I’m going to go back in time a bit and address part of the reason why I started the “Happy Thor’s Day” weekly feature. There is a global conflict over societal identity, and the fractures split along various lines. Some people promote rich vs poor, or race vs. race, or a myriad of other things. Mostly though, this boils down to the line of heritage back through time and the social constructs that sprung from those heritages. These differing constructs then conflict with each other.
Sometimes the conflict is over long-standing animus from having grown up as societies together, like Cain and Abel, or sometimes, it’s merely one society meeting the other and seeking advantage over or outright invasion of the other. The Norse heritage is experiencing something much more aligned with the latter case of invasion. Consider the following article:
Pagans, History Buffs Rage as Sweden Considers Banning “Nazi” Runes
The government’s reported plans to ban the traditional runic alphabet alongside heathen imagery, due to their alleged popularity in Neo-Nazi circles, have sparked the ire of politicians and ordinary Swedes alike.
The government is currently investigating the possibility of banning the use of old Norse runes, the Swedish news outlet Samhällsnytt reported.
The background to the investigation, lobbied by Social Democrat Justice Minister Morgan Johansson, is the Swedish neo-Nazis’ alleged predilection with the runic script, despite the fact that it predates the spread of neo-Nazi ideology by a thousand years.
According to the government proposal, ancient Norse symbols, imagery, and traditional jewelry can also be banned as “incitement of ethnic hatred”. This applies, among other things, to Thor’s Hammer known as Mjölner, the Valknut (or Odin’s knot) and the magical stave Vegvisir.
The government’s “one cure fits all” approach has enraged neo-pagans, who adhere to the ancient Nordic religion known as Asatru, and history enthusiasts, who believe that Viking culture is an inherent part of Scandinavian heritage.
Courtesy Sputnik News
Go ahead and read the whole thing.
Essentially, Sweden is under invasion, by the artificial means of stuffing other cultures into its existing social structure. Now that the national government has allowed this to occur and it strains towards critical mass, a panic has set in, and appeasement to the invaders is the strategy of the day. They desire to control language itself, to demonstrate their acquiescence to the invaders and to try to quell the inconvenient voices of those who disagree. As with Chamberlain versus the actual Nazis, they will learn. The pain Sweden and its people will endure until then will be a most painful education indeed.
This article is where my look into my own Viking heritage really began with me, and my desire to keep Nordic history alive. Critics with an axe to grind or those craving power to collect for themselves would label me a Nazi for that desire. Should I be offended by that? Probably, and I am to be honest, but not enough to disavow my efforts to discuss the Viking ways or appreciate the culture. I’m certainly NOT going to not use runes if I want, or self-censor the use of some particular Futhark symbols because someone might call me a Nazi. To Hell with that. To Hell with them!
So to all, Happy Thor’s Day! Keep it fresh and defend it, because fascists might try to take it from you.