Why Swedish Culture is Shockingly Different from American
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- čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
- This week I talk to Stefan, an American creator who has been in Sweden for 8 years. We discuss the biggest differences in Swedish and American mindset, talk a bit about the Swedish dating scene and whether or not Sweden is the place Stefan sees himself in long term.
Stefan's Instagram: / stefanthyron
/ @stefanthyron
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Each week I will interview guests from all around the world on the topics of culture, connection and of course, dating. The goal is to go as deep as possible and to really understand where we all come from and how much culture influences our life.
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0:00 Intro
3:40 Do Swedish women miss chivalry?
5:00 What it's like being American in Sweden?
6:30 Do Swedish women want the man to pay?
8:37 What are the expectations for the first date?
11:00 Swedish parties vs American parties
14:00 Working culture in Sweden vs USA
16:48 Cultural differences between Spain and Sweden
18:50 How is the Swedish nightlife?
23:00 Planning culture of Sweden
26:00 Making friends in Sweden vs USA
30:00 Work-life balance in Sweden: truth or myth?
35:00 Are Swedes self reliant/independent?
41:00 How is Swedish parenting different?
44:00 How is s*x ed taught in Sweden?
51:00 Are STDs big in Sweden?
57:00 Feeling like you don't belong in the US?
59:00 What was the most difficult thing to get used to in Sweden?
1:03:00 How has Sweden changed you? - Zábava
I'm Swedish, and I have to say, if someone bought everyone shots when we're out and then required us to pay for them the next day, I would be pissed. That was his decision, not mine. And I have been the one buying the shots on several occasions, I would never ask for people to pay for them afterwards.
Yeah, hopefully that was a joke by that person who did that. That is not normal/common.
Agree.
This has never ever happened in my 30-year Swedish shot-career 🇸🇪🥃
Yea that’s never been my experience either. Actually quite the opposite. I am from Texas and love showing hospitality to others. I have heard these things from so many but never experienced it. Several times when ones invited me out and they were Swedish, they would pay because they invited me. I am a single guy and most of my friends are married or have kids so I can’t afford to pay for their whole family in reciprocity. So what I have done is bought a bottle of Texas made whiskey and gave it as a gift to them later when I come back from the states. They seem to love it 😊
yea never happend to me.
i mean you are kind of expected to give back a bit next time but never heard about somebody saying you have to.
The part where u talk about the hierarchy according to companies and titles is very interesting. I was in totally shock when i worked in NYC about how americans are ”scared” and having such respect when it comes to titles and bosses. It was very challenging and tough to adapt in that kind of enviroment. In Sweden its more like ”we do this togheter”-mentality because we are all humans with different levels of responsebilities in a company. A boss doesn’t always have the best leadership or having the best ideas. If you work at a company that sees every employees voice as equal and as a group could effect some parts in the company - Thats a healthy company with loyal and hard working employeeds. Great discussion and very interesting thoughts and comparing of the social norms between Sweden and North America.
I can se how the swedish society is getting mire and more like the u.s. I think it is sad. For example it is becomming more and more common that the bride in a wedding want her dad ”give her away”, walk her to the groom. In Sweden the rule is that bride and groom walk in together as equals.
In sweden it is very important to be independent.
And what's the problem?
Having rights mean to have the right to choose how you want your freaking wedding to be and if i want to walk with my father,my mother or my dog it's my choice. I don't need to prove anything to anyone.
It's a matter of tradition. Had Swedes not been as globalized as we are, the idea to even walk the bride to the groom would be off the question. Of course, that doesn't change your right to choose, it's just a shame that the differences that makes us independantly special is slowly disappearing.@@redleeks6253
@@redleeks6253Period
@@redleeks6253 The dog might object though.....😅😅😅😅😅
The point about making penises in clay is to show that a penis can look different in a lot of way, and have different sizes. And when we talk about penises and vaginas we encourage the children to tell their parents or a school doctor in school if they have any questions about something around that area. We try to make it less awkward for them..
I think it´s important to remember that age also matter. So when I hear people say that in Sweden people bring alcohol/ food to someone else´s house it´s usually young people. For someone in their 20´s food and alcohol is expensive. But I´m almost 50 so if I´m having a dinner party I usually offer people food. I also think that it´s a social thing in sweden that we all are helping out. For example at a dinner party a lot of people socialize by helping out cooking in the kitchen.
