[MENTION=13275]Mii11[/MENTION] ^^ You said that Swedes are ashamed of their culture, exactly the argument nationalists/populists usually use. I replied that this is completely untrue and a myth, few people are as proud of their country as Swedes. However, being a nationalist isn't exactly cool. TV4 has during many years trying to claim back the Swedish symbols as the flag and the national anthem from the Nazis who abused them in the 80-90s. If you travel in Scandinavia in the summer you'll see the flag everywhere, on every summerhouses, cars, cakes etc. But sure, I guess Swedes have a more relaxed relation to these symbols compared to others. Shouldn't be mistaken for indifference though, I believe national feelings are more subtle. Midsummer feast is much more genuine and important than the national day and the king. You can say there are two sure things that make most Swedes cringe: Patriotism and religion.
This is perfectly OK though
Regarding Christer Björkman and the EBU plot - I give up
I don't care what nationalists or populists say. I am simply stating what I see. Just because you are obsessed with nationalism and populism (no offence), doesn't mean everyone who has different opinion to your one is nationalist or populist. If patriotism makes most Swedes cringe, then they should look up the definition of the word in the dictionary. It is important for every individual to have something that they can call a homeland. The lack of patriotism and emotional attachment to any land can be noticed in third culture children, who have to face many challenges. They often like to wander around the world in order to find a place which feels like home, but they fail because they have no emotional attachment to any place. They don't love any place and find it difficult to function in every single nation. They don't have national identity and do not have a group of people which they can consider their nation. I don't think someone who has not experienced that can understand how difficult it is to not be able to fit in any society.
Sadly, I am not surprised though that this is the case in Sweden. I knew a Swedish person who said that no one feels at home in Sweden, regardless whether they are natives or descendants of immigrants. Maybe he was lying. Nevertheless, what he said was very worrying in my opinion.
Anyway, I think we should end this off-topic discussion (even though it is very interesting
)It shouldn't. If it does, then EBU are a bunch of hypocrites who claim to support equality, but only when it is viable and profitable. If this logic of thinking was applied in other cases, then gay people would be excluded from discussion about marriage equality because they are tiny percentage of the overall population. It is ridiculous.
