Kategori: Politics in America

New York vil ikke have våben i det offentlige rum, men det må de leve med, fastslår en ny Højesteretsafgørelse.

Højesteret trækker i én retning og Senatet i en anden. Imens må vi vænne os til at være levende skydeskiver, hvis vi bevæger os uden for døren.

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New York does not want people carrying weapons in public. But a new Supreme Court ruling states that is against people´s constitutional right.

The Supreme Court pulls in one direction and the Senate in another. Meanwhile, we have to get used to being with live shooters if we move outside the door.

The US Supreme Court has ruled that it is against the “second amendment” (which gives a citizen the right to possess and carry a weapon) if a state tries to make restrictions on whether people can carry a weapon in public space.

A few weeks ago, the United States had a school shooting that was one of the worst in the country’s history. Nineteen children and two adults were killed, most of the children between the ages of eight and ten. The Americans were in shock, parents demanded changes to the gun laws, and politicians in the Democratic Party once again saw an opportunity to try to get tighter gun laws through.

In the United States, Supreme Court justices are appointed politically. Trump elected three judges, all with ultra-conservative, Christian views. Although Trump is no longer in the White House, the reverberations of electing these Supreme Court justices will shape U.S. law and society for generations to come.

A few weeks ago, I was sitting in my kitchen talking to a man about gun laws in the United States. The mood was respectful even though we were far apart in values and opinions. One of his remarks stood out, and gave me an idea of what people who believe in equality and tighter gun laws are up against.

“You want to have the right to decide over your own bodies. I support that. You can do what you want. I as a man do not have any right to go against that. But at the same time you want to take my right to bear arms away from me. You cannot insist on an individual right on one hand but not on another.”

Rhetorically, it is a rather ingenious argument – even if it does not make sense upon closer inspection. Initially, it makes sense to insist on the individual’s right to own and carry any weapon and as many as possible and compare that directly to a woman’s individual right to make a choice about her body.

“The difference is that you can kill an entire school class in one minute while the woman is not harming anyone,” I replied.

“I would argue otherwise,” the guy said. “She kills too, she kills her child.”

I was dumbfounded for a second. But that´s where we are, that’s where many Republicans stand. The Supreme Court is aware of this, and their role is t stand by the base that Trump has placed them to represent. We now see the consequences of this, because the Supreme Court is currently making a name for itself with controversial announcements.

A short time ago, a document from the Supreme Court was leaked. It made it clear that the court intents to reverse Roe v Wade that ruled that the woman’s right to choose over her own body was higher than the state’s right to make restrictions on her right to an abortion.

Today came another announcement, this time about the right to bear arms in public space. The case was about New York but will have consequences for the whole country.

Both decisions wil make white men feel as if they are in control when they tell women that they can not decide for themselves what they want to do with their body. At the same time, they can strut up and down streets and alleys with their weapons as an extension of the masculinity they so clearly do not possess – and seen in the light of who got the Supreme Court judges appointed, that war on values targets women and minorities.

So dear Danish tourists: Welcome to the wild west. If you’re planning to take a trip to New York, be prepared for that pit in your stomach when you can visibly see people carry guns. And prepare for what every American child knows by heart because they practice it several times a year, namely what you will do if a shooting takes place in the subway, in the mall, or in the public space.

I USA er svaret på våben i de forkerte hænder åbenbart våben i gode menneskers hænder

For mange amerikanere er individuelle frihedsrettigheder vigtigere end ønsket om våbenrestriktioner.

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In the United States, the answer to guns in the hands of bad guys is apparently more guns in the hands of good guys

For many Americans, individual liberties are more important than gun restrictions.

‘The children quickly get used to an armed guard at school. After a few days, the older, retired sniper is a part of their everyday life. “

“In the United States, we have a pandemic when it comes to shootings. This year alone, we have had more than 250 mass shootings, 38 since the school shooting in Texas two weeks ago that cost 19 children and two adults their lives.

I am struggling to find the right facial expression, not quite sure how to react. A man from a local furnace company is sitting in my kitchen. He is originally from Texas and likes to share his political views while making calculations on various heating options that might be relevant for my home.

“But is it not problematic that we have to have this debate in the first place?”

In the United States, we have a pandemic when it comes to shootings. This year alone, we have had more than 250 mass shootings, 38 since the school shooting in Texas two weeks ago that cost 19 children and two adults their lives.