Here are some of my thoughts: Also if you are between 15-19, they people would get alcohol from parents or some other way, for parties. So it’s not like we didn’t share, it’s more that everyone is responsible for themselves.
When people turned 20 the person inviting would pay, with expectation of others hosting some other time.
House parties are not that common after 25 ish. Hosting dinner and such is more common(where guest brings bottle as gift, since host pays for dinner and wine. Nice bottles are saved, cheap ones opened at dinner.)
I think alot of his experiences are not common between social economic class or age.
He seems to hang around young people who appear to be very casual.
Parties in later ages are more formal and none of his experiences apply there.
”Pre drinking” is also a poor or young person thing.😅
@@davidjohansson1416 I depends a lot on where you are (on the map) and I guess if you have a family or not. I went on parties where you brought your own alcohol with you and this was my entire 20s and early 30s. It is not that most people can not afford (some are students so they may not) but it is because it is not really hosting like a dinner and such. It is a group of people that blow off some steam when they party and it happened to be at Xs place. And since this was in Stockholm we went out to some night club after. Also when I visited parties outside of our group we always brought alchohol.
Now a days I hardly party at all. I have some dinner we do not go out of course since we have families or other responsibilities but simple just because we are older and we just do not have the energy to be out at late night. If you bring alcohol is optional but you certainly do not need to since it is not centered around partying and alcohol like it used to be. But more like hosting and having a nice time talking.
I find it fascinating that he seems to have picked up a bit of a Swedish accent to his English
i just commented this same thing!!
As a Swedish this was very interesting to listen to. And very accurate.
I believe having sex education like that is to make it normal in the sense that kids dare talk about it and create a healthy relationship with the subject with guidence from adults to minimize bad outcomes. While it looks silly and some things can be questionable its really allowing people expressing their thoughts about the subject without making it taboo or frowned upon. Sex is natural and its natural for young boys and girls to be curious. What better way than to tell them how it works, what are the consequences and how to do things proper, give context to things like porn and how to build healthy relationships. American kids don't get taught and end up learning via pornhub, that ain't really a great solution to explain what sex and relationship is.
Alcohol is expensive in Sweden (especially for younger adults and/or those with low income), that's why it is common to bring what you want to drink (and can afford). Especially if you go to a "pre party" - before going to a club), then you definately bring your own drinks. But if you invite people for dinner you kind of are expected to provide the beverages for your guests.
True but the guest is also supposed to bring a hostess gift ie. Something to drink chocolate or something
@@annaolsson5441This totally depends on the person, party, situation and context. A gift isn’t exactly the norm unless a housewarming party or bday. I’m Norwegian and here it’s just common sense to bring your own drinks, unless the invite or host says otherwise and that they will provide. For example a sit down dinner is very different from a party where the host usually provides the snacks, sometimes a welcome drink, yet you bring your own booze. And if a large party expecting the host to provide unlimited drinks for everyone is unrealistic and unreasonable and it’s expensive and people have different tastes and preferences.
Interesting to hear your take on swedish culture. What you said about your ex not wanting more friends, I can relate to that but I’m also an introvert. But some friends I have are extremely extrovert, and they love meeting new people / friends, and are also very spontaneous, so guess some things depend on personality traits. Going to the liquerstore isn’t a big deal unless we’re planning a bigger event and need to more than usual, i e you need a car to bring it home. As you know many of us don’t drive car in the city we use public transportation or bikes instead.
I think it boil down to integrity and how many people there are around you. I lived my first 25 years in a very little town. I didn't even locked my door when I was out. People knocked and went in if I was at home. A very open community. Now I have been living nearly 50 years in Stockholm. To spontaneously going out has always been after work. But to be invited to someone, or invite someone, or meeting up with friends is always planned. I have had a few nabors that I have had spontaneously relations to. There is so much going on in Stockholm. People have to plan everything and doesn't want there plans interrupted. About the taxi driver, I use taxi very often, as I have difficulty to walk. I can honestly say that only 1 of 200 chauffeurs don't want to talk. I have had so many interesting talks with people from all the world in a taxi, about how many different subjects I can think of. Learned so much.
I’m an older person in Sweden and I really don’t recognise this alcohol related stuff you talk about. I think it’s very much a young person/big town thing!
