Comments on: A Lovely Land Is Ours

By: Siena

Siena — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:15:59 +0000

I feel that your description of Danes pretty much match my most negative feelings about Norwegians. Luckily there are also a lot of cool and tolerant people here, otherwise I guess I had moved abroad too.
(BTW: I know a lot of nice and easygoing Danes and have had great trips to Denmark. I feel that Danes are a lot more relaxed than Norwegians, so I guess you shouldn`t visit Norway…)

By: Karie

Karie — Wed, 20 May 2009 07:35:11 +0000

@Jen: Best of luck to the Viking. I hadn’t heard about the bbq, but I haven’t been to the BM meet-ups of late ..

@unblinkered: we need to have a chat, don’t we? :)

@Stefan: I’ll view that as a compliment!

@xtiand: Unfortunately the Danish equivalent of the BNP isn’t laughed out of the room like they’d be (most places) in the UK. It is difficult to convey that tightly-knitted sense of “Danishness” which feels very much like an either/or option.

@bells: you’ve asked the wrong Dane as I’m one of the 0.0001 per cent of the population who’d like to abolish monarchy ;) Uhm, I guess that she’s had to give up some spontaneity in order to fit in? Any Danes of a more royalist bend out there who’d be able to answer this?

By: bells

bells — Wed, 20 May 2009 03:12:46 +0000

so I wonder if that’s why Princess Mary has had to work SO hard to be Danish? We’ve got the impression here that she’s been asked in some ways to shun her Australianness. I mean, they can’t stop her visiting family, but there’s a sense that she’s had to really turn her back on who she was. i suppose all newcomers to royal families have to do it to a degree, but it seems, from here anyway, that it’s been quite overt for her. Would be keen to know your thoughts on that!

By: xtiand

xtiand — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:28:12 +0000

Thankfully it is only a minority who express themselves so unpleasantly as the examples you quoted, but I agree that the concept of Danishness can be taken to extremes just as Britishness can by some people here (eg the National Front)
Hopefully education and experience of other cultures and the example of more liberal citizens will teach tolerance but some people need an awful lot of help to get the message. We had a young, 17year old, Danish student living with us in UK a couple of years ago who was completely indoctrinated, most unpleasant comments were from sheer ignorance eg There are no poor people in Denmark, all the houses are better/bigger than British houses etc.Thankfully most Danes I have met are not like that and are as lovely as Denmark itself.

By: Stefan

Stefan — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:00:55 +0000

Funny. That was the most unfair portrait of a group consisting of 5.5 million people I have read in a long time.

By: unblinkered

unblinkered — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:59:24 +0000

I reckognise a bit of my own feelings towards Germany in that. Much as I love the place and miss parts of it when I’m gone, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to live there again. The people just drive me mad! Especially being expected to conform and do things “right”. Drives me demented!

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:45:58 +0000

Well, Anders is coming over for a few months in early June to look for a job so I can hook you up with the opportunity to speak Danish ;) If you are coming to Sharon’s bbq on the 13th you can be introduced.

By: Karie

Karie — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:39:52 +0000

Danes are very open and tolerant (cf. their attitudes towards homosexuality) but only if you conform. And as long as you are white and can speak Danish without an accent. You’ve seen photos of me on Rav – I have been shouted at in Copenhagen and told “to eff off back home” presumably because I’m dark-haired with dark eyes and I tan easily?

By: Katherine

Katherine — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:35:13 +0000

That’s fascinating, I always think of the Scandinavian countries as being very open and tolerant (and I’m totally aware that lumping several countries together to describe them is a massive generalisation!). I can see why you struggle.