I felt that I had to comment the terrorist incident that occurred in Stockholm the other day. Or rather the aftermath of the attack.
Of course I was shocked and a bit worried when I found about what had happened. Personally, Stockholm has always been like a safe bubble which excludes everything bad that is happening in the rest of the world. I have always felt safe, crime has never come across my 20 years’ life and I grew up in a safe environment where I could walk home safely from school. Pedophiles were the only threat, that may have been hiding behind a bush, however, that was something I never bothered about – it was probably just my parents who were scared, I never found out if there actually were any pedophiles that lumbered close to our neighborhood.
I’m aware that it’s naive to think about a society as a ‘bubble’ and I don’t think anyone benefits from isolation from the rest of the world. Yet, I had a safe growth and that has shaped who I am today, as well as my values and opinions and what I think about the rest of the world. Some Swede’s reactions of the terrorist incident make me wonder (as some has put it), what the he** they were doing during their religion lessons? And it shocks me. Probably more than the attack itself to be honest. I grew up in a safe society and yes, I wish that my future children will do the same. That doesn’t mean that I would blame Muslims or immigrants if anything happens (such as a terrorist attack) that may disturb our harmonic surrounding.
Two words come to mind, ignorance and generalization, which could be used this reactions. Ignorance of the fact that those who operate these attacks are often extremists and also mentally ill. And also that only a tiny fraction of attacks from 2006-2009 (Europol) were acted out by Muslims. See below. They’re also generalizing that all immigrants and Muslims (especially Muslims, remember that!) are capable of establish a terrorist attack. “Let’s threw all of them out of Sweden!” What good would that do? And when they’re in action, they could throw out the Royal family as well. They are after all not 100% Swedish. In my opinion, all of this is so silly, what is the definition of a Swede? Is there even one? I would prefer to live in a society where there are a variety of cultures and people are able to express themselves, rather in society where there’s only one ideal and people are oppressed as an effect.
Conclusion: Do more research before making a statement and base arguments on Facts rather than Assumptions. Something to help you on the way:
Total number: 1770
Islamic: 6 (0.34%)
Right Wing Ethno-Nationalist and Separatist: 1596 (90.17%)
Left Wing: 106 (5.99%)
Other/Not Specified: 62 (3.50%)
Also, why can’t we be positive about the fact nobody except the suicide bomber himself got killed during the attack and that it was an operation solo? I could probably write a 3000 word essay about this subject, but let’s stop there.