Hi Stefan! I remember when you told us earlier that your father liked German football...and you were close to be named "Lothar" :-) ... It was so fun hearing your reaction to that :-) . I laughed for 30 min
I am a native Swede, and I have NEVER heard of someone asking for money for the round of drinks they bought.
This is just plain rude even in Sweden, and if it happened to me I would seriously consider ending my friendship with that person.
I'm sure you were just unfortunate enough to have met the absolute cheapest person in Sweden 😅
As a Swede I agree with you. If you offer others something, you don’t ask for compensation afterwards. It’s more like, either you decide to pay for all and are fine with that or you ask in advance who’s paying or declare that you pay for yourself. You don’t require compensation after, it’s very rude and just shows no manners whatsoever. You have otherwise fooled your friends.
This video feels eerily spy-y to me, no? 😢
Hey Stefan your fridge is alerting
Used to club in Paris France we used to go home at 08 in the morning when the Metro had started up again sat morning.
Regarding consensus in Swedish working life, even if it often goes too far and meeting after meeting cannot decide because different opinions, when the boss should step in and take command and say, then I decide so listen, then we try for a while, and if it doesn't work well, then we make a new assessment.
I miss that. It comes to nothing sometimes when all the wills have their say in the team. But what I still believe in is that if those who have to carry out a job, project or the like get a say in the team, the work will be better than if one person (manager) has to decide arbitrarily.
With the bring your own alcohol thing. It's because people want to drink what they like, so they bring their own. And also, alcohol can be expensive, so not many people could afford to buy yourself and everybody else alcohol.
We have systembolaget to force pepole to plan their drinking. That's the stated aim om even having it. Sweden had a huge drinking problem before we implemented systembolaget.
I have to say that the concept of "bring you own alcohol" is more in the younger ages. It has to do a lot with the prices on alcohol not having the finances to buy for everyone. When you are older (as my self) no one expects you to bring your own alcohol to parties. People do bring a bottle of wine or something else but it's for everyone. More because it's rude to come empty-handed.
Yes that is not common in older ages. But it is also a completely different kind of drinking. When I was younger it centered much more around drinking. Now a days I would be dead if I drank the way I did during the weekends in my 20s.
This totally depends on the person, party, situation and context. A gift isn’t exactly the norm unless a housewarming party or bday. I’m Norwegian and here it’s just common sense to bring your own drinks, unless the invite or host says otherwise and that they will provide. For example a sit down dinner is very different from a party where the host usually provides the snacks, sometimes a welcome drink, yet you bring your own booze. And if a large party expecting the host to provide unlimited drinks for everyone is unrealistic and unreasonable and it’s expensive and people have different tastes and preferences. Of course when older you can most likely afford to accommodate everyone. Tho this isn’t the case for all of us. I always tell people to bring their own alcohol and snacks/food. I provide a safe space to drink, that’s enough. And I personally don’t drink due to health reasons and I can’t stand the taste of alcohol let it be wine, bear, hard liquor etc.
Thanks for the insights!
Yes it has changed mines too. I married a Swede so all their cultures, foods, etc I know.
so being vegetarian and speaking swedish in sweden is a redflag to this guy. crazy
The problem wasn't that she spoke Swedish, the problem was that they didn't speak the same language. She didn't know much English and he didn't know much Swedish.
And yes, every dinner can be a hassle if one is vegetarian and the other is not.
Älskar ändå att du är så europeisk/ svensk! Det är självklart därför du trivs så bra här i Sverige 😁
Yo, nice insights. But for someone not interested in a serious relationship, what are the key points to casual dating?
Regarding the alcohol when there is a party at someone's house, of course it has to do with the insanely high prices alcohol has in Sweden (it is the state's cash cow. That and gambling companies, as well as parking fines). Few can afford to offer alcohol.
What young person can afford to invite 10-20 people home and be responsible for the alcohol here in Sweden?
29:26 im swedish and agree on this and its soooo booooring! Im trying to socialize with people in bars etc but its very rigid and slow. Here and there you meet like-minded open people but its rare i think
1:10:53 Here’s the thing (I think) is Swedes don’t small talk for the sake of small talk. As you found out, most people are very friendly of you initiate. We typically are very efficient so unless we have a reason to interact, we don’t really… bother you know? Why should I speak with random people at th bus stop (or on the bus, yikes psycho! 😅) if I have no rational reason to.
