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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
 Posted - 12/21/2011 : 13:02:08
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Primarily due to the upcoming release of a new US movie based on a recent best-selling book
- the first of a trilogy by Steig Larsson - I have read and become interested in Larsson's work.
Although the first novel - The Girl with the Dragon Tatooo - is a reasonably well crafted serial-killer murder mystery and deserving of some praise on its crime-genre credentials alone, the narrative was most intriuging to me in its revelations of some of the latent white supremacy elements still extant in some aspects of contemporary Swedish life. There are other surprising suggestions of imperfection in the fabric of life in contemporary Sweden throughout the narrative of the book.
My view of modern Sweden has been almost exclusively structured by the occasional glimpses given here on SFN by Mikael Lännqvist, a notably voluble citizen of Kumla, Sweden; and a frequent (8400 posts) commentator on these boards. The vision I had received of contemporary Sweden was one of a highly advanced little corner of 21st century civilization with effective liberal government policies and a significantly more mature political system than the one we labor under here in the comparatively much more Neanderthal society of the United States of America.
I know we have several other citizens of Sweden contributing regularly here. I wonder if any of them have had the opportunity to read Larsson's books, and/or see the first Swedish production of the Dragon Tatoo movie made a couple of years ago.
To those who live there, does modern Sweden present a significantly better political environment, standard and quality of living, and a contemporary opportunity to better seek the pursuit of happiness than the apparent shambles of those values that seems to currently exist in 21st Century USA? Would those US citizens who are beginning to feel that there must be something better than what we have here in this country be well advised to look to Sweden as a better choice of a nation of residence?
I have no opinion yet on this subject, but I am beginning to feel the urges to start to formulate one. I would welcome any comment from those with first-hand life experience in Sweden.
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Hawks
SFN Regular
Canada
1383 Posts |
Posted - 12/21/2011 : 14:32:23 [Permalink]
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I left Sweden in 1998, so I don't really have that much to offer, but anyway: I think that you might have Sweden confused with Utopia. Of course there are problems at lots of levels, just like any other country. There were neo-nazis around in my youth and I'd be surprised if there are fewer of them now. Recently, a racist (although they're officially not) party was elected into government.
When I grew up, a lot of necessities such as schooling and healthcare were virtually under government control only. I remember that in the 1980's there was a push from certain political parties to privatize such things to "make them more efficient", generally citing the superiority of some american counterpart. I'm not sure how far that went, but boy would that be a mistake. Schooling was good and so was healthcare - and everyone had access to it.
As for Sweden's political environment, I seriously doubt (or at least hope not) that swedish politicians would be able to say the shit they do in the US and get away with it.
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I really didn't have that much to say.
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PS. I read the swedish "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and watched all three movies in swedish and found the lot to be fairly mediocre. I just don't know what the fuss is all about. |
METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL
It's a small, off-duty czechoslovakian traffic warden! |
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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2011 : 00:29:18 [Permalink]
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Hawks.....
| I really didn't have that much to say. |
No, but I am happy that you said what you did.
Thanks for your comment as a Swedish ex-patriate. I certainly don't have Sweden confused with Utopia; but I will readily admit to being a bit confused about Sweden - always having seen the country's governance as a somewhat better form of democracy than the mockery of that ideal that the US capitalist plutarchy has become.
How do you like Canada? Currently, I live less than two hours away in panhandle Idaho - a stark contrast with Edmonton, Calgary, and even Vancouver; where I find myself spending more time every chance I get. Christ, Kazakistan looks attractive compared to the red sewage states - read Idaho and Texas - of this fucking country!
Again, thanks for your response! |
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dcastle
New Member
6 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2012 : 16:50:43 [Permalink]
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| It seems like people are too quick to the draw when they say that some girls aren't acting right because they sport tattoos and have a lot of piercings which is unfair on their part. Things have this knack to always go with the normal. And that is not always good because they develop a sense of shock when they see something out of the ordinary. And in this case, it would be unfair for the person subjected to hate when they are judged by the public. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2012 : 19:03:31 [Permalink]
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| You only read the subject line, huh? |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Girls with tatoos, playing with fire, kicking hor