“There are more weapons in the United States than there are people. They’ll never take our weapons from us.” I do not comment on his use of “they,” because that view on society where the fear of the government as a regulatory monster, I’m not interested in going into.

What I am very interested in is hearing his thoughts on what he thinks should be done about the situation the United States is where mass shootings are part of everyday life.

“It is a right and an honor to carry a gun. When I carry a gun, I have made a decision. I am ready to sacrifice my life if a situation arises where I have to protect myself or my fellow citizens. “

It’s not often I get the opportunity to talk to someone with viewpoints so different from my own. Fortunately, he was more than willing to share his views, and the conversation stretched far and wide with a respect for each other’s views. One thing was clear after our conversation: For many Americans, the right to individual freedom is more important than restrictions.

Not once did he mention calling the police. Instead, he listed quite a few scenarios where I myself would either jump out the window and run away or call the police, but where the natural reaction for him was a confrontation with an automatic weapon.

The conversation made me think about American society in general. Because the conversation was a clear example of why nothing significant is going to change in America´s weapons legislation – even if the media is still dominated by discussions and conversations focusing on what can be done in relation to weapons legislation and access.

Maybe there will be a subordinate change that has no real effect, but we will not see any radical changes – not even after angry actors, grieving mothers, frustrated politicians in favor of restrictions in the legislation, are pleeding and appealing for changes in gun legislation.

The salesman in my kitchen was no cliché Texan with a cowboy hat and bulletproof vest. He was an ordinary, kind, proud American – who fully and firmly believes in the right to bear arms. Also the kind that fires several shots per second.

And he was of the opinion that legislation would mean restrictions for ordinary law-abiding citizens like himself – and if there is one thing individualistic freedom-loving Americans do not want to be a part of – it is to have their freedoms reduced. In fairness, he was open to changing the laws so that 18-year-olds should only be allowed to use an AR-15, the same weapon that the 18-year-old perpetrator used at a Texas school two weeks ago, in the company of an adult.

“Your political survival is subordinate to the survival of our children.” Those words were uttered yesterday by Nancy Pelosi, Democrat and leader of the House of Representatives.

Protect Our Children, is the name of the bill that went through the House and is now going on to the Senate, where it will without a doubt be buried along with all the other bills that seek to implement restrictions on guns.

Every time I visit an office building, I have to go through a security screening before I am allowed to enter.

This is also the case at my children’s schools, where I can not just walk in but have to wait outside before I am buzzed into a middle office, where I then either have to wait for my child to be called from his classroom, or must register to be allowed to enter the school.

Maybe the salesman who was sitting in my kitchen yesterday is right: In a short time, I might be chatting with a visibly armed guard when I pick up my kids at their respective schools? Because in this country, the answer to weapons in the wrong hands is apparently more weapons in the hands of good guys.

Så længe amerikanerne elsker deres våben højere end deres børn, vil vi se skoleskyderier. Igen og igen og igen

En 18-årig købte automatvåben på sin fødselsdag og skød derefter 19 børn og to lærere

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As long as Americans love their guns more than they love their children, we will see school shootings. Again and again and again.

An 18-year-old bought an automatic weapon on his birthday and then shot 19 children and two teachers

“It is with a heavy heart that I receive the news of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.”

The email from the school superintendent at my daughter’s school begins with these words. I did see the email ticking in a few hours ago. “Uvalde, Texas School Shooting,” the subject line read.

But I did not open the email. Could not, had to wait a few hours before I was able to read. Eventually, I couldn’t put it off any longer. What if the email said something I needed to know – for the sake of my own children?

Shortly after our family arrived in the United States, a school shooting that is now known as the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting, took place at a school for students from 0.-5. grade. 20 children and 6 adults were mowed down by a man with an automatic weapon. The school’s internal system had quickly announced that there was an “active shooter”at the school, and the teachers followed the safety protocols that they and the children had regularly practiced, and hid in closets, barricaded doors to classrooms, and stayed away from windows and doors. They did everything they could. And still, they were hit by tragegy.

I especially remember the Sandy Hook school shooting more clearly than others. Partly because it caused very young children their lives, partly because that day changed something fundamental in me that had to do with grief and anger over what defines how Americans relate to principles and common sense.

Today, I again find myself in a state of shock. I am overwhelmed with grief. It’s something different to experience the news when you live here in the United States and have children who go to a similar school and watching the TV screen show the pictures over and over again than it is to sit on the other side of the globe in Europe and read about an incomprehensible American system that makes such tragedies possible.

