Fredrik Lindström wrote an article about unswedishness in the latest issue of Språktidningen, and today's edition of Aftonbladet Herman Lindqvist writes about the exact same thing. Of course he's clever enough to word it a bit differently, but the fact still remains. Figures that even the giants of Swedish culture debate steal topics and ideas. I did concider making a reply to the article written by Lindström, I guess I have to write a double reply now. What I'm wondering a bit is if Herman Lindqvist doesn't think people read both. I seriously can't be the only one!
Either way they were both interesting articles. Never is a Swede as Swedish as abroad, and we do value the unswedishness of others. Unswedishness being when you let loose and just play, Swedes do have a tendency to be, if not shy, a bit cold before you know them properly. But at the same time "Swedish meat", "Swedish law", "Swedish health" and "Swedish freedom of speech" are all labels that guarantee quality and rightfulness. The values of what matter are all good to be called Swedish, while as the softer values, of cultural aspects, being a bit goofy, parties, music, art, theatre and movies benefit from being unswedish.
I don't know where I personally fall on the Swedish/unswedish scale, I've never made as many pancakes as I did when I lived in the US, nor did I ever feel as Swedish as I did then. My nationality was just a bigger part of my identity then than it is now. But then again, I do value the softer aspects high, such as literature and art rather high, and I want to bang my head in the wall whenever someone mentions Livsmedelsverket or Vägverket, so maybe I'm just a typical unswedish Swede.
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