Regarding the English (again): a lot of us were taught English quite early in school. I remember learning my first English words as a six year old, in the grade before first grade (sort of a year between preschool and first grade). This was however not per the curriculum I found out later since English was not mandatory until 2nd or 3rd grade. In comparison, it was not that long ago you could only learn English at university in Germany and some other European countries. So English has basically always been quite prominent in our lives, even before internet became as prominent as it is nowadays.
But who did you meet for a nurse who trivialized a possible venereal disease? "But it doesen’t matter, then you just get antibiotics and it goes away"
Yes, maybe it does, but here in Sweden, in any case, most people in the healthcare work with preventive measures against venereal diseases. That you should use a condom.
Then the fact that here in Sweden we deal with young people's sexuality differently than in the US, that is a completely different matter
Well, when I travelled around Europe in the 80ies and 90ies it was quite common for Americans to put a Canadian flag on their backpacks, since they didn't want people to think they were from the US
23:11 Norway is VERY expensive. Some years ago, 1 NOK was 2 SEK (now it’s about 1:1), back then everything in Norway was very very expensive😂
Switzerland (Geneva specifically) is the most expensive country I’ve ever been to. Although 14 bucks for coffee AT STARBUCKS (as I’ve been told it can cost in the IS) is outrageous.
A big compliment to an intelligent rather mature conversation 👌🏽 // warm greetings from a swede 🇸🇪💛🩵
Yes very accurate. I reacted to the lady talking about "coconut culture" and especially a people that "overthink" a lot.
Thats exactly how I think about us Swedes. We are extremely thoughtthru in ourselves and sadly so overthought so we are almost brokenanalyzed both in ourselves but also against eachother.
And the mentality in wanting to put/sort/judging people in different boxes cause of this analyzing mindset is very spread.
Its sad and creates a lot of Loneliness and the overthinking of/about/judging other people and that mind-set of put everyone into boxes does everything so much harder to make new friends outside the ones you know.
And my personal opinion is that it all also often comes down that all the overthinking makes people afraid and insecure in themselves and against others.
On top on that we have this feminism, make everything ureself, alone is strong self-sufficient, but at the sametime be humble dont stand out mentality.
So we really restrict ourselves down....
I also personally think that Swedish men are in a period of time. When all the feminism and the development of women has made many men insecure in how they want to be/ and are suspected to be in a relation. Its a good development about thw womens feminism. But I think it will take some years for the many men to find out how to be a man in our current society.
And its hard to know today what kind of man women wants. When in the end that "dangerous exiting italian non feminist man" often are one end at the spectrum. And in the other end the feminist very soft, share everything, political correct man is at hand.
Do women want the dominant man that points with he's hand and says: "- This is how we will do it, we do as I say !"
Or the man who over and over submissive wants to emotionally talk things thru...
Many Swedish men struggle with what do Swedish women really wants ?
And it comes often out that many Swedish men are more comfortable with chose a woman from another country. But at the same time many Swedish women choose men from another country.
Cause they at times wants that more of a dominant man. Opposite the feminist man...
So this makes many Swedish men insecure in themselves.
But as said. I think in about 10 years things will settle. The men will be better in find the golden middleway how to be. And Swedish women will be better in showing in what kind of men they want.
I think feminism has turned a lot upside down. Mostly for the better. But that it will take some time until especially middle aged men and older will find their place in this new climate.
The young ones growing up will not know anything else.
And i belive women and men will figure it out....
I also think the dating culture in Sweden really sucks.
But thats another very long story :)
Many men and many women? I have been in three relationship with women from abroad, Europe (Spain) and South America and Asia. And I find the opposite to be true. I like women from Sweden because it makes things much less complicated. You seem to be hang up on feminism and things like that. I have never had any problems with that. In the end it is just a man and a woman who tries to make it work. And all in all it is much more simple if you are from the same culture since you have the same referense.
You can start a conversstion with anyone you want, but we dont do it its more like respect. But you do you.
Well for me at least, i dont mix work colleagues with other friends because i "leave my work at the work"
Yes of course i can have"private " friends at work to but at the work we are professionals and have a different relationship and i dont"klick" with everyone i work with but i treat every colleague equal, when i go home and spend time with friends i do it with the people im really enjoy to relax and be with.
it's clique, not klick
It's klick in Swedish...@@hwy9nightkid
@@hwy9nightkidor in this case click rather than clique which means a small group.
