Danish/American Society – Side 6 – Danish-American Eyes on Society

Kan vi som borgere og samfund forvente, at sygeplejersker melder sig frivilligt til at tage sig af Covid-patienter?

Vi står midt i en pandemi. Hospitalerne mangler ikke udstyr men villige hænder.

Can we as citizens and society expect nurses to volunteer to care for Covid patients?

We are in the middle of a pandemic. The hospitals do not lack equipment but willing hands.

We all need to do our part to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and to protect the most vulnerable in our society. The children go to school from home, the young people do not have the social life they need, citizens with mental health problems suffer from the current conditions, the old people are lonely and miss their children and grandchildren – all require an extra effort from each of us, for the sake of the community and not to overload our health care system.

Here in the United States, New York in the spring asked doctors and nurses from across the country for help. Thousands volunteered, kissed their loved ones goodbye and boarded planes that carried them from one end of the country to the other. They arrived in a chaos where the hospitals were understaffed and there was a lack of protective equipment. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers died, the disease was still new and the staff was in a situation they had never been in before.

New York asked for help, and they received it from self-sacrificing men and women across the country. Men and women, many of them with families at home. The volunteers had the professional knowledge and expertise that was so badly needed. They were heroic and ready to help, even if they were scared.

There is no doubt that healthcare professionals who care for Covid patients are everyday heroes. Here in the United States, they are on the brink of exhaustion after almost a year with this horrible killer. Both physically and mentally, they express that they have difficulty dealing with both their professional and personal everyday life.

Many hands are needed when Corona patients are to be cared for in the intensive care unit. We have seen the pictures of white-clad hospital staff who, after a system, check fluids, lift the duvet, check the screens with vital information and turn the patient into a coma. That process requires a team of at least 5 people.

In Denmark, there is no shortage of hospital equipment that lacks hands to care for Covid patients. Nurses in the country’s hospitals have been asked to volunteer, far too few have done so. Therefore, the state has now formed a Corona contingency where nurses can be told that they must be ready if they are called.

I have a friend who works as a nurse at a Seattle hospital. Her specialty is wound care. Already in the spring, she was asked to work with Covid patients when needed. I have never heard her complain, even though the Corona crisis here in the USA is out of control, and she is a single mother of two school-going children who, due to Corona, do not go to school but are taught at home in the 9th month. She has 12-hour shifts and transportation to and from the hospital on top. It’s not something she’s talking about, it’s just that.

I’m well aware that being a nurse is not a ´ calling, ´ but I’m surprised that once you’ve chosen a health care profession, you can not see the point in stepping in when you are in. a situation where human life is at stake. In a country of solidarity like Denmark, it is a failure that one is not willing to back up one’s colleagues and take a turn with the blessed nurses who have now been fighting Corona for months in the first place.

(Google translate)

Tjah… jeg er åbenbart irriterende at høre på, og dét giver ret til at udbryde ‘fake news’ – også selvom (eller måske fordi?) hver eneste af mine påstande kan verificeres

I P1 Debat tirsdag den 27. november gjorde jeg det klart, at jeg var frastødt over og fandt det dybt smagløst at Naser Khader stod i radiostudiet og klappede over indsættelsen af USAs nye Højesteretsdommer Amy Coney Barrett, en ultra kristenkonservativ dommer, der går imod basale menneskerettigheder.

DR Detektor fulgte op på mine påstande og bad Naser Khader forholde sig til sine.

Jeg er DR Detektor taknemmelig for, at de ikke lader folk slynge påstande ud i æteren men følger op og lader folk stå til regnskab for deres udsagn.

Læs DR Detektors artikel her:

Detector: Naser Khader announces facts about American judge as ‘fake news’

It’s a saying, ‘No, I’m not going to listen to you anymore,’ Khader says.

On Tuesday, Naser Khader appeared in P1 Debat, where he accused bloggers for Jyllands-Posten Désirée Ohrbeck of coming up with fake news.

Anders Machmüller

31 OCT 2020

‘Fake news!’ exclaimed the Conservative parliamentary politician Naser Khader when he was in the P1 Debate on Tuesday.

Among other things, Naser Khader protested against a claim that the American Supreme Court judge Amy Coney Barrett once signed that she is an abortion opponent.

– It’s fake news! Documentation is requested. That’s fake news, Naser Khader said.

However, the US Supreme Court judge once signed a newspaper ad against abortion in 2006 and another in 2013.

Detective has contacted Naser Khader, who now explains that his accusation of fake news should not be taken so literally. It’s a ‘way of speaking’, he says:

– It’s my way of marking that I think it was too much.

Should there be something factually wrong before it is fake news in your understanding?

– So it has become a saying. That must also be understood. It has become such a saying where it is said, ‘No, now I do not bother to listen to you anymore’.

