Death threats against 'multicultural expert' who said elderly dying out is solution to racism

Death threats against 'multicultural expert' who said elderly dying out is solution to racism

hjerm“To put it very bluntly, when they die things get better…”

A media-deemed expert on everything multicultural has been the recipient of death threats from Swedish nationalists after he publicly stated that cultural and racial relations would greatly improve when Sweden’s elderly all die, as reported by the Stockholm-based news portal The Local.

Professor Mikael Hjerm, who teaches sociology in central-coastal Sweden’s Umeå University, was recently interviewed in regards to a bus driver who was accused of separating “Swedish” and “non-Swedish” passengers late December of last year.

While Hjerm was explaining that prejudice and xenophobia are actually on the decline in the Scandinavian nation, the target of his blame and subsequent solution for residual bigotry has raised the ire of nationalistic and conservative Swedes.

Painting a sizable percentage of the population with a rather large brush, the sociologist stated:

The most prejudiced group is the elderly, who grew up in a different time.

To put it very bluntly, when they die things get better.

A Case of Ageism…?

As reported, certain “right wing” websites in Sweden have accused Hjerm of wanting “to ‘kill off’ the elderly in Sweden in order to make room for more immigrants.”

Since his statements to the press, The Local reports Hjerm has received death threats via phone calls, cell phone texts, and e-mails.

Eventually, the college professor appeared on Swedish television to apologize for his callous and ageist remarks.

Somehow, America’s Responsible…

Hjerm was also contacted by the Umeå hometown paper, Västerbottens-Kuriren (The Västerbotten Courier) and asked for an interview.

As the Västerbottens-Kuriren (VK) published regarding the Hjerm hate-speech controversy:

He concluded that older people are more prejudiced than younger people because they grew up in another time when there was a bigger acceptance of apartheid or racial laws in the U.S.

Or Maybe It’s Sweden’s Fault…

A none-too-thrilled college professor lashed out at the paper, and again, painted Swedish society with a rather large brush:

I had to get on the phone to them to fix their first translation, but even the edited version now online still takes my words out of context.

The VK newspaper simply played into the hands of this racist society.

Breaking The Cardinal Law Of Journalism…

Curiously, the editor of The Local has injected himself into the story.

Casting objectivity to the wind, the news portal’s editor, David Landes, ensured his thoughts and opinions were indeed part of the story:

It’s saddening to see that people with blatantly racist attitudes have managed to lift the quote completely out of context and use it to further their own agenda.

That Professor Hjerm should be faced with such backlash and feel compelled to apologize is a real shame.

T. Kevin Whiteman

T. Kevin Whiteman

T. Kevin Whiteman is a retired Master Sergeant of Marines. He has written for Examiner, Conservative Firing Line, and other blogs.

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