Hate-crimes in Scandinavia

 «  WE WERE BRANDED AS TRAITORS »

[A piece by 22. July survivor Per Anders Langerød for Dagbladet.no, translated by Ireland against Facism. Link to original piece in comments]

« " The most significant lesson we can learn from Utøya 8 ys on should be to not walk into the same trap as those who inspired the perpetrator. 

What had we done to deserve running for our lives - out of breath with terrified eyes, while youth was being ripped to pieces by iron and bullets, fear and hate? What had I meant or said that resulted in me struggling with a life filled with angst, despair and a brain that can go into red alert for no apparent reason,  in the middle of the day,  far from crisis-teams at Sundvollen and Utøya. 

What happened, was made possible by one thing; Someone had pointed the finger at the group I was in and said we were dangerous traitors, and that was enough to make One receiver take it literally. 

In this day and age there are several politicians and activists who brands people as enemies of society. 

These finger-pointing politicians and activists can't possibly be aware that the consequences of having a society where hatred festers can be hateful actions. 

We all have a great responsibility of what conceptions we let stand about different groups of society. We witnessed a horrific example of the alternative here at home 8 ys ago. 

8 years after Utøya we should have learned something.  Finger-pointing can be lethal. Fingers that hammer away at a keyboard , isn't the only sound coming from a hate filled comments section. There's the sound of panic, images of someone raising their eyes to the mirror , petrified but still alive.  Hateful words carries the potential of the sound of a raised pulse - the image of a body contracting to disappear. 

I wish we could hear the sound of the steps of those learning to walk again at Sunnaas hospital after having been shot.  I wish all those writing online about who deserves to be shot or killed or sent home or jailed, could hear the sounds of 22nd of July and youth just having been shot sinking in the water because they can't muster the strength to stay up. 

Maybe that'll be enough to make people realise how careful one has to be about hatred directed at groups of people, with what appears simply to be just words on Facebook, Twitter or in media. 

I realize a lot of people may have lived in complete delusion, because whoever thought the sound of online hatred could be that horrible. But now that we are so many people  who have heard that sound, more needs to rethink before hitting Enter. It's not worth it. Because hatred towards a group of people will always have innocent victims. 

Hateful comment sections, politicians like Trump that points at Muslims and immigrants with citizenships and tells them to go 'home'.

Propaganda that portrays groups of people as animals, should automatically start with the soundtrack of the 500 survivors of the government-buildings and Utøya trying to fight their way back to life.  And after that, track 2, the sound of bottomless despair from family and friends of the 77 murdered. 

Hate probably originates in sentences like 'muslims are vermin and should be...' , 'immigrants are taking over our country'.  There are several examples from both members of parliaments and leading politicians - The consequences of these hateful words are usually not that serious , but sometimes they lead to violence. And sometimes they have catastrophical outcomes like murder and mass- murder. 

It's bad manners to point fingers. And dangerous.  So our most significant lesson from Utøya 8 years on should be not to walk into the same trap as those who inspired the perpetrator. And let us not get tangled up in discussions about the different concepts of racism, and what is or isn't allowed to be written.  Let us not be caught up in endless debates about free speech that leaves none of us any wiser and that others use to confuse us. It hasn't really lead us anywhere. 

My name is Per Anders , I am 34 years old and had a normal upbringing in Arendal [Norway] . Nobody hated me. Nobody wanted to kill me.  I'm usually a kind guy who believes in people, and do my best like most others. But still I was shot at twice by someone I had never before heard about nor met. Why do you think that happened? Please use my experience to stop hatred against groups of people. 

Our world has people like Trump  and 'Fjordmann' [Norwegian Alt-Shite blogger] in it, who has just described groups of people in derogatory ways, for then to strip them of their rights because they belong to a certain group of people. 

The former minister of justice [in Norway] Per Willy Amundsen, has suggested we cut in child benefits from child number four, because he wants to limit the number of families with many children especially Somali families. 

I know it can be dangerous. Because I have witnessed that kind of mindset at it's most extreme. It's difficult to engage with  finger-pointing politicians who shoves  all problems in society over at a group of people they don't like.     Our best counter is to speak up against it, be aware of our own values and remain critical to those who maliciously point fingers against groups of people. 

Finger pointing politicians must be confronted and criticised. We must never loose sight of the individuals. 

To turn away from hatred and mind-numbing derogatory characteristics about 'the others', we need to put a few things into action.

Firstly we need to put 22nd of July on the curriculum and use as a theme to discuss the dangers of group-mentality, to learn about everybody's equal worth,  about hate and democracy.  Survivors can stand testimony in the classrooms. 

Secondly a commission should be set up to look at the broader picture of how 22nd of July could happen, not just in the context of emergency services and authority.  We need concrete measures to stop people ending up 'on the outside' of communities, to stop radicalization.  What holes does our politics have that needs mending to stop a new 'lone wolf'?

Thirdly we mustn't let social media and click-journalism run the errands of the most extreme politicians, when they attack groups of people to create a counter-reaction and to get likes. 

Media decides which politicians they allow into their arena, as it should be. But we should reflect on the broader ethical responsibility media has about sharing extreme views targeted at unpopular groups of society, which we know causes negative stereotypes. 

I have a responsibility, you have a responsibility. Governments and political parties have a huge responsibility. 

Even though it can increase the number of voters, even though it could help win an election it is reckless to gamble with stereotypical representations of different croups in debates about our society. 

A politician that points fingers at different groups as a cause of a problem, can create hate which we know are linked to actions and violence. 

That's when we have to remind ourselves about the sounds of 22nd of July and the consequences of that hatred , and the promises we made in the following days and weeks:

Never Again 22nd of July." »