(edit title) Is Sweden as racist as some say or is it a myth? Options

[Mzungu]

1066...your command of Swedish, must be rather good?

[The Nine]

Swedes said these things to you?

What was the context?

One possibility, naturally, is that they got it right.

I dont see the racist connotation in truth, other than calling you a Brit. I am a Man UTD fan!!!!
C'mon, I call my Irish mates Paddy W******* at times. I even mean it sometimes. Bog trotters to a man. However they are very quick to call me a Brit **** and mean it.

Its actions that make the difference I think.

[Mahmood]

Ouch!

Mahmood, I am glad that you are back.

Thanks Gus. I am also glad to be back...infact I never left...just a break...I hope the next break comes atleast after few weeks.

[Mahmood]

Drinking in moderation has been shown to be good for the body ... (I imagine most scientists will subscribe to this point of view)

and most drinkers will tell you it is good for the soul too.

Have you got anything against people who drink and don't commit crimes?

Ooops...looks like we got a problem on the first one.

[The Nine]

The guy who won last years London Marathon was a Portugese wine maker. He says he drinks at least a bottle of good red wine everyday. Crashed into a few lamposts on the circuit though!!

[*stan1970*]

I don't think Swedish people are intentionally racist, I think it is more of a case that Swedes are stuck in their ways and afraid of change.

I am a third generation Australian living in Sweden and my Surname is not a typical Swedish surname, in fact it originates from Eastern Europe. I have never had an interview for any jobs I have applied for in Sweden and I tried for over one year.

In London it is quite the opposite I get agencies ringing me all the time asking my availability.

I am convinced that when companies / agencies receive my CV in Sweden it gets automatically filed (binned).

I like to think I am wrong but speaking to other foreigners, they too experience difficulties in getting jobs in Sweden. If Swedes were not racist then foreigners getting a job in Sweden would not be an issue.

So I travel weekly to London and back so I can support my Swedish Wife & Kids, not fun!

[Craptastical]

I am convinced that when companies / agencies receive my CV in Sweden it gets automatically filed (binned).

Have others on this board experienced the same?

I read somewhere (sorry, don't recall where) about immigrants changing both their given and surnames to more Swedish sounding names to get around this. Has anyone here done it or know of anyone who has done it? Has it made a difference?

[The Nine]

As I keep saying. Passive Racism

[Craptastical]

Do you have anything of substance to support this? I know passive rasism is something that's very hard to give concrete proof of, but do you have anything that's even anecdotal? (serious, this is not meant to be a baited question)

I was serious about the questions I aksed before your post. Do you know of anyone who changed their name and noticed a drastic change in the number of callbacks from prospective employers?

[Mzungu]

"When in Rome do as the Roman's do!"

Simple really.

http://www.thelocal.se/6624/20070307/

[Leonard]

I am convinced that when companies / agencies receive my CV in Sweden it gets automatically filed (binned).


http://www.thelocal.se/6598/

[The Nine]

Do you have anything of substance to support this? I know passive rasism is something that's very hard to give concrete proof of, but do you have anything that's even anecdotal? (serious, this is not meant to be a baited question)

I was serious about the questions I aksed before your post. Do you know of anyone who changed their name and noticed a drastic change in the number of callbacks from prospective employers?

Hi Crapstical,
First it wasnt me who mentioned the name change thing so I will bare to defference on that. As for passive racism.
Yes, it is something I see very commonly. I can give you plenty of examples but it would help level the playing field if i knew where you were from. My thought is that , instead of putting forward an immigrants perspective, i can take ti from your perspective and you can view it though your eyes, not mine.

[Craptastical]

Hi Crapstical,
First it wasnt me who mentioned the name change thing so I will bare to defference on that. As for passive racism.
Yes, it is something I see very commonly. I can give you plenty of examples but it would help level the playing field if i knew where you were from. My thought is that , instead of putting forward an immigrants perspective, i can take ti from your perspective and you can view it though your eyes, not mine.

I posted earier in this thread my experience, so I'm aware that there is something going on (see my post on http://www.thelocal.se/discuss/viewtopic.p...142&start=0).

As for where I'm from, the US. I've spent a year in Sweden long ago as a student. While there I didn't experience discrimination toward immigrants, but I was only a student in gymnasiet which is a completely different situation.

Lately I've taken some working holidays (1 month in 2005, 2 months in 2006) to work with my Swedish coworkers and to see if I would want to relocate there as part of a relo within my company. I've decided and the paperwork has been started to relo me to Stockholm in May.

While I don't expect to experience discrimination (because I never have in the past), I was curious about discrimination based on non-Swedish names (my real name isn't even remotely Swedish, but is very common in the US, UK, Australia).

There, now you know enough about me to drill into my psyche