Watch Out Scandanavia! Here Comes Starbucks

In my daily news from the US Embassy came this tidbit:

McDonalds, Burger King, 7-11 – and now Starbucks. As the latest US global
consumer phenomenon, the Seattle-based international coffee giant will open its
first outlet in this country at Copenhagen Airport on the 1st of June, in
response to demands from coffee-thirsty travelers. A spokesman for Copenhagen
Airport Au-thorities said: 'Everybody keeps asking why there is no Starbucks at
the airport so we've made a massive effort to attract the company here. It's a
massive compliment to us that we will be home to the first Star-bucks in
Scandinavia.'

One of the most charming things about Denmark that I have discovered is that the small store is alive and well. There are chains, but they compete with small, entreprenurial shops run by families. This is something the US has lost in the last 50 years of suburbanization and the ever present pursuit of "a bargain." Denmark, and the rest of Scandavia would do well to guard against this particular American phenomenon.

Immigrant Integration - Danish Style

A touchy subject in Denmark (not to mention the United States) is immigration. Denmark was one of the first to enact strict immigration rules in the wake of 9-11. The country has received criticism for this stance. They have also closed the doors to further immigration by Iraqi refugees, preferring instead to send money to Jordan or Syria where many of those refugees now live. Critics of the Iraq War have said that Denmark, until recently a key member of the "coalition of the willing", is morally obligated to take in refugees that they helped create. Perhaps there is a ring of truth to that, but this is not the main topic for my post today.
The question I am pondering is what does it mean for an immigrant to integrate into his/her adopted nation? The United States is a land of immigrants, but we have struggled with that throughout our history. At various points of US history, the Irish, the Italians, the Eastern Europeans, and finally, the Latinos have all received ferocious push back from "US born" citizens. Currently, we have seen much bigotry from the GOP on the matter of suppressing the use of Spanish or enacting draconian measures to stop illegal immigration.
Yet, as a nation of immigrants, the US is unique in that there is an understanding of what it means to be American, at least on the basic level. We have a set of ideals, which we sometimes do not fulfill very well, that guide us. These ideals are embodied by the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Our system of government and concept of liberty is what defines us as Americans, although we fight vociferously about what it all means exactly. There is now an argument whether the English language is essential to the American identity, since our founding documents are all in English and we have traditionally spoken English. I do not know the answer to that question, although in our public life together as Americans, I think we should agree to conduct ourselves in English. I also do not want to deny anyone their heritage or their language, because it is our diversity of backgrounds that has made the US strong.
The Danish are struggling with what it means to be Danish. They do have a constitution, but Denmark itself as a land and a people are far older than that document. The Dane are an ancient people whose ancestors were Vikings and who once ruled all of Scandanavia. As Africans and Muslims flood to Europe to escape hardships in their homelands, the question of integration has risen its ugly head.
In today's US Embassy news update, there was discussion of a new report coming out today. It asks: Should men have precedence over women when applying for a job? And is it OK to demand to be examined by a doctor of one's own gender? According to a report to be published today by a group called "Think-Tank for Better Integration" (sounds like an anti-immigrant group named by a Republican...like the jokester who named Bush's open pollution law the "Clear Skies Initiative"), the answer to both questions is no – but according to many immigrants from non-Western countries the answer is yes.
The report, based on a survey of the attitudes and values of foreigners in Danish society, states that many immigrants' "cultural baggage" plays a decisive role in their lack of integration. 92% of all Iraqi residents in Denmark disagree with homosexuality and 50% of those with a Turkish background believe that men should have first refusal on vacant jobs. These are statistics that Denmark's local councils and authorities should take into consideration when formulating integration policies, according to the think tank. "It's up to administrators at local level to stress what is important for integration," says one member of the think tank. "Should a Muslim be forced to work alongside a homosexual, and how should a school teacher react when parents say that their son's education is far more important than their daughter's. There has to be a clear policy."

Clearly explosive stuff, but these are questions people ask, especially when immigrants coming into a country do not seem to value the same things at a basic level that the other citizens do. Hence the question: What does it mean to be Danish? Or to be American? Considering the conflicts of today, can a person be both a "good Muslim" and a "good Dane"? How about a "good American"?

For the Danish, it is the question of Muslims. For Americans, the question is increasingly about Latinos, although the code words will be about "illegals". I watched an interesting show on BBC world this weekend called "The Doha Debates" where this British guy hosts a debate in front of an audience in Dubai on controversial topics. This week was the wearing of the face veil. Many women were indignant that people were not willing to just look in their eyes and see their heart, but insisted on seeing their face too. The question there was one of integration too. If you are an immigrant, is it OK to keep yourself clearly apart from your new country through the wearing of a face veil or anything else? How much of yourself do you have to sacrifice to fit in? Should you even sacrifice at all?