‘Documentation requested’

Naser Khader was in the P1 Debate on Tuesday to discuss Trump’s chances for re-election – including the election of Amy Coney Barrett as the new Supreme Court justice.

In addition to Naser Khader, the Danish-American Désirée Ohrbeck also wrote a blog post for Jyllands Posten.

At one point in the program, Désirée Ohrbeck says Amy Coney Barrett is opposed to abortion. That makes Naser Khader ask where the newly appointed Supreme Court judge has said it.

– She has signed that she is a strong opponent of abortion. Plus she has sat on a school board where she has denied children who had gay parents being able to attend that school, Désirée Ohrbeck replies.

Then Naser Khader breaks in and says:

– It’s fake news! Documentation is requested. That’s fake news.

Detector has asked Désirée Ohrbeck what she bases the two allegations on.

Signed abortion resistance

To the left is the 2006 newspaper ad, which an anti-abortion group in Michiana, Indiana indented in a local newspaper. To the right is the newspaper ad that Amy Coney Barrett put her name on in 2013.

The first allegation is that Amy Coney Barrett has signed that she is a strong abortion opponent.

Désirée Ohrbeck’s statement is based on an open letter signed by Amy Coney Barrett.

In January 2006, an anti-abortion group in the Michiana region of Indiana placed a full-page ad in the local newspaper.

The ad was an open letter in which several hundred citizens expressed their opposition to abortion. Among them were Amy Coney Barrett and her husband. The Guardian newspaper was the first media outlet to report this.

Amy Coney Barrett was at that time a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

The text, on which Amy Coney Barrett and many others put their name, read:

“We, the following citizens of Michiana, are opposed to abortion ‘on demand’ and defend the right to life from conception to natural death.”

The ad ends with the words: “Please continue to pray for an end to abortion”.

In 2013, Amy Coney Barrett again put her name on a newspaper ad against abortion. This time side by side with other staff at the university where she worked.

The ad was inserted by the University Faculty of Life at Notre Dame, of which Amy Coney Barrett was a member from 2010 to 2016.

In the ad could, among other things, read that “55 million unborn children have been killed by abortion” during the past 40 years and that the signatories express their continued call for the unborn must be protected by law.

It shows documents that Amy Coney Barrett herself has sent to the Senate prior to the hearings.

Amy Coney Barrett was asked in October for the 2006 newspaper ad.

She replied that she signed the ad on her way out of a church. She also said she signed it as a private individual.

“I regard my personal, moral and religious views as separate from my task of enforcing the law as a judge,” she said.

School board against rainbow families

Naser Khader also asks Désirée Ohrbeck to document that Amy Coney Barrett, as a member of a school board, has refused children with gay parents to go to school.

Amy Coney Barrett was part of the board of Trinity Schools from 2015 onwards.

These are three schools affiliated with the Christian group People of Praise, of which Amy Coney Barrett has long been a member.

The Associated Press news agency has spoken to at least 25 people with knowledge of the schools – either because they have been students or worked there or been a member of the People of Praise.

According to the AP, Trinity’s management communicated anti-LGBTQ policies and attitudes to meetings, one-on-one interviews, enrollment and employment agreements, manuals and written policies – even while Amy Coney Barrett was an active board member.

In addition to interviews with both named and anonymous sources, AP writes that the medium also has a number of documents from the schools.

In 2014 – the year before Amy Coney Barrett became a member of the board – the board decided that only children of single parents or parents who were legally married should be admitted, writes AP.

At the time, gay marriage was not legal in either Indiana or Virginia, where two of the schools are located.

In 2015, gay marriage was legalized throughout the United States, and school formulations were softened a bit, according to the AP.

Several people tell the AP that they have been told directly by staff at the school that they would not enroll children of gay parents.

Naser Khader: ‘She is tired of listening’

“Detector” has asked Naser Khader why he calls the two allegations fake news.

– It’s not just about the two things. I think a lot of what she said was without nuances and I get so tired in my head of it, says Naser Khader.

What was not right?

– Well, a lot of what she said. I do not remember exactly what it is she said in the situation. So she portrays things as if the United States is waging a civil war.

Désirée says Amy has signed off on being a strong opponent of abortion. There is probably no discussion about that. Why do you call it fake news?

– Well, the crucial thing is what she’s been saying here lately. You can also find something I said 20 years ago where I have become wiser.

Naser Khader says his position on Amy Coney Barrett is based on the Senate hearing of her in October, in which she said she had signed the ad against abortion as a private individual. He believes that it is her statements during the hearing that count.

Then there is the second point that comes before you say fake news. It is that she has sat on a school board that has been against having children of gay parents. The Associated Press has told about it.

– She is also asked about this at the hearing. And there she says she has nothing against either gay or mixed gender. I relate to what she says on live TV.

