Cultural Appropriation Scandinavian Style

Hat tip John Speedie for audio


In Sweden, Denmark and Norway, Scandinavian-American relations have hit a new low over what they say are cases of cultural appropriation using offensive and racist images of Vikings. Specifically they are objecting to TV ads for Capital One credit cards and the use of the name "Vikings" by the Minnesota NFL franchise. At the risk of being censored by my web server, I am posting a few of these images.

"What's in your wallet?"

Above is an example of the hypocrisy of a supposed liberal, ham actor Alec Baldwin, prostituting himself in a TV ad that mocks Scandinavian culture.

Above: Insensitive fans at a Minnesota Vikings football game. Note the use of racist symbols, such as helmet, horns, blond hair, and blond baseball caps.

During the past few days, mass protests have broken out in front of the US embassies in Oslo, Stockholm, and Copenhagen. In Stockholm, protesters climbed the walls of the US compound and set fires in the yard before being beaten back by police. With the embassy cordoned off by police, protesters took to the streets in the mostly Viking-inhabited suburb of Husby, where cars were set on fire by roving bands of people described only as "youths" ( a politically-correct term used in Scandinavia for Vikings).




 American embassy personnel were told to stay home all week and travel advisories were issued for the above three countries. Americans have been told to avoid travel to the region.

Meanwhile, back in the States, the State Department in Washington issued a statement to be released by the respective embassies deploring the mockery of Vikings, but added that there was little they could do because of freedom of speech. Nevertheless, Mr Baldwin was taken into custody by New York police on trumped up charges of disorderly conduct for cursing at reporters and threatening a paparazzo. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Yesterday, Democratic members of Congress passed a joint resolution calling on the Minnesota Vikings to change their name and logo.




However, even within Scandinavia, there is discord over a Danish-themed party held by a student fraternity at the Swedish University of Uppsala, in which students came dressed as Ugly Ducklings, Little Mermaids, and Cheese Danishes.

Cheese Danishes.

Here are some of the disturbing photos.

Danish exchange students at Uppsala were quick to condemn the party and called on the school senate to issue a proclamation against the offending fraternity, which was done in an emergency session. Danish student Lars Andersen spoke at the session and condemned what he called the Swedish hegemonic structure that appropriated Danish images as objects of mockery. He called for the offending students to be expelled. In response, fraternity president Lars Svensen apologized and said that the images were not intended to insult or mock Danish culture. He accepted the senate recommendation that all members of the fraternity undergo sensitivity training, whereby they could learn the real history of Danish culture including things like herring, smorgasbord, meatballs, aquavit, and the Viking tradition of non violence.

University spokeperson, Katerina Larssen told reporters the following:

"The administration and student affairs is using it as an opportunity to show to fraternities what cultural appropriation is and how they might be more sensitive, to be able to have their week of philanthropy that ends in a social event without offending others,”

In conclusion, the travel advisory for Scandinavia remains in effect as protests continue.


"Damn those commercials."