I always treated the bring beer to the party as a raffle, i bring my favorite beer/cider or whatever, lets say 2 of my favorite kinds, so i sample 5 of my favorite and bring 2 bottles/cans of every kind that is 10, i will probably take one then try someone elses favorite if i have ot already tried it.
Am i doing this wrong?
Nordic drinking habits are products of how we had it up here in cold north for long time through history. The resources were scarse so if you weren't rich you maybe only could have a party once in a month or less. So when you then had a party, then people drank alot. You brought your own. The governments ways to make alcohol more hard to get and more expensive made alcohol a big thing. In cultures with cheaper alcohol and more abundant resources it is easy to just give and in the long run everybody just get what they need. In Denmark there has never been real famine, so it is more continental in culture. Its not a big thing to give a beer and you don't have to pay back.
Last year I had 40 l of beer left (I am a brewer). I just put out on FB "Come to this island on Saturday to get a beer. I put up my beer tap." People had a real hard time understand someone wanted to give away free beer to strangers. Should I pay? Do you want beer back? No! It is summer, sun and life is good. I have beer. Take a beer and enjoy.
But it was popular, so this year I will brew beer and make this event a tradition.
kind of shocked to see these two creating content together.. interesting..
In Finland you luckily can buy beer in all grocery stores until 9pm every day of the week. Sweden and Norway are more rigorous from that perspective. I think that time limit is pretty arbitary too. Most parties in the current government wanted to put wines in grocery stores as well, but the Christian Party opposed it and it is not happening for now.
Let´s have him back with his gf! that would be so interesting to hear!
Close your eyes while listening to Stefan, and he sounds like Tom Hanks!
Haha will try
Since alcohol is regulated in sweden and u can only buy it at one store it is expensive. A case of corona is like 50 dollars, a bottle of wine is 15/20 dollars, no way im buying all the alcohol for a party of like 30 people, that's gonna set someone back like 1000 dollars for a regular friday party. And on top of that it's gonna be like what (200?) dollars per head if you wanna go out clubbing cheap in Stockholm after.
That is why we have Denmark ;)
What an interesting and spot-on conversation. Really enjoyed it! (About Swedish taxi drivers not carrying a conversation: They are rarely fluent in Swedish so in that case it might just be a language barrier thing)
Huh. I regularly travel by taxi and the drivers are almost always very eager to chat.
One driver, whom I hadn't seen in over a decade as he switched jobs, contacted me on social media as he remembered a conversation we had had probably 15 years earlier. It sounds creepy, but he and his wife had recently begun looking into [Hobby], whcih I have doing for almost 30 years and there was a connection between his wife and yours truly. I was amazed that he not only remembered what we had talked about, but also my name as it a rather common one.
yes
Funny thing about mixing friend groups if I mix my work friend with my childhood friend group I would be fired😂
It's really strange to hear the two of you sitting and talking about what it's like to date (especially women) in Sweden. When you describe how it is in the US, it is exactly how it was in Sweden before 1965 or perhaps a little later. The 1970s. Are we Swedish women really that reckless that we don't want to be courted?
Courted yes but not bought or expectedto out out just because someone offers something.
I must have made the right friends in Sweden, because we never swish when we buy drinks. I'll take the next round instead
Berong Swede I dont know any epman warring to be taken to Donken (McDonalds). Perhaps entitlement, but showing reapect with a nice place.
I’m sorry to have to say, but it’s a lot of generalizations that seams to be based on a limited experience by the both of you. Especially with when it comes to “what Swedish people would like from other cultures” and “this or that might be the reason to why swedish people are in a certain way”.
Sure, there are some things I personally agree are typical swedish that you correctly point out. But I think some personal experience disclaimer at times would be good and maybe bring some more than one thoughts as to why we swedes GENERALLY are a certain way.
Otherwise, an interesting conversation.
Wanna see Stefan with his girlfriend on dating beyond boarders😃😃😃
Will make it happen!