So you do not deny that she has sat on a school board where one has been against having children of gay parents walking?

– My attitude towards her is based on the 12-14 hours she sat and was questioned by senators. There she does not express that she is against homosexuals or that she wants to abolish abortion.

I’m just trying to relate to the factual in these things that you call fake news.

– In relation to the two specific things, I say: Go in and listen to the hearing she was at. There you will find out that she stands for something else.

But you do not want to say that these two things are wrong?

– She does not want to abolish abortion. It is wrong. That’s fake news. I would like documentation that when she becomes a Supreme Court judge, she will take the initiative to abolish free abortion.

Surely no one has claimed that either?

– Yes, yes, when you say she is an abortion opponent, then that is what you implicitly mean. One thing is what she means personally or ideologically. Something else is when she has to deal with things as a judge. She is guaranteed not to go in and say that we are now abolishing free abortion – no matter what she herself thinks and has signed.

But why is it not wrong that she has signed it?

– It is wrong to say that then she is the kind of person who just wants to go in and abolish it.

But has anyone said that?

– Yes, when you say she’s against abortion. She is not an opponent. She is in favor of tightening abortion legislation. It is something else.

Okay – but she’s been an abortion opponent? She has at least signed on to this ad.

– Yes, but it’s one thing what she’s signed. Something else is what she is sitting and saying for hearing in the Senate. It’s my main source.

Do you still think these two allegations are fake news?

– I think most of what Désirée said is fake news.

But you can not just remember something concrete where you think she said something factually wrong?

– Not standing up. Then I’ll go in and hear everything she said. I can’t stand it, I get tired just listening to her.

Do you have a definition of what you mean by fake news?

– Well, when a person talks and talks, and you have to interrupt him, then it is easiest to say: ‘That is fake news’. Had there been more time, I would have said, ‘That is simply not true. Things are so and so connected ‘. It’s my way of marking that I think it was too much.

Should there be something factually wrong before it is fake news in your understanding?

– So it has become a saying. That must also be understood. It has become such a saying where it is said, ‘No, now I do not bother to listen to you anymore’.

(Google translate)

Jo, Barrett er modstander af abort, Naser Khader

Khader opfører sig som Trumpisterne på Fox News, når han udbryder ”Fake News,” om det, han ikke kan lide at høre.

Hør P1 Debatten med mig og Khader her

Læs hele bloggen her:

Yes, Barrett is opposed to abortion, Naser Khader

Khader behaves like the trumpeters on Fox News when he exclaims “fake news” about what he does not like to hear.

On Tuesday, Naser Khader, Foreign Minister for the Conservative People’s Party, accused me of passing on Fake News in the P1 Debate and asked for documentation of my allegations.

This is not personal, in fact I voted in his time, when I lived in Copenhagen, on Naser Khader. At the time, he was in the New Alliance. I’m sure we still share many views.

The second segment of P1 Debate was about the new US Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Host Gitte Hansen played a clip in which Trump introduces Barrett and the audience then claps. “And you’re standing there cheering, Naser Khader, too,” I heard her say from my dining table on the other side of the globe, far away from DR’s radio studio.

I was shaken. Nothing less. Could feel my heart rate rise. Does he, Khader, know at all what Amy Coney Barrett stands for?

Amy Coney Barrett is ultra-conservative. Her conservatism can in no way be compared to being conservative in Denmark. The 1: 1 comparison between conservatism in the USA and conservatism in Denmark is completely out of the question. I can have my doubts about whether Naser Khader knows that.

Barrett’s stance on abortion is well known to Democrats and Republicans

When I got through to the radio studio, I briefly outlined what Amy Coney Barrett should be involved in deciding. There is nothing odious in my claims, all the media here in the US, from FOX News to MSNBC cover the huge impact she is going to have.

And then I said what was on my mind most: “I have to say, I’m really repulsed that Naser Khader stands, if he did what you said, stood and clapped, then it’s both distasteful and it’s inappropriate. . She is against basic human rights. It’s a disaster! ”

“You are demonizing her. She is a conservative, “Naser Khader replied

If Naser Khader thinks that Amy Coney Barrett is a fairly ordinary conservative who can be compared to what we in Denmark know as conservatism, then he simply does not follow well enough.

“She has signed that she is a strong opponent of abortion. Plus she has sat on a school board where she has denied children who had gay parents being able to come to that school. She is so conservative, ”I raged.

Naser Khader’s answer? “It’s fake news. Documentation is requested. ”

This is not Fake News, here you have the documentation, Naser Khader

The New York Times, Forbes, Fox News, AP, and many other media outlets that few would call Fake News have, since Barrett’s nomination, covered her stance on abortion, which is widely known to every American.