I thought for a long time that I had such a hard time understanding the relationship to weapons here in the US because I was Danish. But many Americans share my disgust for a hardcore, antiquated cowboy approach to what is here known as “the Second Amendment,” which is about Americans’ right to bear arms. The fanatical religious approach to the wording of the constitution is nauseating – and puts politicians backed by the arms lobbies and arms manufacturers higher than the lives of children and citizens.

“If you think that tragedies like the one that Americans go through every single week cause Americans to buy fewer weapons, you are wrong. Every time a shooting finds its way to the media and people are afraid that there will be regulations in the right to bear arms, there is a queue in front of the arms shops.

And what happens now? Absolutely nothing, of course. Joe Biden has condemned the atrocity, asked the Americans when enough is enough. But he has no real power to do anything. Texas’ governor and prominent Texas politicians such as Ted Cruise are repeating the old phrases about the right of the individual and that it is not the way forward to ban the carrying and buying of weapons. Perhaps Ted Cruise is signaling to the nation’s largest arms lobby, the NRA (National Rifle Association), that everything will continue as planned when they gather for a conference this coming weekend – in Texas.

The man who completed his insane shooting yesterday was 18 years old. As a birthday present, he gave himself various weapons, including an automatic weapon and ammunition. But the mass shooting yesterday is far from the only one that has taken place in the United States this year. In this country, we do not hear about all the mass shootings that take place. If that was the case, the media would spend all their air time reporting on than that. Only a few mass shootings break through to the media, but this year alone, not even halfway into 2022, more than 200 mass shootings have taken place in America.

However, when school shootings involve young children the media reports on it. It’s the same process every time: News hosts with deep sympathizing voices interviewing crying relatives, audio recordings where we hear screams and shooting, pictures of children running scared from buildings, according to the drills they have trained for, and politicians saying they are praying for the victims and their families. Republicans who do not want to change the law and introduce stricter gun control. Democrats who highlight the bloody and morbid relationship by the United States to legislation that gives Americans the right to bear arms in a country that has more weapons than residents.

And meanwhile, in my children’s schools, drills are being carried out every month. Drills that teach them what to do in the event of an earthquake or how to react if there is a bear in the area. I’m fine with those drills. But on the same day as the school shooting in Texas took place, my daughter had an “active threat drill” which is about how students should behave if there is a school shooting at their school. I have not yet learned to relate to these drills in a levelheaded way.

And if you think that tragedies like the one that Americans go through every single week cause Americans to buy fewer weapons, you’re wrong. Every time a shooting finds its way to the media and people are afraid that there will be regulations in the right to bear arms, there is a queue in front of the arms shops. Sales are rising, more deadly weapons are finding their way into American hands.

And what do you do after reading the email from the school superintendent? You talk to your children. If they want to. Because when I gently told my daughter that there might be some at her school who would mention a school shooting, she let me know with her short “okay” that she did not want to talk about it. I check again, prompting another way to engage. “Okay,” she says again with the same dismissive tone. And that’s a human way of reacting, too. By closing off. Because this is her everyday life. She must always be on alert, navigating a reality where she knows a school shooting could at any time happen. I understand her way of shutting this fact out of her life. She is powerless, has no say when it comes to the adults’ mindlessly incomprehensible priorities. Because as long as Americans value their right to bear arms more than the safety of their children, school shootings will take place – over and over and over again.

Over en million er døde af corona i USA – men amerikanerne er ligeglade

Metaltræthed præger coronadebatten, selv om hospitalsindlæggelserne igen stiger.

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More than 1 million Americans have died from the Corona virus but nobody seems to care.

Corona fatigue characterizes the debate, although hospital admissions are rising.

It’s Wednesday morning, the clock shows 5:45 am. I reach for my my cell phone. A text in red lights up on the screen: “You have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19.” This is the first time I receive such a message, but I came back from Denmark three days ago, so the message does not surprise me.

“In Denmark, confidence in public authorities and health experts is fortunately much greater than it is in America. The Danish population has not experienced the same heartbreaking consequences as we see in the US, where people react to Covid as a political disease

On my first trip to Denmark in almost two years, not many people were wearing masks on the plane from Seattle to Iceland. From Iceland to Copenhagen, I was the only one out of a handful, and in the metro, wearing my KN95 mask made me stand out to the extend that I got an answer in English when I asked a Danish fellow passenger in Danish for directions.

“Prepare for more waves,” the White House warns, while I blink dully in front of my TV screen. I do not notice any reaction from the journalists in the conference room either.

