July 21, 2012

"Norway is today more imbued with democracy and diversity than it was on July 22, 2011..."

Said Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
Democracy is "the most important weapon in the fight against violence," he added.

31 comments:

edutcher said...

I don't know that democracy and, especially, diversity is the key. Assimilation might be a better tactic. Being able to spot these types and put them away may be closer to what we need, but even Putin's Russia had its Beslan.

Sounds like the PM is trying to make the Social Democrats feel good about themselves.

Hagar said...

Stoltenberg id labor Party.

Carol said...

Diversity is chaos.

Michael K said...

"God made all men. Samuel Colt made them equal."

Guns work pretty well, too.

madAsHell said...

ABC news reports that Breivik is a member of the local Tea Party.

ricpic said...

Diversity is chaos.

Bingo.

Ironclad said...

I just got back (today) from a cruise in Norway (2 weeks). Got an earful about Brevik from one guide - she wanted to shoot him (mainly over the cost of keeping him in prison being so high). I saw the island where he murdered all those people too.

Norway is terribly expensive - 2 to 3 times the price of USA on everything ( I walked through the local grocery store).

Norway has a lot of diversity (9-10% immigrants) and a lot of headaches about it. 25% VAT, 50% tax rate. I was told the minimum wage was >$20/hr. You would need it to survive there.

They have a good deal now, because of the North Sea oil - but the lifestyle they have is unsustainable when the population increases (now that they can afford to import food).

But way way too smug too. Political correctness is a lifestyle there, you dont express doubt on the policy or you get marginalized fast.

Ann Althouse said...

I don't know why Stoltenberg said what he said, do you?

n.n said...

Self-moderation is "the most important weapon in the fight against violence." Without it, you necessarily invite progressive coercion and, inevitably, resistance. Democracy, on the other hand, is theoretically a rule by the majority, and is equally undesirable as a rule by a minority.

I guess this means that he will not accept responsibility for the progress in involuntary exploitation (e.g. rape) and disruption wrought by the diversity he and his ideological cohorts have invited into Norway.

He, and they, may want to consider that the rate of immigration should directly correlate with the rate of assimilation.

Oh, well. At least they have good intentions. Their near-sightedness can be excused. I wonder what the native Norwegians think about the emerging dysfunctional society. Perhaps they don't care. They are being outflanked and out-bred.

traditionalguy said...

Today's theme seems to be, "what about unstoppable murderers?

The Norge guy is spot on. You promarily stop the power of unstoppable murderers with an alert and unafraid citizenry.

I remember In the 1965 through 1969 years of love the Viet Nam war fiasco came under democratic attack from the young men who knew that there was no good reason for their lives to be thrown away in an Asian land war of attrition over bragging rights to a French Colony, other than LBJ's ego trip.

Terrorism means the tactic to instill fear of such murderers. It is circuling around out there again and it wants us all in its clutches.

In that sense a democracy is a people's rebellion against the goals of elite rulers who use the murder tactic. The danger in a Democracy is that the elite rulers may buy us off with wealth stolen from others...like Obama is trying really hard to do.

But there is always a retribution from attacking and murdering others. God said that.

Mick said...

Democracy is Tyranny of the Majority, which tends, in a "Democracy", to be the poorer and disaffected (and dumb) classes, who in the majority, vote themselves benefits from the treasury (see Venezuela). Thus is the downfall of "Democracy". We are a Constitutional Republic, bound by the rule of law, not the whim of the "majority"(well we were). The founders did not even want the unwashed masses to even vote for President for that reason, and likewise wanted Senators appointed by the states. Smart fellows they were. Political parties ruined everything.

Hagar said...

I think edutcher actually is right. I am pretty sure I saw something a while back that the Labor Party has declared it is not a socialist party any more, but social democratic.

And Ironclad's comments are right on, I think. The chattering classes are very anxious that no one, but no one in the whole wide world shall outdo them in benevolent liberalism.
So they prattle a lot.

Alex said...

No matter what you think about Breivik, you can't compare his act with the Colorado shooter. Breivik did it for obvious political reasons and the CO shooter did it out of pure nihilism - apparently inspired by Ledger's Joker character. "I'm like a dog chasing cars".

Quaestor said...

Sounds like the PM is trying to make the Social Democrats feel good about themselves.

The one and only, universal, complete unto itself liberal motivation.

Rosalyn C. said...

Convoluted thought and denial of reality is hard to understand. On the anniversary of Brevik's attack Stoltenberg is trying to imply that the act of a xenophobe nationalist did not succeed and the country responded by becoming more democratic, more inclusive of diversity. As if the problem that Brevik represented was lack of acceptance of Muslims. However, from what I've heard, Brevik's attack did little to change the problems caused by the refusal of Muslims to assimilate. For instance, Norway has a serious rape problem. see Oslo Rape Epidemic.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Ironclad said...