Specifically, in 2006, she signed a statement written by one of America’s first abortion resistance groups, Right to Life Michiana (formerly St. Joseph County Right to Life). The statement states, among other things: ” We… oppose the right to abortion and defend the right to life from conception…” ( New York Times link )

It amazes me that Khader is unaware of Barret’s widely known views. It is precisely this attitude that makes the insertion of her among so many Christian and conservative Americans seen as a victory.

In Denmark, we take it for granted that women have the right to decide over their own bodies. But here in the United States, attitudes toward abortion are one of the most important issues and crucial to where Americans put their ticks. The election of Barrett is seen by many as beneficial to Trumps appeal to the voice of ultra-Christian voters. All recognized media have covered this. A quick Google search should be able to verify this.

As for not wanting to let children of gay couples and single parents be admitted to the school where she sat on the board, which, incidentally, would not hire gay teachers either, I naturally also have my sources in order.

Amy Coney Barrett sat on the school board (2015-2017) at Trinity, which is 3 private Christian Catholic schools and both before, during and after her time, the rules that discriminate against LGBTQ were implemented ( link )

Again, contrary to Khader’s claim, this is not about Fake News but quite generally readily available knowledge from reliable news sources.

Naser Khader’s ignorance is a slap in the face to women and LGBTQ people

It’s fair when Naser Khader asks for documentation of my allegations, but it’s below the low point when he, like the Trumpists here, when they are met by knowledge they do not like, shouts “Fake News”.

I assume that when Naser Khader stands in the DR studio and pats the new Supreme Court judge, he does so out of ignorance. For I have a hard time believing that he is in favor of women not having the right to rule over their own bodies and that LGBTQ people should not have the same rights as everyone else. Maybe take me error.

(Google translate)

Danskerne kan noget, som bringer dem sikkert igennem corona: Tro på autoriteterne

Danskerne er ikke vant til de store udsving i deres levevis. Derfor har coronaen været en rutsjebanetur – også for mig, der bor i USA.

Læs hele bloggen her:

The Danes know something that brings them safely through the corona : Believe in the authorities

The Danes are not used to the big fluctuations in their way of life. That’s why the corona has been a roller coaster ride – also for me who lives in the United States

Denmark is facing major changes due to high coronation . Allow me to share my experiences after living for months with coronary restrictions in the United States, where the pandemic is out of control.

My kids have not been to school since last week in February. All indications are that they will not return to their schools this school year. My husband has been working from home for the same period, his workplace has asked employees to work from home indefinitely, probably until summer.

When I see news from Denmark, I think it seems that new restrictions are on the way.

The picture that emerges when I read, hear and see people’s reactions to the corona here in the United States is that the hardest part is the mental forces that this crisis requires. There are many concerns. What happens if we become infected? How long does this last? When do the children return to school, and what does this time do to their mental health? When will a vaccine arrive? What happens if we lose our job? And what about our loved ones if they get infected or sit alone month after month? Can you trust what the public authorities are saying? How restrictive should I be in my travels when my neighbor is not?

Positive energy in the first stage of the pandemic

Getting used to corona quarantine has been quite a roller coaster ride . The first time we kept to ourselves, had no physical contact with friends and we met at the Friday bar online – it’s not quite the same. But we had a positive attitude, there was cheers, smiles and laughter – a will to make it succeed.

The long, cool move in the second stage of the pandemic

After some time, I put a reading lamp and an armchair into the bedroom and buried myself under a plaid with a good book. I needed a break from the needs of the kids. But that does not go in the long run. The kids came constantly roaring and did not understand where their maid had gone. I had to get up from the chair. There should still be lunch and snacks ready for the breaks and they should have help to make their everyday life work. A balance had to be found, but breaks for me had to be there – hence the armchair.

In the middle of the summer holidays, it was clear that the kids would not return to their schools when the school year began. That message was difficult. Because until then, we had agreed that the corona situation would be under control at about the same time as the children’s school year began.

It sounds naive now, but that’s how we thought for what now seems like an eternity ago. The brain had to understand that we had to adjust to the long, tough move.

Our 12-year-old daughter was furious at the news. She wanted in school, cost what it would! In her world, we are almost a necessary appendage that conveniently provides the most basic necessities. Where life really unfolds is in the interaction with friends.

What I have learned in the 8 months the corona has turned our lives upside down

All four of us have been home since late February. And here’s what I’ve learned: Take it easy. One finds a rhythm.

But I have also learned that it takes an incredible amount of effort from both children and adults to hold on to themselves and not panic when there is no predictability. We do not know how long we will live as we do now. We do not know how many human lives the pandemic will require.

Therefore, my focus has changed. Of course, the kids have to learn what they have to learn in school – and I think they do too. If not, then they should probably catch up. I spend less effort going through their work and checking if they have now remembered it all and attended the meetings they are going to.