In the last three months, 100,000 Americans have died from the Corona virus and the media talks about crossing a milestone of a total of over 1 million dead Americans from the virus. The truth is, however, that according to the University of Washington, America already passed this grim number last year if you include direct and indirect courses to Covid-19.

1 in 330 Americans have died, everyone knows or has heard of someone who has had the virus. The long-term effects of Covid have hit thousands of people struggling to hold on to their daily lives in a country where the fear of losing everything over night always lurks just below the surface. It is completely unfathomable that so many have died in the world’s richest country, where everyone over 12 has access to the vaccine. More than 300,000 Americans did not have to pay the ultimate price had they chosen to get vaccinated. But when it comes to public health policy, vaccines and masks have become an expression of political stance.

In Denmark, confidence in public authorities and health experts is fortunately much greater than it is in America. The Danish population has not experienced the same heartbreaking consequences as we see in the US, where people react to Covid as a political disease rather than a public health issue. During my ten days in Copenhagen and Aarhus, I sat in the metro and on busses, in cafes, restaurants, and bars, and everyone went about their lives as if Covid was a thing of the past. The Danes shrug when they hear of raising positive cases. They are vaccinated and know that if they get infected, they will most likely have mild symptoms.

Joe Biden has a reputation for being empathetic when it comes to talking about loss. More than anyone, he knows what loss does to a human being. But he, too, sounds rehearsed and tired when he softly whispers: “We must not become numb to loss.”

The truth is, we have become numb. The shock we felt in the beginning of the pandemic has subsided. The horror of the death toll from countries like Brazil, Italy, England, and the United States, where we saw quickly erected tents with people lying in a row in knock-out-beds in uneven bedding, the sound of pumping machines, coughing and rasping voices, have subsided. The news on tv no longer show such images but reports dryly about millions in isolation in Chinese cities, millions of unvaccinated positive cases in North Korea, and about a new virus wave in South Africa caused by a new variant, it is impossible to remember the name of. And in the meantime, I shake off the words from the news anchor, focus my attention on Ukraine and the debate on Roe v Wade – and embrace the world around me, even though the infection rates are higher than they have been for months.

Today was my son’s birthday. So I put the cellphone away and set the breakfast table with Danish flags and flowers by his plate as is custom. When he ran off to catch the school bus, I found a home Covid test. One strip told me, the test was negative. Some day there will be two strips showing me that I have tested positive. But until then, I choose to let the Danish side of my brain take over and let life feel a little lighter than it has the last few years.

Ingen kvinde, homoseksuel eller minoritet kan vide sig sikker i USA

Den amerikanske højesteret tager politisk standpunkt imod kvinders rettigheder. Tiden er ikke til at fortvivle, den er til at kæmpe – for kvinder, minoriteter og sociale udsatte gruppers rettigheder.

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No woman, gay, or minority should feel safe and protected in the United States

The US Supreme Court takes a political stand against women’s rights. The time is not to despair, it is to fight – for the rights of women, minorities and socially disadvantaged groups.

“Keep your fingers from my uterus!”, “My body, my choice!” and “Abortion is a matter between a woman and her doctor,” are some of the statements on the banners the demonstrators carry. For the last few days, I have been following the debate about the leaked document from the Supreme Court and the intent to reverse Roe vs. Wade. The population in the United States is shocked about this news. My shock goes deeper than just shaking my head when it comes to the polarized stands in America on weapons, politics and abortion.

The hatred, the lies, the desire for power and oppression leave me with a sad uneasiness and feeling of having been manipulated and misled- even though I was aware that Trump’s appointment of no less than three Supreme Court justices could have fatal consequences, beyond his time in the White House.

Nearly 50 years ago, a case was settled in the U.S. Supreme Court that grants a woman the right to abortion. The law is known as Roe vs. Wade – a woman sued the state of Texas because the state banned abortion unless the woman’s life was at stake. The case ended before the Supreme Court, which ruled that the individual woman’s right to choose abortion is above a state’s abortion law.

“Maybe we should do something about the structural reasons for why a reversal of abortion legislation will disproportionately affect the weakest in society instead of making life harder for them?

Since then, the debate has been heated. In recent months, several states have enacted legislation on abortion that makes it virtually impossible for a woman to detect that she is pregnant before the time limit for having an abortion is exceeded.

There are, of course, many arguments from both the pro life and the pro choise sides shouting and waving their banners. That´s how it is in the United States, especially when it comes to highly contested political views.

