[porbelm]

The appropriation of the Scandinavian norrøn viking lore by the extreme right/nazi-adjacent/nazi groups is so annoying. I'm from around Tønsberg (look it up) and we have a lot of people with a healthy, normal interest in the old medieval stuff. We also have a lot of people that use it for their nazi feelgood shit. Problem is, you can't tell 'em apart unless you can see their other, less visible tattoos :(

[mantas]

And the other problem is many people call anybody interested in native culture and its preservation a nazi. Which is bullshit especially since original nazis didn’t give a damn fuck about preservation of anything, but tried to build a new superhuman based on their fantasies.

[TechDebtDevin]

I think nationalism/ white supremacy are more so the issue. While they might not be Nazis, and in fact a lot of them really don't like Germans, I personally encountered a lot of the Scandanavian White purity types. They often use ancient Scandinavian history as a source of pride and to justify that type of superiorty. In fact I often tell people that Sweden and Norway have the most closeted racist society I've been exposed to. This is saying a lot considering I'm American!

[mantas]

What’s the problem with nationalism? Coming from Central Europe, here nationalism is anti-imperialist and about nations self governing themselves to promote native cultures. And as far as I know Scandinavian nationalism is pretty similar with no imperialist ambitions.

[TechDebtDevin]

There's nothing wrong with being patriotic (usually), the problem is when your national identity gets roped in with the color of your skin, which is certainly something I've seen many times over Norway and Sweden. While they have incredibly fair and polite societies they say some insane things behind closed doors.

[mantas]

Skin color is most visible proxy of a foreign color. Let’s not pretend that those people blend in local cultures very well. Nor do people with white skin, to be fair.

Scandinavians are even more against central Europe migrants. While racism card silences some people regarding other skin colors, they double down on fellow Europeans. And knowing folks who emigrated there… I can’t say I blame Scandinavians for not liking them.

[TechDebtDevin]

What a small world. I was just looking for wallpapers/ paintings of Tonsberg landscapes/seascapes yesterday. Off topic but didnt Edvard Munch have a summer house there and thus a lot of his settings are there? I'm from the States but I got to visit Tonsberg a few times when I worked in Norway Lovely little town that I hope I can visit again!

More topically, I encountered a lot of the latter group in Southern Norway and quite a few people from Sweden that were obsessed with Viking culture in a way that came off as Masculine cope.