More important is to relate to their physical and mental health. This is where I put my efforts into the rest of the pandemic race.

That is why we have also arranged for them to go to Taekwondo three times a week. And how does it go in these corona times ? Yes, twice a week they log on online and follow the lessons with a lot of other students, and once a week they meet alone with their instructor.

In addition, we bought an exercise bike. Here in Seattle, as you know, it is raining a lot, and for the next 9 months we can look forward to it not being possible to move outside to the same degree as it has been in the spring and summer.

We have set individual goals and overall family goals for the new monster in the living room – and made sure to put in rewards that are attractive to the kids. Exercise is not only good if you want to get rid of your corona part, it is also good for mental health.

But exercise all over the world does not make up for the social needs that children in particular have.

Perhaps the most important of our initiatives is that we have made a weekly online appointment with a child psychologist for each of the children – they each have their own need for help and support. Just as important as the weekly appointments with the therapist is that they see that the adults, who otherwise from their point of view must look as if they have no control over a shit in their world, do what they can to help and try to understand that it is not easy to be a child in the world they are in right now.

Our youngest son can not remember what life was like before the corona . Our elders need distance and to find their own way – it is obviously impossible in the situation we are in. They need to share their thoughts with a professional – it ultimately helps the whole family to thrive better, when they get some tools to understand and deal with their thoughts emotions.

Our corona reality right now

We have relaxed the attitude of seeing friends. We meet with two different pairs of friends. It has been absolutely amazingly uplifting. In my eagerness to make this work, I had forgotten how life-giving other people’s togetherness can be.

Each child is now allowed to see the same 3 children. The atmosphere at home and the children’s mood has improved markedly.

We get to bring everything from food, fruits and vegetables to books and clothes to the door. We get nowhere where there are other people. We have not been out to eat since January, we do not go to the cinema, to museums or to the theater. There has been one child’s birthday, but it was held at Zoom. When we go anywhere, we wear masks everywhere.

All the while, the corona is present in the everyday life that has now become so common that I fear if I can ever sit down at a restaurant table without thinking about all the baktus flying through the air. If everything was opened tomorrow, I do not think at all I would want to sit in a bar or a restaurant. It is thought-provoking how quickly man can get used to an everyday life that less than a year ago would have appeared as something from a dystopian film of the future.

Encouraging words to the Danes

When I see news from Denmark, I think it’s probably a shock for the Danes to hear that the numbers are growing every day. That they have become accustomed to the fact that a pandemic that is out of control was something that belonged to Southern Europe and the USA, Brazil and India, far away from Denmark’s borders.

How will the reaction be from the Danes’ side if strict restrictions are introduced – and here I do not think the restrictions, which must be described as fairly light , which the Danes have so far had to live with? How will they react if they, like us here in the United States, come to live with the same drastic reduction in lifestyles for months?

The Danes are not a people who are used to the big fluctuations. There is not much in recent times they have had to endure.

But the Danes have and can do something that other countries do not have and can do. There is a belief that the authorities want the best for the citizens, I have not seen in any other country outside Scandinavia. That, coupled with the fact that systems and processes have been fine-tuned for decades, creates fertile ground for a system that can get through the crisis in a better way than many other countries.

I hope the Danes stand together, because if everyone does their part, the country will return to a more normal everyday life more quickly. I do not want anyone to go through the same experiences that we have had here in the United States. But if so, keep up the good work. There is a tolerable everyday life in the intolerable.

(Google translate)

Jo mere divers den danske befolkning bliver, jo mindre taler vi sammen

Med spørgsmål og udveksling skal demokratier bestå

Læs hele bloggen:

The more diverse the Danish population becomes, the less we talk to each other

With questions and exchanges, democracies must survive

When I was a teenager, I threw myself into as many discussions with my family as I could possibly get to. My mother often looked at me angrily as she said, “Not everything is a discussion, everything is not to be debated!” “This is how you say when you do not have enough arguments”, I thought and continued my questions and arguments.

My mother was and still is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and so was I, as a teenager living at home. There was just the problem that the older I got, the more critical questions I started asking.

“Why not have an abortion if you have become pregnant after a rape?” “Why is it the husband who is the head of the family, if it is the wife who is the wisest?” “Why not have sex before marriage?” “Why is the only permissible cause of divorce that one party is unfaithful?” “Why not love the one you love if you share the same sex?” – yes, to my mother’s great despair I had many questions.

My mother gave up, called the congregation elder who came and tried to knock some scriptures into my head.

At school I was called Ask Jørgen. I was hugely curious and inquisitive, I still am.

Exchange of views enriches

I live in the United States, just outside Seattle in the state of Washington. Fortunately for me, the vast majority of Americans are open and accommodating and like to share their thoughts on most things.

