Danish Riots Grab World Attention: Is Something Rotten In Denmark?

I write this bit here because Denmark and, the city of Copenhagen is one European sector I used to call home back in the mid-1980's. I still possess a soft spot in my heart for the people, the places and the country I had come to know, and love. Like everywhere else, settings change over time. The government of Denmark has taken drastic action in recent years with a crack down on youth and, a crackdown on the very elements that have made the Scandinavian country different from most of the rest of Europe.

I have been saddened by the news of recent years with the shut-down of Christiana, Denmark's answer to that California icon known as, People's Park, a parcel of land that became a playground for children of all ages back in the 1960's. Then Governor, Ronald Reagan, had sent in the National Guard, with bullets blazing and tear gas flowing, to shut down an un-used public space local residents of Berkeley had made into something beautiful.

I have also been saddened by the rise of racial tension, and a growing intolerance on the part of both Danes and those recent immigrants from largely Muslim nations in search of a better life. The reasons for this are complex as many of the new immigrants who have arrived have found themselves thrust into modernity on many levels, at rapid fire speed. Denmark for better or worse, is of course, NOT America, and not the nation of immigrants the U.S. has been for over the past 150 years.

What has happened there, although not related to the social tensions of immigration, is a social explosion among a growing and, dis-satisfied youth portion of the population that is dis-connected. Chrisitiana provided a setting for youth of all backgrounds to run free, grow and, to also get a start in life along the road of the alternative life-style some call Hippiedom.

Denmark remains one of the most tolerant of nations in social experiments that have largely worked over the past 40 years. I should know, having lived there for three years in the 1980's. It was a breath of fresh air and Denmark allowed this American person to find both professional and personal growth, and grounding, unavailable in my own country.

Also, as pointed out in the article that follows, there is a shrinking availability of housing and settings for young people in Denmark. It remains unclear whether that nation's elected officials are able to deal effectively and fairly with a nation under-going change in ways unrecognizable to outsiders, and the Danes themselves, just a few short years ago.

Read the bit below, and decide for yourself.

Eric K. Williams, Executive Director

Internatinal Access Networks