Racists in Parliament
The elections results are in: the Sweden Democrats gained 20 seats out of 349 in parliament. The post-election analyses have started pouring in, all of them discussing how an explicitly racist party could have done so well, and stating a lot of things I strongly disagree with.
1. Not everyone who voted for them is actually a racist.
Really? If you vote for a racist party, regardless of your own opinion, in what way are you not committing an act of racism? Those who didn't serve black people back in the pre-Civil Rights era may not have been racists themselves, only concerned about keeping their white customers, but in what way did they not participate in and uphold a racist society? Should people be able to claim not to be racist if their praxis is, just because they act against their stated opinion?
2. We need to respect those who voted for SD and not ostracize them.
No, we don't. We need to respect their rights, including that of putting their vote on a racist party, but we don't have to respect them. Respect for any individual person is earned, and being a racist is not something that will earn you my respect. As far as ostracizing goes, I will feel different about anyone I know who voted for SD. This is unavoidable: how could I feel the same for a friend who turned out to support racism? It might not kill the friendship, depending a little on what said friendship looks like, but I am not capable of taking it in my stride. 'Oh, you think all immigrants should be sent home and no more admitted? Huh. Seen any good movies lately?' No.
3. Those voting for SD feel like outsiders, are dissatisfied with their lot, and don't know they voted for a racist party.
This may all be true; there was one candidate for the party who resigned his seat on a municipality board after finding out he'd run for a racist party. The problem with this statement is that it is patronising and belittling - poor little voters, they don't know what they really wanted, we need to educate them. Firstly, perhaps - since we're throwing the 'R' word around, we could treat these voters as if they knew what they were doing? If we tell them they're uninformed and will be taught better, 'm sure that'll do wonders for their feeling included and respected. Secondly, if they are uninformed, they shouldn't be. Democracy comes with duties as well as rights, such as using the plentiful information available in order to make an informed choice. Not doing so doesn't constitute an excuse; it just proves that you're lazy. Most Swedes do have the time and skill to access that information.
I am perfectly wlling to assume that anyone who voted for SD is a racist if not in thought then in deed. I am willing to tell them so, and that I find this unacceptable - and that their opinions are generally based on incorrect data and sloppy statistics, to boot. I will also take for granted that they had a choice in who they voted for, that they had the option of making said choice an informed one, and that if they didn't, it was their own decision not to. They're adults, not children.
Also, protesting against the result is not threatening the rights of those voters. It's a way to remind all the other politicians that the voters will nto stand for co-operation with SD.
As you may have noted, I'm angry. I'm disgusted that we have a racist party in parliament. I am disgusted that 5,7% of the Swedish population voted for them. I look forward to the next four years with no enthusiasm.