They did not come to a conclusion in that show, and we do not have an answer to the immigration question. The questions posed by the report in Denmark are interesting. I believe a person should have absolute freedom to see the doctor of his or her choice. If you want only female doctors, so be it. If you are a black person and do not want to see a white doctor, that may be a foolish attitude, but I think it is to your benefit to see a doctor with whom you are comfortable. Men should NOT have precedence over women. We live in a society where everyone is considered equal in the eyes of the law, and to give men preference would be discrimination.

I am also terribly sorry that 92% of Iraqi immigrants disagree with homosexuality (not sure how you can disagree with a fact), but they can be as prejudiced as they want in their homes. If you do not like having an openly gay coworker, get another damn job. It is YOUR problem, not the gay worker's. And if a parent tells a teacher that his son's education is more important than his daughter's...so what? As a teacher, you are not asked to agree or disagree with parenting styles or choices. You teach the child you have in your classroom, and if the parents refuse to get help for a female child because she doesn't have a penis, there is not much you can do.

If, as an immigrant, having a culture where women are subverient to men and where freedoms are based on religious law, gay people are not tolerated, etc....why in the world would you move to a Western nation? Especially when you know that nation has laws which directly conflict with your deeply held personal beliefs? Oh, is it about the opportunity to make money? Well, good. Have you ever considered that the freedoms you find so offensive in that society have been the basis for that opportunity to make money? Which is more important to you: suppressing women and gays or making a good living? Life is sometimes full of these hard choices, especially for an immigrant.

I think immigrants should honor their culture, language, and history. But I think too that there must be a desire to fully enter the life of your new nation. Maybe that means learning English (which in the US, we should help you do). Maybe that means gritting your teeth when you are "forced" to work with an openly gay colleague and not say or do anything about it. Maybe it means having to accept authority from a woman over you. Both the immigrant and the new nation have a duty to each other to meet in the middle. If one side refuses, the integration will never occur.

Copenhagen Riots Follow-up

I have discovered more information thanks to a news service that the US Embassy sends out to all Americans stationed in Denmark. First, the situation has been calm since the weekend, and nothing happened Monday or Tuesday as they tore down the Youth House.

The new owners of the Youth House (who got a court order evicting the youth and demolishing the building) are a fundamentalist Christian sect in Denmark called Faderhuset. Faderhuset was founded in 1990 by the married couple Knut and Ruth Evensen who are still involved in its leadership. Both have been involved in Christian movements since the 1970s. They started their own religious community in the beginning of the 1980s in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen. As of January 2007, the church has 120 members and is an approved religious community by the Danish state. Apparently this fact is well known on the "street" level, but the press make no mention of it. The US Embassy newsletter, though, has no hesistation, which is as it should be.

Before last week's riots, the Youth House students had rejected an offer to take over a closed school near their location. This was the final offer by the Copenhagen City Council, which is furious at the amount of damage the riots have cost. The spokesman for the controlling Social Democrats said that he had "no wish to enter into any form of dialogue with tehse people or spent time looking for alternative accomodation for them." This from a political party that is to the left of center in Denmark! I am not sure why the students rejected the offer for a free new place, other than sheer stubbornness in the righteousness of their cause. The result is that they are now either arrested or homeless.

Ruth Evensen, the leader of the Faderhuset sect (not sure where the husband is in all this...and I thought fundamentalists did not like women as leaders...or is that only in the USA?), has been forced to hire bodyguards. She has received numerous death threats related to the case with the Youth House, and the threats have escalated since riots began last week.

That is not the only person being targeted either. Someone vandalised Mayor of Copenhagen Ritt Bjerregaard's private residence by carving out a large '69' in her front door, a direct reference to the Youth House's address at Jagtvej 69. The buildup to a massive protest outside city hall this Saturday seems set. The question is, will violence continue to be avoided now that the leftist youth have nothing to lose? Their Youth House is rubble now, and even workers are wearing full face coverings to protect their identities. Companies have hidden logos to protect themselves too as the demolition and removal continues.

Faderhuset plans a building to house a Christian café and cultural activities. Not sure what a Chrisitan café means. Will they only use Holy Water for the coffee and tea? Sell Jesus biscuits? Napkins with "Repent Now!" written in Danish? And with the trouble they have experienced from buying the Youth House, evicting the inhabitants, and then demolishing the building, do they imagine that Youth activists will let their new building sit in peace? I do not even know how they will build on the spot without fear of sabotage. What construction company would take the risk? Maybe some of our American fundies can "help" out against what I am sure they would consider "attacks by the forces of Satan on a Godly group." Shoot, I am sure that more than one gay person lived in the House too, so they could make it part of the "Gay Agenda" to conquer the world and force heterosexuals into gay relationships.