Norway has a lot of diversity (9-10% immigrants)

Doesn't the level of diversity depend greatly on from where the immigrants come? Immigrants from Sweden or Denmark would add little to their diversity.

rcocean said...

So, that which kills us makes us stronger? Whatever.

In any case, I don't think "diversity" makes democracy stronger. Usually "diversity" leads to ethnic conflicts and group block voting - but what do I know. Maybe if you moved a million Zulu's to Oslo it'd be a paradise.

Crimso said...

Reminds me of the old saying that democracies don't make war on each other. VDH (I believe it was) pointed out that not only do they make war on each other, but that when they do it is particularly nasty.

Now, if "democracy" is the worst form of government except for all the others (Churchill?), I am reminded of an Instapundit post in which he noted that the basic (original) reason for government is to make killing more efficient (at least I think it was Reynolds that made that point). One need only look at Chicago to see the violence inherent in the system of a community that has been organized.

Carol said...

"Immigrants from Sweden or Denmark would add little to their diversity."

That's not where they're coming from. Norway is getting the worst of the worst. As are the other Euros.

It's penance for success, or something.

wef said...

"Norway is today more imbued with democracy and diversity than it was on July 22, 2011," Stoltenberg told the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung in an interview published on Saturday.

Feeling that your country is a bit insufficiently imbued with democracy? Think the little polity could do with a spirited perking up of its diversity?

Well, you're in luck. We just happen to have we a deal for you. Just have one of our specialized mass killings every so often, and viola! Imbued you will be.

Craig said...

He, and they, may want to consider that the rate of immigration should directly correlate with the rate of assimilation.

German emigration to the U.S. peaked around 1880, a full decade before Ellis Island became a receiving center. American public education developed between 1890 and 1920 when German church schools were taken over by the government and required to teach in English. German assimilation is called WWI and WWII.

Methadras said...

Democracy is "the most important weapon in the fight against violence," he added.

Violence against the state maybe. Democracy is a useful tool for mob rule. Period. Multi-culti/diversity nonsense is the death knell of any society.

LoafingOaf said...

Althouse: "I don't know why Stoltenberg said what he said, do you?"

Why don't you understand? He was saying Norway didn't go off the deep end like the USA.

NYTIMES: "Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s reaction was unequivocal. He declared that Norway’s strongest weapon in responding to this was to employ more openness and more democracy. Norwegians took up his call. Neither politicians nor the media turned it into a partisan political issue. The public reacted with grief but did not call for extraordinary measures. And the state chose to prosecute Brevik in an ordinary public court with full media coverage."

LoafingOaf said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
LoafingOaf said...

Didn't see a reply from Althouse in the previous thread, where I noted she had promised not to link to places politicizing the Colorado atrocity and within hours she linked to Breitbart who was politicizing the Colorado atrocity. What a hypocrite Althouse is! How can a blogger pledge not to link to shit and then 3 hours later she links to that shit? What a joke.

And what doesn't she understand about Norway? She doesn't understand sane countries anymore?

Crimso said...

Hey Oaf, you forgot "You, a law professor!"

Amexpat said...

I don't know why Stoltenberg said what he said, do you?

He wants to emphasis that such acts won't change Norwegian society in the way intended by the perpetrator.

Stoltenberg was head of the AUF, the labor youth party, and knew many of the kids that were massacred on July 22. Also, his offices were in the building that was blow up. I think its only natural that he wants to feel that somehow this tragedy made the country stronger and not weaker.

Clyde said...

The fallacy of "diversity" is that it says that all cultures are not only equally good but interchangeable, and that all ideas are valid except any that criticize diversity.

However, when the elites allow massive immigration of people who do not share the country's political and cultural values and who have no intention of assimilating into their culture, and when the immigrants have a much higher birth rate than the natives, what do you think is going to happen? Gradually, Norway will become less like Norway and more like the lands from where its immigrants hail. If they are fine with that, well, it's their country... For now.

Ralph L said...

German assimilation is called WWI and WWII
My employer's ancestors started their German Reformed church about 1750. They stopped having services in German in 1840. This part of central NC was once a patchwork of clumps of German and Scots-Irish farms, as was central Pennsylvania, from whence they came.

Why didn't Breivik kill immigrants instead of natives?

Craig said...

Why didn't Breivik kill immigrants instead of natives?

They might have been better prepared and more inclined to shoot back.

Kirk Parker said...

"And the state chose to prosecute Brevik in an ordinary public court with full media coverage."

And what a circus it was!