What I do not understand is why pro lifers can not just be against abortion – for themselves. Why can´t they let other women decide what is right for them? How can you be so self-righteous in your indignation that you feel you have the right to judge another human being who may or may not have a thousand reasons for her choise? Freedom for all, is something America pride itself of, apparently that does not apply to a woman’s right to decide over her own body.

For when self-righteous, often white, ultra-religious with privileges and access to health care feel they have the right to impose their anti-abortion message to vulnerable women, it honestly makes me sick to see their desire for self-assertion and lack of empathy.

This is America, and here, as opposed to Denmark, you do not have access to the health care system when you need it, without having to pay for it. It is primarily black and Latina women who need an abortion – and there are many reasons for this.

Maybe we should do something about the structural reasons for why a reversal of abortion legislation will disproportionately affect the weakest in society instead of making life harder for them? How anyone can think they have the right to harass and persecute others with their arrogant, cynical stance on something that should be a private matter between a patient and her doctor, I fail to understand.

One of the Supreme Court judges’ argues that Roe vs. Wade should never have been in favor of the individual woman’s right in the first place – because the Constitution does not mention abortion. There is quite a lot of our current way of life that is not mentioned in the American Constitution of 1788. If the argument is stretched, then what implications does it have for gay marriages just to name one example?

Several states are ready to introduce legislation that makes it illegal to have an abortion. Other states have indicated that they will help women with the procedure who cannot have an abortion legally in their own state. The United States is more divided than it has been for decades, and women’s rights are now an active part of a larger movement that divides the country even further.

Wanting to control and oppress women is nothing new, men have always wanted to dominate women and their right to control their own bodies. But if you think they will stop at women’s bodies, you are wrong.

In a society with racial, cultural and religious diversity and with a disparity between rich and poor, sontrol and oppression of the vulnerable and minorities is what keeps you in power.

The time is not to despair, it is to fight – for the rights of women, minorities, and socially disadvantaged groups.

Børnene er de konservatives næste angrebsmål

Ny lov skal forbyde skoler at tale om kønsidentitet. Men hvorfor kan vores unger ikke være det, de er, uden at vi føler, at vi har en eller anden ret til at vende tommeltotten op eller ned?

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Identity politics: The Republican Party is targeting our children

Florida´s new law will ban schools from talking about gender identity. But why don´t we allow our kids to be who they are without feeling we have a right to judge?

The state of Florida is known for sun, sea, retirees, and Cubans.

Now, the state is introducing of a “Don´t Say Gay”-law which would ban any talk of LGBTQIA+ people, sexual orientation, and gender identity in schools.

Have we learned nothing?

I hate to say it, but even if you close your eyes to something and bury your head in the sand, what you try to not see is still there. If we deny young people an opportunity to share their thoughts, it will have a catastrophic effect on mental health for these vulnerable young people.

All young people need to have an opportunity to talk about and explore their identity. My own teenage daughter is one of them. At her school, there is a Rainbow Club every Thursday after school.

For a long time, my daughter thought she was ace, (asexual). She wore the purple flag, wore purple clothes with sequins on the jacket. I had a feeling it was rooted on the fact that she was not yet ready to talk about the topics that her tween friends were starting to talk about. But I kept that assumption to myself. Instead, we talked about identity and about finding out who you are.

Recently, our daughter told us she is no longer an ace. She now thinks boys are rather interesting. She still attends Rainbow Club, because of the atmosphere and because many of her friends go there.

Why can´t our kids be who they are without us feeling we have a right to judge? And why can we not be open to the fact that their identity is fluid, and that we just have to hang on and follow along on the sidelines? Why is it more important to be able to understand their identity than to make them feel accepted?

It may come as a surprise that Florida is bringing a law like this up when a 2021 Gallup poll shows that 70 percent. of all Americans are in favor of gay marriage.

But the governor of the sunny crocodile state has big political ambitions, and the political climate is such that members of The Republican Party is trying to see who can have the most extreme mindset. Never mind the LGBTQIA+ casualties when trying to bring the discourse of identity back to the 1950s.

A few months ago, I spoke with a Danish friend who lives with her wife and their two daughters in a state in the middle of the United States. »Pearl, Triangle and Square. I don´t understand! Are they dressing up, are they men or women !?”, she asked.

“I had no idea what some of the abbreviations stood for and I did not understand why it was so important. Time and again, I had to say, “Hey, I’m on your team, don´t direct your frustration at me” to my daughter.