I wonder what the motives of the Faderhuset were in buying the Youth House, which has been well known since 1982. Was it to get close to their leaders' roots in Nørrebro? Didn't they forsee the problems they would have with buying this house and taking the steps have taken to possess it? They were within their legal rights, and the students should have taken the deal for the alternative property that would have been theirs outright. In this situation, they all lose.

Riots in Copenhagen!

Imagine my surprise when, Thursday evening, I discovered pictures of cars ablaze, police in riot gear, and breathless Danish TV reporters covering it all LIVE in downtown Copenhagen. The TV reporters were really quite dramatic, although I could not understand what they were saying. I found out later, they were describing the scene as a "war zone".

Copenhagen and Denmark are such nice, peaceful, and friendly places. The Danes are quite possibly the most orderly people I have seen. Even their riots seem orderly, and amazingly enough, no one died. You can be sure in the United States, people would be killed in such riots. The rioters threw things at the police, but no one had a gun or started shooting.

The reason behind this rioting is a long simmering controversy over something called "UNGDOMSHUSET" or Youth House. In the early 80s, this building was abandoned, but still owned by the city. Leftist youth groups, made up of mostly Communists and hard left Socialists (I am told), started squatting on the property, turning it into a sort of commune. The city did not do much to evict them, and the situation has remained for the past 25 years.

In 2000, the city finally sold the property to a mysterious "Christian Group". I say "mysterious" only because no one in the media will name this group. It is unclear if it is the Danish state church or some other organization. Yet, I would think the identity of the group would be important. Why did they agree to buy a property they had to know was occupied?

Upon sale, the group went to court to get an eviction notice. The students fought back, saying that the city had no right to sell "their" house while it was occupied. The courts disagreed, and an order of eviction was entered. That brings us to Thursday, March 2 when the riots began.

The students protested by overturning cars, setting them on fire, setting fire to police barriers in the area, and throwing bottles, rocks, etc at the police. The police have arrested over 500 people during the weekend, and everyone was urged to stay away from downtown Copenhagen. The police have tightened border controls, because this Youth House is a rallying cry for far left groups throughout Europe.

The interesting thing about this situation for me is that under US property law, the students would long ago have seized title over the Youth House. They would have done this under the concept of Adverse Possession. From 1982 onward, the city did nothing to exercise its legal property rights or dominion over the building. They sat back while the students seized the building, lived in it, and passed it on to other students. In the US, when you neglect your property as it is being publicly seized and used by someone else for a period of 7 years, you lose that property. It is as if you legally made a gift of it by abandoning it. So around 1990, those students could have had title in US courts. Not so in Danish courts.

The building is being demolished so the police are expecting things to quiet down. However, that may not be the case for long. On a website devoted to the students, plans for major protests this weekend are in order. Hopefully, it will be peaceful.

The sad thing in all this to me is the lack of US coverage of this event. I went online to let my mom know quickly that I was OK, and she said, "What riots?" Same for my friends. No one had any idea that anything was happening in Copenhagen. The US papers said nothing. A bus full of ball players crashes on I-75 in Atlanta, and every news website in the world headlines the event. I would think that a peaceful city like Copenhagen exploding into riots would also merit coverage.

To educate my readers on this issue, I refer you to the following articles:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6414657.stm
http://www.ungdomshuset.dk/en.php3?id_rubrique=4
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6414481.stm

And if you can perchance read Danish, the best coverage is probably found here:http://politiken.dk/

Copenhagen - Part 6

Monday, February 26, 2007 – Thursday, March 1, 2007

This week has been SLOW, SLOW, SLOW. At work, the one thing I have been able to do is prod them to think about how to get answers from the countries (mostly Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union) for whom WHO is paying the way. All the countries have to do is nominate someone to go. Yet so many of them have not responded. The former Soviet states have done the best, and we almost have answers from all of them. Eastern Europe, not so much, which is ironic, since the meeting is being held in their neighborhood!

Ole and I have been writing steadily, which is nice. I even called him for a few minutes before bed on Monday to say hello. I linked him to this blog, and I guess he has read it because he said it was nice to read about my life and know more about me. People have asked me for his picture, but the only picture I have of him right now is from his boyfriend.dk account, and they have cleverly set it up so you cannot swipe it off the site. Never fear, though, I should be able to get a picture this weekend when I go see him in Odense. He invited me to come this weekend to his home and see where he lives. I agreed to come.

