Society's Child

Virtue signalling: Swedes say they can house a refugee, but refuse once given the opportunity

RT
Fri, 22 Mar 2019 17:40 UTC

A Swedish TV channel took to the streets to quiz people on whether they would be willing to house a refugee, and then called their bluff by putting their answers to an immediate test.

Samhällsnytt (Social News) sent a reporter onto the streets of Sweden to quiz people on the country's current immigration policy and ask if they would be personally willing to help out.

Respondents said they believe the country should continue to take in refugees, and everyone featured said they'd be willing to provide accommodation for an immigrant in need in their own home.

However, once the do-gooders were presented with a (slightly intimidating) man to take home immediately, they quickly changed their tune and churned out a whole host of excuses as to why their particular accommodation would no longer be suitable.

Excuses ranged from having guests already renting their spare room, early morning meetings, busy schedules, leasing restrictions, homes that are too small, to sick children.

The attitude toward immigrants has shifted in Sweden which, at the height of the refugee crisis is 2015, took in more per capita than any other European country - 163,000 asylum-seekers in a country of 10 million inhabitants.

Later, Sweden backtracked on its progressive immigration policy with a retroactive law that sent people back to their home country if it was deemed safe enough.

Comment: Read Jonathan Haidt's book The Righteous Mind to see why humans (not just Swedes!) do this. Human morality is often more giving the appearance of following social norms, than actually behaving in accordance with those norms.

Reader Comments

ge0m0 · 2019-03-22T18:36:18Z

Was it Margaret Thatcher who once said

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples beds.

Lemuel Gulliver · 2019-03-23T05:50:31Z

Very true. Those who preach morality always intend the sermon for someone else's ears, not their own.

Rowan Cocoan · 2019-03-23T01:56:43Z

Mark Twain likewise spoke of this persistent and persisting characteristic of the human animal.

R.C.

Rowan Cocoan · 2019-03-23T02:03:04Z

My GOD! What a hilarious look at humanity's self delusion made painfully obvious! I'm amazed that it got made at all.

Typical human hypocrites!

(I'd love to hear the interview with HFL, or myself, or >80% of SOTTites. Of course, our first answers would never make the cut.)

R.C.

Rowan Cocoan · 2019-03-23T02:23:25Z

Rowan Cocoan P.s., my previous post on another subject referenced Mark Twain. If you have not read:

To the person living in darkness [[Link] ]; or,

The Mysterious Stranger,[Link]
You should download each and print and read at your leisure ASAP at the links above.*

R.C.

P.s. A helpful hint on such creations, as a meager minor part of using less...

1. Copy whatever you download into your favorite word processing program.

2. Split all pages into two columns - like law casebooks;

3. Print on both sides (duplex printing,)

And help to save the earth in a far more real way than all the woebal glorming extremists who jet all over the planet telling us we shouldn't travel, et al.

RC

Rowan Cocoan · 2019-03-23T02:25:19Z

Rowan Cocoan [Link] To the person sitting in the darkness.*

R.C.

*Which I only this day learned the phrase came from the new testament.

RC

Rowan Cocoan · 2019-03-23T02:37:14Z

Rowan Cocoan Argh:

[Link]

R.C.

Rowan Cocoan · 2019-03-23T02:40:05Z

Rowan Cocoan [Link] It shows in blue as if legit...(just as every effort above.) Thus I will dismember it, lest it fool me again:

http:// xroads.virginia. edu/ ~drbr/ sitting.html

R.C.