There is all over the West a steady decline in the number of people who appreciate the freedom of expression and understand its importance to a free society. This decline is in large part because free societies are under severe attack in the West from authoritarian forces.
“After the Easter riots – almost three out of ten Swedes want to ban ‘offensive’ demonstrations,” translated from “Efter påskupploppen – knappt tre av tio svenskar vill förbjuda ”kränkande” demonstrationer,” SVT, April 28, 2022:
After the Easter riots and the burning of the Koran – now almost three out of ten Swedes want to ban “offensive” demonstrations. This is shown by a new survey from Novus that SVT’s Politikbyrån publishes today.
“These results are actually shocking in that so many want to limit the freedom of demonstration, I think,” says Torbjörn Sjöström, CEO of Novus.
Rasmus Paludan, party chairman of the far-right Danish party Stram Kurs, went on a Koran-burning tour in southern Sweden during Easter.
In his wake: violent riots with over a hundred injured police officers.
The scenes from Norrköping, Linköping, Stockholm, Örebro and Malmö have shaken Sweden. Now a Novus survey shows that close to three out of ten Swedes, 28 percent, believe that demonstrations that could offend any person or group should be banned (55 percent do not agree).
“This is probably very much a reaction to the fact that they have not talked properly about the complexity of the freedom of demonstration and expression in a democracy. Instead, they focus on emotions where you may relate more to not offending anyone than the right to express yourself, says Torbjörn Sjöström, CEO of Novus.
Differences between left and right sympathizers
However, the differences are large depending on which party you sympathize with. Slightly simplified, it can be said that those who sympathize with the parties on the left are more positive about banning “offensive” demonstrations…This is strongly influenced by the events of Easter. Within S and MP, 4 out of 10 believe that demonstrations should be banned, which is quite surprising, says Torbjörn Sjöström and continues:
“These are parties where demonstrations are still a part of their everyday lives, such as May 1, for example. Their parties would probably not have existed if the freedom of demonstration had not existed. But this is quickly forgotten because of the brutal scenes that took place this Easter.”
The gender differences are also large. 71 percent of men believe that such demonstrations should not be banned, while the same figure for women lands at 38 percent.
CogitoErgoSum says
I guess that means people don’t want Muslims demonstrating either. How is a demonstration by Muslims over something that did not even happen not offensive?
born saturday says
so long as the muslims in europe burn churches destroy monuments and commit endless sacriligious acts against the christians, so long as the temple of temples The Hagia Sofia, is used as a mosque, and other equally ancient temples and monasteries are used as mosques, or left to rumble and pillage, this is as long as we have every right to burn the koran and use it for toilet paper….
is it not ordered in the quran the pillage and conversions and disrespect and arson in the christian temples???? even the most historic and most magnificent temple of france the notre dame was torched….
it is within the quran to commit all these acts along with genocides, islamic slaughter of civilians and vulnerable and subjugation and slavery…. it starts there so its dececration is highly symbolic and necesary….
Bikinis not Burkas says
The Quran must be banned as it is a TERRORISTS MANUAL, it tells the adherents to the MURDEROUS IDEOLOGY of ISLAM:-
Who to kill,
When to kill
Where to kill
Way to kill
and
How to kill.
gravenimage says
Sweden: Almost 30% want to ban ‘offensive’ demonstrations after Muslims riot over Qur’an-burning
…………
There is a difference between demonstrations and violent riots. This was the latter.
Fitna says
Well if you submit to the Heckler’s veto and curtail your freedom to appease violent thugs, then kiss your freedoms goodbye.
Might as well convert to Islam right now and get it over with because that’s their end game for all of us, but there’s even worse in store tbh, esp for those who don’t bow.
Notice the gender gap, far more women are ready to surrender than men. This proves the point that some have been making that women are not really fit to be heads of states where it sometimes requires the use of force and violence to defend your nation.
This is why Merkel and Jacinda Arden were an absolute disaster, esp. for other women in general because they allow the enemy to invade by the millions and refuse to oppose them, actually they prefer to submit.
Obviously it doesn’t mean all women are this way, ofc there are heroes like on this board who oppose Islam but in general they don’t make for good leaders and the stats constantly prove it.
Bikinis not Burkas says
A survey should be conducted to determine how many Swedes want to have hand grenades thrown at them by the adherents of the MURDEROUS IDEOLOGY of ISLAM!