Living in the United States is a paradise for a curious soul. Here live people from vastly different cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds. There are many reasons why people think, believe and think the way they do – and I love hearing about them.

Today I had a conversation with a man about being the only Trump supporter for a baby show in Seattle, where the rest of the guests were Bident supporters.

I ask and ask. When I meet Trump supporters, I ask them what it is that appeals to them by him. When I meet African Americans, I ask how they experience the system in terms of race and equal opportunities. When I meet people who belong to LGBTQ, we talk about prejudice and acceptance.

We like to exchange views – just not when it comes to religion

But when it comes to religion, the situation is different. The only ones who bother to talk to me about that subject are the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses who occasionally knock on my door.

Jehovah’s Witnesses like to talk about their religion – on their terms. They have rehearsed answers to most things. I know, because even as a big kid, I practiced with the adults before knocking on people’s doors.

But if you start asking Jehovah’s Witnesses questions that they have not practiced, then the ground is shaking under their feet. Maybe that’s why they operate in pairs?

In Denmark, Jehovah’s Witnesses have always been looked down upon when they came in their suits with their Watchtower and Awake! Some have felt sorry for the poor children who are being dragged around Saturday morning and have offered them a cup of coffee. Others have suggested that if one simply spoke reason to them, then perhaps they would change some of their archaic attitudes.

Diversity closes the conversation, it is not good for democracy

In school we learned that if you have an attitude, then you must be able to argue for it – with words or pen and paper. Not in the form of pants water or a blood spout in the recess. No one should be afraid to say their opinion – or whether it would be settled in cash after school if they said something the bully of the class did not like.

Talking together and listening to each other and being critical is one of the crucial pillars of democracy, it is socialized into our pods from day one. It is through questions that we get to know each other – and perhaps dots for seats and customs that need a post-check.

If one cannot answer questions but has to resort to scriptures or hand out a spout of blood, then one’s attitudes are not strong enough. Questions can be difficult, they can be strong and powerful – they can make even the toughest nut to crack when he can not answer for himself. That’s why we taught young people in Jehovah’s Witnesses not to ask too many questions;

Democracy is in danger when anxiety stops for questions

Because it is i.a. that a secularized Western democracy can. Ask questions, be critical, engage in dialogue without regard to God, King and Fatherland. Or so it has been in the past.

As Denmark’s population composition has become more diverse , we should be able to have more enriching, interesting, exchanging conversations.

But it seems to me that the more diverse the population group in Denmark, yes in Europe, becomes, the fewer exchanging conversations we have with those who do not think, believe and think the same as us – for fear of being exposed to what is worse than trouser water and a blood spout.

(Google translate)

Der er visse ligheder mellem Trumps administration og Mette Frederiksens

Forskellen ligger i håndteringen af information fra eksperterne

Læs hele bloggen her

There are certain similarities between the Trump administration and Mette Frederiksen’s

The difference lies in the handling of information from the experts

Health authorities around the world agree that wearing a mask is one of the most effective ways to protect against the spread of Covid-19. This is especially true in the crowded public transport, which generally has poor ventilation and where many people from different areas stand and sit close together.

We are now here in the United States again up on almost 60,000 positive tests a day. In the absence of central leadership, each state fights its own struggle to limit infection rates and spread in an attempt to save human beings and in an attempt not to overburden hospitals.

Last month, the CDC (The Centers for Disease Control), the US response to the National Board of Health, worked on a proposal to ensure that employees and passengers in all public transport wore masks. Health Minister Alex M. Azar II backed the proposal. But the White House´ Corona Task Force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, blocked the bill.

The bill was more sweeping than anything else we have seen before. When the CDC, with the authority and position they hold, sees it as imperative to make such drastic changes, then there is reason to listen.

If the proposal had been introduced, it would have meant that employees and passengers at airports, trains, buses and subways all over the United States would have to wear masks. But Pence’s task force wants it to be up to the individual states to decide whether they will require employees and passengers to wear masks. On the whole, it is the Trump administration’s wish that all handling and any restrictions of the Corona crisis should take place decentrally and be up to the individual state.

Both in Denmark and in the USA, the health authorities provide proposals for behavioral changes

The Trump administration has full control over what measures to implement because they require their Corona task force to approve and sign all Coronavirus-related policies from the CDC.

In Denmark, the National Board of Health also makes suggestions for what behavioral changes they would recommend politicians to introduce. Mette Frederiksen and her administration then decide how they will react to these proposals. At that point, the Frederiksen and Trump administrations are similar.

But where Mette Frederiksen generally listens to the experts, Trump listens to his gut feeling and the radiologist who currently has access to Trump’s ear.

