am not sure that that would have happened otherwise.
I could be wrong. Not an expert. But the theory seems reasonable.
"Blood diamond"
Watched "Blood Diamond" yesterday. Has wanted to watch it for a long time, so I'm glad I finally got round to do it. DiCaprio is just great. That guy is an amazing actor. And Djimon Hounsou is also great, as usual.
Brilliant film set in Sierra Leone during the 90's. Very scary, as you know that many of the things, about the situation in Sierra Leone at that time, is based on reality. Recognized certain things from what I've read and heard. Horrible. Just glad that it's over.
What is not over though, is how the West affect and often manipulate situations in the rest of the world. Thinking about the cutting down of rain forest for the production of palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia. Or the nasty fur markets in China. That's just two of many horrible examples.
Brilliant film set in Sierra Leone during the 90's. Very scary, as you know that many of the things, about the situation in Sierra Leone at that time, is based on reality. Recognized certain things from what I've read and heard. Horrible. Just glad that it's over.
What is not over though, is how the West affect and often manipulate situations in the rest of the world. Thinking about the cutting down of rain forest for the production of palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia. Or the nasty fur markets in China. That's just two of many horrible examples.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Poor Swedish men
On the tube the other day, a guy said to his friend, after a woman had gotten off the train while telling her partner something:
"So typical Swedish women! They always have to be right!"
The friend answers:
"Yes, I know. Their poor husbands!"
I felt like smacking them both.
"So typical Swedish women! They always have to be right!"
The friend answers:
"Yes, I know. Their poor husbands!"
I felt like smacking them both.
Ghana in the semi final!
The African Cup of Nations is getting existing now. Ghana did just beat Nigeria in the quarter final and is now on to the semi final. Felt a bit nervous all through the game, but now it's over and the whole family is breathing again.
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