The Color of Grass in Sweden

 
This morning Dymphna received an email from a young man named Patrick. He had read her posts about the dhimmification of Europe, and needed some advice:

	Hi, I’m applying to study abroad at Lund University in Sweden from June to December of this year. I am currently attending UCLA. After reading about all the troubles with Muslim and other immigrants, I am worried, especially since Lund is right next to Malmo. I used to have the “grass is greener on the other side” (other side being Europe, to which I’ve never been) syndrome. But now I’m thinking that my time in Sweden and the rest of Europe might be ruined. What are your thoughts and advice on this?
	Your input appreciated,
	Patrick

I wrote him back and told him that I knew the status of Malmø, but had no information about Lund. So we couldn’t help him directly.

All was not lost, however. Even though the renowned Norwegian blogger Fjordman has quit blogging, he still reads his email. So I forwarded him Patrick’s message along with a brief note, and this evening I got a reply:

	Hello, Baron. Happy New Year :-)
	Lund is considered to be one of Scandinavia’s best universities, and is not a bad choice. It is situated a bit outside of Malmø, and shouldn’t be a problem yet. Sweden is a much larger country geographically than, say, Holland, which means you can usually avoid the worst areas. Maybe that won’t be possible a generation from now, but it is still.
	I see he is studying at the UCLA. Tell him to think of it as southern California: Some areas are just fine, whereas some parts of Los Angeles, or in this case Malmø, is gang territory. If he’s used to the scene in LA he shouldn’t worry that much about Sweden just yet.
	I consulted a couple of other Scandinavian observers about this, and they said the same thing. He should go to Lund, and enjoy his stay in Sweden. But he should also observe how the situation is becoming in parts of Malmø now, and be glad he didn’t ask this question in 2015-2020. I might not have given the same answer then.

I have passed this information on to Patrick, and now he should be able to make an informed decision.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *Think about it: this morning a college student in California had concerns about the Great Jihad in Sweden, and contacted us. By this evening he had received an expert opinion from Scandinavian sources. Is this a great blogosphere, or what?

A generation ago, before the internet, it would have been all but impossible to accomplish this. Patrick would have had no recourse but to rely on information passed through the PR offices at the University of Lund or Swedish tourist bureaus and government agencies. Even now, all of them have a compelling interest in downplaying the potential problems he might find living among Muslims in Sweden.

The media would have been useless — for them, the entire issue could only have been viewed through the prism of white racism.

His own university would question his motives for asking. Scared of Muslims, are you? Obviously, you must be a racist! Time to take a diversity sensitivity training course — if you ever want to receive your undergraduate degree, that is…

What’s more, the downside of the Internet Age is that the mujahideen have access to the same communication tools, and many of them appear to be quite skilled at using them. Since they can count on the MSM to cover their back, the scales are tilted against a balanced assessment when questions like Patrick’s arise.

More than anything else, our confrontation with the Great Islamic Jihad is a war of information. We’re going to have to be consistent and persevering if we want to succeed against this foe.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
Cross-posted at Gates of Vienna.