“Does it matter?” I replied.

“They are trying to figure themselves out and this way frankly seem pretty harmless to me. Isn´t it amazing the way they are able to talk about identity in a way our generation never was?”

Even for my friend, who, is in the LGBTQIA+ community, it’s hard to understand the identity markers this generation of youth use. As humans, we are weary, maybe even resistant when we encounter something other, we do not understand.

That’s how I felt myself. I still regularly make “mistakes” and then reap a glimpse of contempt from my daughter, who makes me understand that I have messed up. I had no idea what some of the abbreviations stood for and I did not understand why it was so important. Time and again and again I had to say, “Hey, I’m on your team, don´t direct your frustration at med” to my daughter.

But this is important for young people. And it’s deeply personal. For them, it’s about many things, but it’s also about them having a need to see that we as adults respect them as individuals.

We do not have to understand to respect. Our generation does not have to stifle young people’s need to talk about and find their identity – it is not a threat to us. In fact, it is not about us at all.

Children and young people must be met with openness. All children deserve love, empathy, respect, and protection – even if they do not fit into a box we understand. Everything else is heartless.

And yes, it is important what’s going on in Florida. Just like it is important to know that the state of Texas has introduced abortion rules that make it virtually impossible for a woman to terminate her pregnancy.

Because when you little by little systematically deprive citizens of their rights, the strategy starts with minorities. It makes sense: The likelihood of the surrounding society, those with the privileges, likely won´t react.

But even if a law that deprives a group of people of their rights does not affect us personally, we must respond. Because it’s the right thing to do – and because maybe next time it’s our turn to lose a right.

Glem ”hygge” som sællert i udlandet – Danmarks succes er sammenhold

Danmark kan løfte covid-restriktioner, fordi danskerne bakker op om videnskaben.

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Forget “hygge” as international branding – Denmark’s success is “togetherness”

The reason why Denmark can lift covid restrictions is because the population work together and believe in science.

All eyes are again on Denmark.

Yet again, the country is a frontrunner when it comes to handling the Corona virus. The consequences of the Omikron variant was apparently not as dire as the health authorities feared.

Now, some restrictions are lifted. Cultural venues can reopen, children are back in schools, the hospitalizations are at a manageable level.

All of this happened, because the population have done their part. Each individual Dane has made sensible corona choices. The choices may not always have been easy to make, but they have meant that society as a whole is moving towards greater freedom – and that benefits everyone.

In the United States, we see infection rates like never before. Between 700,000 and 1 million. pr. day. Many never become part of the statistics – because they do not want to be registered, or because they cannot get a test until next week due to lack of testing capacity. 150,000 are hospitalized with Covid, the highest number at any time during the pandemic.

The American population is divided. While Biden and his team are trying to appeal to the public to get vaccinated, many people have a skepticism against the state weighing in on their personal lives. In their pursuit of political gain, many Republican state governors strongly oppose health officials’ recommendations.

“I am proud of the way,

Denmark has handled

the last two years.

Politicians react based on

advice from health and science professional,

and everyone has access to vaccines.”

We have been living with Covid for two years now. Every society in the world, every single citizen’s everyday life, every single family has had to deal with the disease and its consequences.

Personally, I am emotionally exhausted. Even though I am in a privileged situation where I and my children have access to vaccines. I’m honestly so tired of how familiar the names Brostrøm and Fauci sound.

The constant announcements from the authorities, new mutations, restrictions, changes in behavior, cancellations of social events, changes in the children’s everyday lives – it all takes my breath away. Add to that a concern for my children’s mental health and their memory of a childhood during a pandemic.

And then there are the concerns for my neighbors, for the people of the world and the societal consequences we see around the world in the form of riots, empty shelves in grocery stores, the exploitation from dark totalitarian powers now that the attention is directed away from their abuses.

I am far from the only one who is exhausted over constantly dealing with topics of illness, fear of death and a fear of political instability. Every day, I hear from friends, neighbors or the media that people suffer from “covid- fatique ” because of the constant worries.

“Do you want to give a lecture about Denmark and hygge,” my former Professor colleague asked when she invited me to come to the University of Washington to give a guest lecturer in the class she was teaching in Scandinavian culture.

“No, I don´t want to do that,” I replied.

“But I would like to talk about what it is that makes the Danish population stand together, how there is a general trust in the authorities, and why the model of society works in a way that makes the country so well-functioning.”

