Raja ridicules full-fledged citizens of Norwegian society

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Ventilating thoughts about belonging is not a declaration of bankruptcy against Norwegian society. To strike at them is it.

Debate
This is a debate post. Opinions in the text are at the writer’s expense.

There has been a lot of debate after the comment “Norwegian enough for the pigs?”, where I reflect on why I do not have the personal need to call myself Norwegian. This insight has been liberating, and it is a good strategy for those who place me outside society.
For the most part, the debate has been good, but a few have a strong need to obscure it with comments such as: “a finger to Norway”, “it is thoughtless and dangerous, and signals exclusion” and “Ashraf joins society”.

Surprisingly illiberal

In NRKs The debates and in a number of articles, Liberal politician Abid Raja is derailing an important debate. Instead of listening to new and interesting currents, he has a strange need to conclude: It is dangerous and thoughtless to think aloud about having a different identity than the Norwegian one. At the same time, he makes me and others suspicious so as not to support Norwegian values.
It is surprisingly illiberal, and consciously or unconsciously, Raja ends up sounding like he is still part of the collectively thinking “uncle” culture. The one who undermines the values ​​of others – the same culture he writes books about that he has detached himself from.

We humans are much more than our nationality and ethnicity. I’m more concerned with what people bring to society, not what they feel inside.

Constructed problem

Among other things writes Raja in VG that Norwegian employers may decide not to employ qualified, ethnic minorities who have “defined themselves” out of the Norwegian. It is a contrived issue.

There is discrimination in the labor market, but most employers are more concerned with the candidate’s qualifications, not whether he or she is Norwegian or not. To my knowledge, it is also not a question that employers ask, or are allowed to ask, purely legally.

As I write this, an SMS is ticking in: “It’s been a long time since I read something so liberating and motivating, which confirms me.” There is a lot of similar feedback, and most are ethnic Norwegian.

Are these people who stand on the outside of society, or who represent dangerous and thoughtless opinions?

What does the Liberal Party say?

It is gratifying that children of immigrants call themselves Norwegian. It is also gratifying that people are hyphenated Norwegians. It should also be gratifying and legitimate for people to find other answers.
It is astonishing that a Norwegian politician in the Storting is not able to see the nuances, but assumes the role of Norwegian police. Is the Liberal Party responsible for what Raja says?

I would also like to point out that Raja, as Minister of Culture and Gender Equality, wanted to make Norway racism-free. Does Raja stand by what Raja says, or is he most concerned with creating a false enemy image in order to appear more Norwegian to his voters?
I am confident of my belonging to Norway. The most important thing I bring from this debate is the same as I originally wrote: Do not give too much space to those who make noise and fuss about your affiliation.