Paying on the first date in Sweden is a betrayal and a grest way to build in misunderstandings into the relation. I'm sorry to say it. I have been working as a taxi driver and seen the female thestrical fumbling with the card maybe a hundred times, so often I make a bet with myself about which one would fumble and which guy would throw himself forward making sure the fumbling woman would not pay or if I was driving a bunch where low and behold 1: a woman would pay and 2: no guy would stop her and 3: no discusion about paying her later would take place. You seem to be a guy with enough traction. You should really really dare to wait and torment her to at least initiate a payment.
11:49 Never happens.. we all just buy drinks for each other. and that be that. No bill the day after.. What kind of "Swedes" are you're hanging with?
Maybe you can explain todays cultural differences by exploring back in time how they evolved.
You sure you living in the correct "Sweden"?
Denmark is the same way. i feel like i get special treatment speaking English. maybe bc they just want to practise speaking English haha
Also, it’s often much easier talking English with an American than having them speaking Swedish 🤷♂️. Not always, but most of the time.
Of course women long for more of the american style. Who doesn't want free lunches, free dinners or to be spoiled! But with equality, which women also want comes taking care of your own expenses. All of my friends and my extended family doesn't shove the houshold work towards the women. Everyone I know share that in a equal matter.
At first.. I like to read about how other think about us!
The second, dating cultur, it is like it is.. I mean ask for a date as an adult single, half of women that one date is higher educated/have higher salary then you/me.. they seldome get impressed of a free dinner, even if its expensive!
At third, a tip, get out with friends, get half drunk for courrage, and hopfully there is women friend group at the same place, altso half drunk that one start fliting with!
Sexual education in sweden is embarising.. at least I did get verry embaresd, only the tuff guys asked questions! In anyway, I think the message get trough, sex is natural and we have different bodyparts, girls is horny as guys, but girls can get pregnant!
Or rather, teenagers have sex.. have at least "safe sex"!
Bring him back with his girlfriend. I am curious. :)
Judging the whole of Sweden by how people are in Stockholm is just stupid. I have lots of friends from work, school and other places who meet when I have a party. Then there is a big difference in meeting Swedish women if you are not Swedish, versus if you are. A black guy from the US doesn't have to do anything, unlike a Swedish guy...
So if you're a single black guy in the US, go to Sweden. You can be poor and ugly, Swedish women will still love you...
Interesting that he travelled with a Swedish taxi driver in Stockholm. I live in Stockholm and haven't travelled with a Swedish taxi driver for years. They are all Arabs, Turks, Kurds or African. But even they are not talkative, maybe they too have adapted to the "silent" Swedish culture...
only liking comments that are agreeing with what you're saying 😂 listen to the people who are actually swedish and you might actually learn something
Due to higher population density in most of Europe the cultural differences are very pronounced in many areas. Europeans in general are more inclined to think conformity to social norms is a duty or responsibility of citizenship. The only individuals in Europe that can openly challenge societal norms and not have a strong negative response to it are independently wealthy. Even then people in general are not happy with their position however they will not openly confront them about it either. In America this mentality is only common in the high population density areas of the country. A typical European has no clue what it would be like to be 100 kilometers away from the nearest police officer and therefore does not understand the need for gun ownership to protect yourself and your family from dangerous wildlife and dangerous human beings.
At 15:57: Sweden is so egalitarian that secretaries are exceedingly rare. This is in no way a boast (me being Swedish), au contraire. This is the stupidity in the Swedish culture. You might say, but it's nice that you can ... (fill in your favourite thing here), that's a nice change of pace!
The problem is that with the rigid consensus culture, when it becomes accepted that ... something (e.g. we wont have second class citizens at our workplace, everyone has to secretary (I'm verbing it) for themselves), it immediately becomes compulsory. This means that highly qualified doctors, ministry officials, internationally renown professors, et.c. has to spend half their time trying to find out how to correctly book a hotel room, conforming to the rules set out by their employers, find out where and how things should be correctly archived, take their turn to empty the dishwasher in the lunch room.... In the mean time our "not-so-strong-as-it-used-to-be" economy can't provide enough specialist doctors (who 50% of the time are, as they say "playing sudoku", i.e. filling in a lot of numbers in different computer systems), while it's extremely hard to get a job for the category that would otherwise have been secretaries. In fact consensus culture goes so far that people deny that there is any difference between people's abilities. Work interviews often go like: "I see that your grades are better than most. How is this, when we all know that everybody is equally good? Did you cheat? Did you steal the knowledge from your underprivileged classmates?" On the other hand, every job that isn't considered to be demeaning to people (such as having to be called a secretary, apparently) does require you to have gone to university, even being a clerk in a shop.
