Penal Exceptionalism? by Thomas Ugelvik Jane Dullum

Author:Thomas Ugelvik, Jane Dullum [Thomas Ugelvik, Jane Dullum]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780415672955
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2011-07-29T00:00:00+00:00

Marginal Norway

Visibly different people in Norway often report that they see Norwegians as not particularly well informed of the world beyond Scandinavia. Norwegians are often seen as inhibiting a combination of arrogance and ignorance; remember, we are citizens of the worlds’ best country to live in, a humanitarian superpower, and we know it (see Nilsson, Chapter 5). Norwegian-Iranian anthropologist Sharam Alghasi (2006), for instance, remembers being asked at a party whether there are any refrigerators in Iran. When I encounter Tarik one day, he is steaming after being asked about the status of Moroccan plumbing:

Asking me if there are toilets inside the houses, shit! He is eighteen years old and drives a Ferrari around Oslo and thinks he owns the world, and he believes that there aren’t any toilets in Moroccan houses? What is he thinking? What can I say, Thomas? You can’t do anything with such stupidity. You can only smile and shake your head, and say ‘no, of course, no toilets in Moroccan houses, sure’. The fucking ignorance, what do they think, just cause it’s in Africa, it’s all fucking monkeys and fucking zebras and giraffes and that’s that?

Partly as an answer to such ignorance, partly to further denounce the Norwegian state responsible for imprisoning them, many prisoners responds by placing Norway in its rightful place as a small, marginal country on the outskirts of everything important. Like Youssuf:

YOUSSUF: Norway is a small country, a very small country, it’s not like France or anything like that, it’s just a small country far, far away, few people, and we gotta say that Norway, it’s not a country which colonized other countries, Norway never did that, like in Africa, where France colonized Morocco and Algeria, and, eh, Belgium, the Congo, Norwegian people have been isolated in a way, very isolated. I first knew the Norwegian people as Vikings from history, that’s it. But in my childhood, when we talked about Scandinavia, we only knew about Sweden, beautiful girls, that’s it. Never Norway, and to be honest, I couldn’t even place Norway on a map. It’s true! And it’s just, I’m Norwegian now, I fight for this country now, I’m just telling you what it was like. Scandinavia, that was Sweden, that’s it. … Norway, it’s just a small country on the outside! It’s full of paysants. I have called it paysants. Paysage, countryside. So, for instance the French, they call Norway le paysage de l’Europe.

TU: We’re bønder.

YOUSSUF: The bønder of Europe. What I heard before I came, that’s it. It’s not critique, nothing like that, it’s just the way people see it.

The yeoman farmer or bønder class Pratt describes as part of the historical foundation for the Norwegian culture of equality is here used to describe Norway’s marginal status. As marginal, you should not try to look like you are in the centre. You should know you place, and act accordingly. Norwegians overplay their hand.

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