You can think about Mette Frederiksen and her leadership style, whatever you want, but in a worldwide pandemic, the consequences of which no one yet knows, I wish we here in the US had a leader who listened to the experts’ advice.

Americans’ stance on individual freedom is used strategically by Trump

I have now lived in the United States for almost 10 years and I still do not understand that the individual freedom to choose must put the lives and limbs of a group or other individuals at risk.

Why should Mr. Brown have the right to kill his older neighbor because he reserves the right to send his Corona bacilli in addition to his old neighbor when they both stand like herring in a barrel in the bus on the way to work?

It is smart of the Trump administration to hand over the responsibility for handling Coronavirus to individual states. On the one hand, it relieves Trump of direct responsibility, on the other hand, it means that the states are so busy dealing with the situation that they do not turn to Trump – they are simply too busy saving human lives for that. It’s a cynical approach, but it’s strategically cunning. Meanwhile , thousands of Americans die every week.

(Google translate)

At rejse 30 timer fra USA til Danmark var som at rejse fra én planet til en anden

Trykt i Jyllands Posten 25. Maj 2020

Den amerikanske håndtering af coronakrisen har været en katastrofe, og en 30 timers flyvetur til Danmark viser tydeligt forskellen på, hvordan krisen er blevet grebet an. Mette Frederiksens kløgtige strategi har bragt danskerne et helt andet og trygt sted hen end amerikanerne.

Det var med hjertet i halsen at vores familie i sidste uge tog fra Seattle til Danmark. Når man har været i isolation så længe, som vi har, ser verden udenfor farlig ud. Måske farligere end den egentlig er. Men pga. akut sygdom i den nærmeste familie, besluttede vi os for, at vi alle skulle tage af sted. Dels fandt vi det vigtigt at hvert enkelt familiemedlem fik lov at gennemleve de følelser, der skal gennemleves, dels havde vi ikke megen lyst til at dele os op i hver vores verdensdel sådan som situationen i USA, hvor vi bor på 9. år, ser ud for tiden. Desuden er udviklingen siden Corona kom til USA i februar gået så stærkt, det er ikke til at sige, hvordan den ser ud om en måned eller to.

At rejse fra Seattle til København viste sig ikke alene at være noget vanskeligere end normalt, oplevelsen var så surrealistisk at vi lige så godt kunne have rejst fra én planet til en anden. I virkeligheden var den et billede på, hvordan USA og Danmark håndterer Coronakrisen forskelligt, og hvad det har betydet for, hvor de to lande befinder sig i forhold til at komme ud på den anden side, økonomisk og menneskeligt.

Det så fuldstændigt absurd ud. Dér ved gate B7 i LAX (Los Angeles International Airport), længst væk fra alle andre på de 2 yderste sæder i venteområdet, sad to passagerer, begge iført beskyttelsesdragter fra top til tå. De ventede på at boarde det samme fly som os. De var iført hvide heldragter, visir, N-95 hospitalsmasker med filtrer. Deres hår var gemt under hætten på de hvide dragter, og de havde blå plasticovertrækssko på og matchende blå handsker. Jeg gloede fascineret. Hvad får én til at gå så langt, selv i denne tid, hvor mere end 90.000 mennesker er døde i det land, de og vi var på vej væk fra?

Alle i lufthavnen bar masker, de fleste hjemmelavede, det er umuligt at opdrive hospitalsmasker i USA. Folk stod og sad med 2 meters mellemrum. Der var meget stille ved gaten, ikke kun fordi lufthavnen var næsten mennesketom. Ingen talte sammen, ingen talte i mobiltelefon, maskerne gør verden til et stille sted.

Imens sad de to hvidklædte i deres beskyttelsesdragter og skilte sig ud, fuldstændigt upåvirkede af, at de lignede noget, der lige var trådt ud af en operationsstue eller et filmstudie. De sad opslugte af deres mobiltelefoner, som de navigerede rundt på med deres handskebeklædte hænder. Mellem den hvide dragt og de blå overtrækssko tittede en ankel frem. Mon dragten er lige så effektiv, hvis der ikke er forsegling mellem den verden, personen prøver at beskytte sig imod og kroppen den skal beskytte?

Både SeaTac (Seattle-Tacoma International Airport) og LAX var næsten mennesketomme. Ingen kø ved security, ingen kø ved toiletterne, ikke noget med at gå i gåsegang til terminalen. Alle bar masker, rengøringspersonale, securitypersonale, stewardesser, piloter. Høj som lav.

I Amsterdam var situationen markant anderledes. Lufthavnsansatte stod i små grupper og sludrede og grinede på hollandsk. Ca. halvdelen af personale og passagerer bar maske. Der blev holdt afstand, men stemningen var en helt anden end den, vi kom fra i USA. Der blev smilet, vi blev hjulpet videre igennem den lange lufthavnspassage, hvor 2 timer lige præcis er nok til at nå fra den ene ende til den anden.