I am looking forward to it. Seeing someone in their home setting is usually quite revealing, and I think it will give me more insights into who he is. I also look forward to seeing his artwork. He spent all night Tuesday painting in some kind of inspired frenzy of creativity. Once I get a better feel of what kind of artist he is, I will probably hook him up with Yonsenia for an artist-to-artist critique. It seems to be the kind of thing he craves, and even though he is untrained, he has been allowed to show his work in a gallery or two.

I have had some interesting developments politically too. The Murphy Reception for YDG apparently went really well. The place was packed with people, and we made a good bit of money. Not as much as we had hoped, but in a time where money for Democrats in Georgia is hard to come by, we did very well. It will help us springboard further fundraising as the year goes on. The other thing going on is constant chatter of who might be running for what. So far, no seems to be preparing to challenge me for President, which is good.

The interesting thing is that there could be a scenario where a couple of races are contested, and some races have no candidates at all. Things are fluid though, so a lot can change between now and April. Elections are good, but they can be divisive, and some might argue that the epic Billy-Preston fight still has some lingering ill effects. A good deal of that is people taking their marbles and going home when "their side" doesn't win. Sometimes you have to stick it out, especially if you really do care. If I had just given up when I was in high school and constantly got my ass beat for student council offices by the Athlete of my choice, I never would have accomplished the things I did as an appointed officer or won Student Council Member of the Year twice. It is much better to win, I agree. But some people might just run in the wrong year, and if they stay engaged, could easily win next year. We'll see. I am still hopeful to have a really great convention free of divisive in-fighting.

I want YDG to enter the new term with a focus on the future, building on our successes, and letting go of past grudges. Now more than ever, we need to be a united force for ourselves, and the Democratic Party of Georgia as a whole. YDG will be key to the resurrection of the state party. We are doing really good work now, and we can take it to the next level if we work together and keep our eye on the goal of strengthening the party and getting Democrats elected.

I finally discovered how to work the Laundromat too. I was confused at first, but some kind lady helped me out when she realized I could not read Danish. Of course, I put the detergent and fabric softener in the wrong containers. I guessed based on which ones I use at home, and I guessed wrong, but the clothes still got clean. I will save significant money by using the Laundromat, which is nice.

Thursday promised to be another boring day, especially after Jackie forgot to call me and patch me into the all-GMB phone call! Oh well, probably not a huge loss, but I still wanted to be part of it. I left early to meet Jacob Rasmussen, the President of IFLRY (International Federation of Liberal Youth). He lives and works in Copenhagen, so I had emailed him to see if we could have a chance for a friendly meeting.

I met him outside the Hellerup station at 5pm, and luckily, he looked like his picture on the IFLRY site. We went to the Café Apotek (literally Pharmacy Café) which is at the corner of the intersection where the Hellerup station is. We had a great time. We shared some beers, talked a lot of politics, and spent four hours together. He is certainly a fellow political junkie, although he works on the international level. I learned a lot about how Danish politics works, and it quite different from the US system. However, it seems to work, and that cannot always be said (especially since 2000) about American elections. On the Danish political scale, Jacob's Liberal party is just to the right of center. His philosophy would easily work within the Democratic party, though. It is very interesting to me that Republicans are far to the right of even the most right wing parties in Europe. I am pretty sure that is NOT a compliment to the GOP either.

Jacob will be having an IFLRY executive board meeting in Dallas in conjunction with the YDA National Convention. That should be really fun. I also offered Jacob an invitation to Atlanta anytime he likes. He flies through Atlanta a lot on business and political trips. I think our group in Georgia would like him a lot, especially our women. Blond haired, blue eyed Dane with an accent, and the accent alone would make many of them go ga-ga. Shoot, if he was on my team, I would go ga-ga. He's not buff like many Danes I have found, but he is still a good looking guy. I found out from him that Mortensen of the Atlanta Falcons is a Dane, and he is very popular in this country.

Going home from the meeting with Jacob, I stopped to get a small pizza for dinner. The TV was on, and the screen was filled what looked like a riot. Turns out there was a riot in Copenhagen yesterday, and the 'unrest' is expected to continue into the weekend. The story is carried in English on BBC. The left wing students (mostly of Communist extraction) have been squatting in this building for years, and they are finally being evicted. The odd thing was that no one has been hurt. No bullets fired, no blood shed. That would NOT be the case in the US if that happened there. Even rioting, the Danes are civilized about it.