So, I did – and while the students asked me to elaborate on the way the country works, I realized there are things I miss about my old country.

When I see how Denmark has handled the last two years, I am proud. Politicians are reacting based on advice from health and science professionals, and everyone has access to vaccines. Most importantly, the people stand together and support the decisions that are being implemented – even when they do not agree politically.

The rest of the world could learn a lot from that attitude.

Hvem deltog i kupforsøget i USA for et år siden? Et overraskende billede tegner sig

Helt almindelige amerikanere er villige til at ty til vold.

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Who participated in the insurrection a year ago? The answer might surprise you

Ordinary American citizens are willing to resort to violence.

“What the fuck is going on?” Those were the first words I heard when my Danish friend called me on January 6 last year. We were on opposite sides of the globe and were both watching, paralyzed by the images on our TV screens.

The images on the screen showed thousands of aggressive people, many with Trump flags and in military-like attire, hammering at police officers, smashing windows and doors and forcing their way in to the Capitol building, where the crowed went howling and screaming from corridor to corridor to find prominent politicians’ offices. That day, both civilians and police officers lost their lives.

“It will be ok. The American system is strong,” said my former colleague when I spoke to him a few minutes before the conversation with my friend in Denmark. He is an elderly gentleman, and he served at the University of Washington as a professor of history for more than 30 years. I had called him crying, hoping to hear some calming words from this experienced man – I needed him to say that America would be ok after this.

Who went to Washington DC that day when the situation went crazy and people stormed Congress?

Contrary to what one might think, many of the rioters were citizens without extreme right winged leanings. And that fact is scary.

It turns out that those who behaved most violently on January 6, 2020, were not people on the authorities list of threats. Most have never committed a crime before. They were our neighbors, active in their churches – ordinary Americans. In other words, they do not fit the profile of a typical extremist.

But they believed, were completely convinced, that Trump won the presidential election. Their sense of justice had suffered a setback. And so they felt violence was ok.

If ordinary people feel that they have the right to use and react with violent, anti-democratic methods when their sense of justice is violated, then we are potentially facing a huge problem in the future.

Despite the fact that this feeling of injustice and election fraud was rooted in conspiratorial beliefs, the events on that horrible day in January last year, show us that this or a similar attack on our democracy could happen again if an election result goes against some people´s preference.

How long do we have a democracy if various private individuals feel they have a right to violently oppose democracy – even when there is no, as in absolutely none, zip, zero, evidence for their claim of fraudulence?

Since the attack on democracy a year ago, conspiracy theories have not diminished. On various electronic platforms, multiple outrageous conspiracy theories thrives. In these lonely Corona times it might be understandable that some people can fall into a black hole and be trapped and sucked in to such a universe. After all, we all need a sense of community and on a certain level, these groups offer that – however sick they are in their mindsets. But who bears responsibility and who do we hold accountable for the threat to democracy?

In the United States, economic means create power. At the same time, political decision-making processes moves at a snail’s pace. Meanwhile, social platforms are making money, and the conspiracy theories people are willing to believe in are becoming more and more insane.

To put it mildly, it has been an uncommonly ugly sight to see politicians compromise on democratic principles instead of showing the people that they are working to make the democracy they claim to be fighting for stronger and make sure nothing like we saw last year will ever happen again.

Whether it’s a right-wing Trump extremist, a hard-working UPS worker, or a young man looking for an adrenaline rush that took part in the terrorist attack on Congress and US democracy last year, the fact is that they need to be prosecuted – every single one of them.

Because everyone has an individual responsibility, and one should be held accountable for one’s actions – even if one regrets or was caught in the moment and did things one would otherwise never have done.

The investigation process is underway, but it is moving far too slow, and it is important for the surrounding community’s belief in the system to get a feeling that the justice system and democracy work – preferably before the next presidential election.

We cannot forget, however, that the main culprit for the attack on the US election process is Donald Trump – and he must be held responsible for having used ordinary citizens as puppets in his attempt to overthrow democracy in God’s own country.

Danmark bør følge USA og lave en diplomatisk boykot af OL i Kina

Sport og politik har altid været blandet sammen; at påstå det modsatte er et privilegeret og mageligt standpunkt.

Læs hele bloggen her:

Denmark should follow the United States and make a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics in China

Sports and politics have always been mixed together; to claim the opposite is a privileged and leisurely position.

You are overreacting – that´s never going to happen!

