Fighting Fascism in Sweden

     On March 16, people swarmed for a demonstration at Malmo's Mollevangstorget to protest the recent increase of fascism. Tensions were high since the stabbing of a 25-year-old man, which left him critically injured and recovering in the hospital after a different demonstration where he engaged in a fight. The Party of the Swedes (SvP) issued a statement where they take responsibility for the incident.
     The man who was stabbed, Showan Shattak, is known for his work to eliminate homophobia. The people who attacked him were supposedly Nazis who wanted to kill him, according to witnesses. The attack on Shattak is only the latest in several attacks involving Sweden's extreme right.
     Sweden may be known for its advancements in technology, increased development, and high standard of living, but it has recently been suffering from anti-Semitism claims, which only worsened after a social Democrat politician was assaulted after speaking about immigration.
     The attack on Shattak encouraged the largest demonstration thus far. Fascism is growing because of high unemployment, welfare cuts, and foreign workers competing for the same jobs. The SvP may have taken responsibility but they are only part of a larger Fascism movement taking place in Sweden.
     The main parties that participated in the protest were the Left Party, the Feminist Initiative, and the Communist Party of Sweden. Police said that this demonstration passed without major incident.

     The author fails to mention if Shattak did anything to provoke the attack, and doesnt mention the circumstances Shattak was in when the assault took place. Without this information we are given a biased view of what happened. More than likely, whatever took place was horrible and awful and I would never advocate for Fascism or Nazism, however, I don't think this is a fair article. It is bad journalism because we are not given the whole story. As a reader we are also left wondering, what started the Fascism movement in Sweden? Everything I have read thus far about the country suggests that it is peaceful and full of opportunities and equality for everyone. (Then again, the country probably wouldn't boast if Fascism was becoming a popular movement.) The author also leaves out the history of the demonstrations up to this point. He tells us that there has been violence and who we should blame, but we aren't given very many details about how things have progressed (or regressed) since the protests began. I also noticed that the author is getting all of his details from secondhand accounts. He was never actually present at any of the demonstrations and has to rely on people that were there, and these people would obviously be biased as to what took place.

     Overall, I would say this article is good for getting some basic information, but I wouldn't call it good reporting. I am not given any past history of the events and I have to rely on his sources to tell the truth, and because of that I feel like I am getting only half of the story.

To read the full article click here.