I Kastrup Lufthavn bar stort set ingen maske, hverken rejsende eller lufthavnspersonalet. Tværtimod blev der kigget nysgerrigt på os, da vi gik igennem lufthavnen med vores masker. Der blev smilet og vi blev budt velkommen ´hjem´ efter vi havde vist vores rødbedefarvede pas til kontrolløren, der jokede med yngstebarnet og ønskede ham tillykke med fødselsdagen et par dage efter. At holde afstand tog ingen rigtigt alvorligt. Personalet, der kom ind til pause og skulle købe hotdogs, kaffe og sodavand i den kiosk, vi ivrigt var søgt imod i jagten på den savnede danske slik, stod tæt og grinede og snakkede. Ungerne spurgte forundret om der ikke var ´social distancing´ i Danmark.

Jeg bor i delstaten Washington, hvor USA’s første coronasmittede blev registreret. Du husker nok, at Trump sagde, vi i USA havde en 10-15 tilfælde og at virus ville forsvinde som ved et mirakel. Det gjorde den ikke, tværtimod. Efter kort tid, pakkede journalisterne deres mikrofoner og kameraer sammen, som de havde stillet uden for det plejehjem få kilometer fra mit hjem, hvor USA’s første coronadødsfald blev registreret. Derefter tog journalisterne til New York, der stod over for det vi nu ved er mere end 20.000 dødsfald som følge af Covid-19.

“Jeg er ikke socialdemokrat,
men Mette Frederiksen har
med kløgt og koldt hoved na-
vigeret Danmark sikkert ud af
den første fase af pandemien
uden for mange menneskeliv
eller økonomiske konsekven-
ser. Det samme kan langt fra siges om Donald Trump.

Når jeg ser på, hvordan Danmark har håndteret Coronakrisen i forhold til USA, så er de 30 timer, det tog vores lille familie at komme fra den ene verdensdel til den anden et ret præcist billede af, hvor stor forskel der er på, hvordan stemningen i en befolkning er et udtryk for, hvor succesfuld den politiske ledelse opfattes som værende af befolkningen.

For det viser sig jo, at den katastrofe det var, at de amerikanske sundhedsmyndigheder (CDC) sendte Coronatests, der var så fejlbehæftede, at de måtte sendes tilbage, blot var én førstefatal fejl ud af en lang række, der fik betydning for, hvordan krisen udviklede sig og blev håndteret.

Det korte af det lange er at håndteringen af Coronakrisen i USA har været en katastrofe. Tallene taler deres helt eget forfærdelige og tydelige sprog – og her taler jeg ikke om alle de tests, som Trump er så stolt af at have foretaget men om de dødsfald, som alle har et ansigt og en familie, der sørger over dem.

I mangel på kompetent central ledelse og fælles fodslag har de desperate Demokratiske guvernører forsøgt at skabe indbyrdes alliancer og navigere samtidig med, at en dødbringende virus hærger. Håndteringen af krisen har vist sig at have partifarve. De tyndt befolkede, og ofte Republikanske stater, har valgt at åbne cafeer, restauranter og skoler på trods af at mange af dem ikke har set en nedadgående tendens i antallet af borgere, der tester positivt. I disse stater vægter økonomi åbenbart højere end menneskeliv. Omvendt reagerer de Demokratisk ledede stater med forsigtighed og understreger igen og igen at deres beslutning om en langsom åbning og tilbagevenden til en ny form for normal bygger på videnskab og fakta.

Jeg håber sådan, at amerikanerne efter denne åbenlyse mangel på ansvarlighed og medmenneskelighed ved næste præsidentvalg til november forstår, hvor vigtigt det er, at have en kompetent leder i front. En leder, der har den intellektuelle kapacitet og empati til at træffe beslutninger, der er til gavn for befolkningen som helhed og ikke kun for den base, Trump så ihærdigt prøver at holde på.

Jeg er ikke Socialdemokrat, men Mette Frederiksen har med kløgt og koldt hoved navigeret Danmark sikkert ud af den første fase af pandemien uden for mange menneskeliv eller økonomiske konsekvenser. Det samme kan langt fra siges om Donald Trump.

En af de store forskelle mellem Danmark og USA er statens hensyn til medborgere og at omsorg for ældre og syge vejer tungere i Danmark end det gør i USA, hvor det glorificerede princip om, at enhver er sin egen lykkes smed i krisetider de facto betyder, at enhver kæmper for sig selv. Og derfor sidder der nu i diverse amerikanske lufthavne skrækslagne og paniske amerikanske statsborgere som i mangel på almindelig sund fornuft ifører sig hospitalsmasker og beskyttelsesdragter.