Sweden is nice and friendly, all it asks of you is to be absolutely average, to be like a yeast cell in a uniform mass. Nobody should emphasize their own merit, everything is a team effort. With the exception of course of the ideologists behind this philosophy, who are very much allowed to be lauded for their unique insights. Case in point: Olof Palme, minister of education 1967, immediately established a new curriculum saying that pupils should not be allowed to learn "ahead of the rest of the class". He was of an aristocratic background and I'm sure he had exactly the education he wanted, completely unhamperd by things like this (that I don't think he believed, but it went down a treat with the loud young radicals, who were the only people allowed to have an opinion at the time. He also said that "It doesn't matter how much you know, the important thing is that school teaches you to work as a team." Try and recall his team being seen when he took every chance to be seen in the spotlight on the international arena, taking cheap points with "sympathetic regimes" by for example calling the president of the United States a "bloody murderer" (this on the Vietnam war, which might not have been a good idea, but the point is "do you see how he is merely trying to be part of a team, not trying to grab the attention, being like a good yeast cell?"). This was a very historical example, because I believe this was the first example of it (in Sweden), and Olof Palme was internationally known (exactly for his insistence to be in the spotlight, like nobody was supposed to be, the rest should be the grey reactor insulation of society, knowing that they did a good thing, not wanting recognition, praise or rewards.). His tradition has been carried on, though; names like Carl Tham and Gustav Fridolin spring to mind.
I really don't think that this culture has grown out of anything other than the incessant repetition from above until everybody accepted it. I seem to recall that many teachers weren't at all sure that all pupils were equally good, but after 25 years of repeating it and all the older teacher dying off, it took. I don't think that people in the party believed it either, but after having been in power for 46 years (except for three months in 1936, during which the parliament didn't convene (they let some opposition politician (Axel Pehrsson-Bramstorp, who was deemed to be particularly naïve and incompetent) form a government as a cruel prank), and in name during the second world war, though the prime minister was the leader of the party), they needed something new to get people to vote, and what they discovered was that in stead of doing good things for society, it worked at least as well to do bad things to categories that were ill liked by the mob, such as people that were slightly successful at running a small business (they would never go for the big money, of course, because 1. they would move their resources abroad and the government would look right berks when all the jobs disappeared and 2. the man on the street mainly resented people that he had known, who now ran a small business with some success, that was the kind of people that people would care about being disadvantaged). Once the discovery was made, the party found many other categories that large proportions of Swedes would gladly spend a vote on seeing disadvantaged. It turned out that teachers belonged to a category that many disliked (and it was generally agreed upon among them, that no teacher had ever done anything good (or real, as many pointed out) and in fact it served them right for being so stuck up that they didn't accept "Cairo" as the correct answer to "Give an example of a definite article in German!".
I stoped reading after two senses. All the doctors that I know have people booking , archiving and so on for them.
this guy is full of b. s.
this guy’s english is lowkey starting to sound a bit swedish.
Swede here. I have never had someone request money after buying a round of drinks. Never. That friend of yours must have been really desperate for cash or something because that is NOT a thing when buying someone a drink. Or when buying someone anything really.
BYOB - bring your own booze is indeed a thing among the poor.
Not only poor , quite often middleclass as well ie there is some but if you want more or something specific bring it.
Well, people making under 1M kronor then, thats poor in the western world.@@annaolsson5441
Not necessarily. My friends and I are all middle age-ish and at least un-poor. I typically have more beer and wine than my guests could ever be expected to consume in one sitting in store but they still bring their own drinks as one person mostly drinks "weird" craft beer, another wants non-alcoholic etc. Through the night my bar and beer/wine supply is of course open for anyone to use. Also some people will bring a mixer/soft drink of their choice to mix with hard liquor (that I provide). Similarly when we do a barbecue, guests bring their own meat and I provide the accessories, not because of poverty but due to different taste.
He seems to have lost his american accent lol
Gay 😆 😆
*Women Logic 101:*
>Most Feminist country on the planet.
>Misses Chivalry
Make it make sense...
He has really spent a lot of time in a twisted place of Sweden....