That was the reaction I was met with in Denmark a few years ago. I was on vacation in Denmark and the discussion I was engaging in took place in a Copenhagen kitchen – far from China and the USA. I claimed that China was dangerous and would soon gain economic power to the extend that the world would not dare to go against the country when it violated human rights.

And here we are. The United States and other nations has announced a diplomatic boycot of the country – they will cheer for their athletes but will do so from home. That decission is the right thing to do. I would prefer that the Olympics were not held in China at all, that the whole world would boycott the event. But that is not going to happen, so the next best thing – a diplomatic boycott – is an important strategic signal. For China is not part of the club when it comes to human rights, and Western democracies must dare to say thta out loud.

The United States is signaling that China’s views on human rights and the treatment of its own citizens are unacceptable. America refuses to send an official diplomatic signal that would legitimize the regime. It may result in consequences in relation to trade agreements, environmental negotiations, etc., but it is a question of integrity – and Denmark and Europe aught to stand up for the human rights they claim to fight for.

The sports world is full of corruption. Again and again we learn about shady deals, where huge sums of money change hands, and holding sporting events are dependent on what sums a country is willing to slip into the pockets of a decision maker. That is unfortunately the way things are, and if we are being honest, we know it – even if we would rather close our eyes and comfortably sit back on the sofa in front of the TV screen while watching the athletes.

To claim that sports and politics have nothing to do with each other is a privileged stand point. And what’s more, it’s so unsympathetic and distasteful that I have a hard time finding a vocabulary suitable for the printed press to describe it.

Because if you claim that you “just” want to sit and scroll in front of the screen and enjoy watching your sport without supporting a diplomatic boycott, you are de facto supporting a regime that has millions of human lives on its conscience. People who, for one reason or another, do not agree with the regime – and pay a hefty price for their desire to think, speak, and believe freely. If you do not take a stand, you are essentially contributing and supporting and thus partly responsible.

But if it does not worry you or touch a string in your human right spoiled universe far from a world where athletes disappear and people are sent to labor camps if they do not show the right loyalty to the Chinese government, then just take a bite out of your pizza slice and down it with a sip of microbrew beer while cheering on your Danish homeland.

We have a responsibility, and we can not just turn our backs because it is convenient for us. Denmark has not yet sided with democracy and human rights in the issue of the Olympics in China. Who knows, maybe the country will one of the next few days – but I wonder if the politicians would have given it a second thought at all, had it not been for the United States stand?

Until a decision is made, Denmark signals no hesitation in sending princes, politicians and diplomats to a dictatorship without respect for human life and the rights of the individual.

»Jeg bliver en broccoliborgmester,« siger New Yorks nyvalgte leder

Nye tider i New York varsler måske nye tider i USA.

Læs hele bloggen her:

“I’m going to be a broccoli mayor,” says New York’s newly elected leader

New times in New York may herald new times in the United States.

“I’m going to be a broccoli mayor,” newly elected Eric Adams, New York’s new mayor, told city citizens. “You´re not going to like it when you eat it, but long term, you’re going to see the benefits of it.”

The newly elected mayor is a good example of what Americans want. And if you look at who Adams is, there is hope for America.

The election across the United States on Tuesday was focused on issues around crime and police work.

Tuesday’s election showed that Americans do not shy away from debating. But ordinary citizens want the police to ensure a safe community. Americans do things their own way and can think for themselves.

Across the United States, mid-leaning police force-supporting politicians won over more extreme candidates. The reason is that the vast majority of Americans want peace, security, and safety on their streets in the city center and in their neighborhoods.

Adams has told the press that when he faces an obstacle or needs to pause and think, he plays Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” Because that’s how he and the United States do things.

New York’s new mayor, Eric Adams, is the American dream. He worked as a dishwasher, had a learning difficulty as a student in grade school, was arrested as a young man and beaten by the police.

The same night the police beat him up, Adams’ life changed. He decided to turn his life around, started going to school at night while working during the day. He became a police officer and for the past +20 years he has focused on becoming the mayor of New York.

Adams is African American. He rose up from a challenged socio economic challenged life and being on the wrong side of the law. As a former police officer, he has spend time on both sides of the interrogation table. He emphasizes that safety and security are the most important parameters for making an urban area thrive. If these fundamental civil rights are not in place, nothing else will work.

As in the rest of the United States, there are plenty of problems to deal with in New York, where violence and shootings and abuse of police force have spiked after the corona pandemic.

Adams and the United States do things their way. And that is sometimes just as healthy as broccoli.