Breaking News - Major Terrorist Attack In Oslo, Norway

[Viking]

Well initially they harrassed nearby muslims, then they demanded that peaceful immigration sceptics remove themselves from the political process, then they declared that norway would never be the same without suggesting what might change and then declared that what was needed was more democracy and more openness, naturally without suggesting that anybody before the massacre held the opinion that we could have more democracy and openness if we wanted but we didn't need it.

Basically norway has decended into tropes and have consistently sought emotionally satisfying reactions rather than analytically sound and constructive reactions.

Ah. So sarcasm.

well, the norwegian emotially satisfying reactions are really nice and fit into the typical norwegian attitude of niceism (snillisme)

[Slargos]

Can't really find any factual fault with Viking's analysis.

Can you, Jacob?

[Viking]

Can't really find any factual fault with Viking's analysis.

Can you, Jacob?

stop agreeing with me, your support is an inbuilt reverse argument ad hitlerum. Your support weakens my argument.

[Martinus]

What would be the correct response, according to you, Viking? What should have Norwegians done in the aftermath of the terrorist attack for you to consider they did a right thing?

[Slargos]

Can't really find any factual fault with Viking's analysis.

Can you, Jacob?

stop agreeing with me, your support is an inbuilt reverse argument ad hitlerum. Your support weakens my argument.

Sorry. 

[Slargos]

What would be the correct response, according to you, Viking? What should have Norwegians done in the aftermath of the terrorist attack for you to consider they did a right thing?

I doubt he could come up with a response to such a poignant question. He IS rather stupid. You are a fabulous rhetorical machine, Martinus.

[The Brain]

Is that Mohammed?

[Slargos]

It is Cornelis.

[Viking]

What would be the correct response, according to you, Viking? What should have Norwegians done in the aftermath of the terrorist attack for you to consider they did a right thing?

To be blunt, to go against type. Ultimately not response is perfect. The trope response in norway to any politically stressfull situation, they calls for unity and defiant declarations that the solution to the problem is more democracy and more openness. What I object to in that response is that it is fundamentally anti-analytical. It's almost as if the idea is that if society in general can express is disapproval of hatred then hatred will stop. Causes are not identified and solutions based on reason not proposed. Calls for more democracy and more openness are in effect calls for continuning without changing anything since before the massacre more democracy and more openness were precisely what we as a society were doing before the massacre.

That is what I object to the norwegian response so far. I'm not going to lay out the perfect response since all people are different and all people need to deal with events like this emotionally in different ways. What I object to is that our leaders let themselves be guided by the emotional response and (with few exceptions) re-enforce the emotional response rather that steer society to the rational one.

Calling for more democracy may or may not be the best response, but pretending that calling for more democracy is a change in policy is a bad response.

[Slargos]

Now I have to disagree in earnest.

Now, it may just be victimization, but AP has come out of this as great winners, and I expect this has much to do with the teary-eyed speeches about "coming together" and "becoming even more open and democratic" [while not mentioning that the opposite is currently going on with debate forums being shut down and stores removing "violent" products from their shelves.]

Their response has served its political purpose to a tremendous effect.

[Berkut]

I think the response is to go one doing exactly what you were doing before.

Why does anything need to change? Just because something bad happens doesn't mean the previous system was flawed. Bad stuff happens sometimes, there isn't always anything you can do about it, and often the "solution" to the bad shit is worse than the problem - I suspect in Norways case that may very well be true.

Given that, plenty of "more openness and democracy (which is what we were doing anyway)" seems rather appropriate. It is a way of reiterating what I am saying - that this tragedy is NOT indicative of a systemic problem, and Norway should not change anything systemically in response to it.

[Martinus]

I agree with Berkut. As I said before, this guy should get the Herostrates treatment - he should be entirely and completely ignored, beyond being treated as a basket case. Frankly, I am surprised you people are even implying that the fact that a terrorist attack happened should prompt the society to do something at the political level (as opposed to the purely security level).

[Razgovory]

Is anyone pushing for "less democracy and less openness?"

[Martinus]

Is anyone pushing for "less democracy and less openness?"

Slargos.

[LaCroix]

doubtful. his opinions would be the first on the chopping block