I am unable to embed this very nice five-minute video -
https://www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/forget-hygge-the-laws-that-really-rule-in-scandina/p06gtkxt
- which I think is a better introduction to the subject matter than this rather dry text from Wikipedia:
Used generally in colloquial speech in the Nordic countries as a sociological
term to describe a condescending attitude towards individuality and
success, the term refers to a mentality that diminishes individual
effort and places all emphasis on the collective, while simultaneously
denigrating those who try to stand out as individual achievers.
There are ten rules in the law as defined by Sandemose, all
expressive of variations on a single theme and usually referred to as a
homogeneous unit: You are not to think you're anyone special or that you're better than us.
The ten rules state:
- You're not to think you are anything special.
- You're not to think you are as good as we are.
- You're not to think you are smarter than we are.
- You're not to imagine yourself better than we are.
- You're not to think you know more than we do.
- You're not to think you are more important than we are.
- You're not to think you are good at anything.
- You're not to laugh at us.
- You're not to think anyone cares about you.
- You're not to think you can teach us anything.
You're not to laugh at us.
ReplyDeleteHuh, so no sense of humor....
It doesn't mean "no sense of humor." If an elderly woman was waiting for a bus and a passing car splashed her with mud, would you laugh at her? Some people would. Some wouldn't.
DeleteOr, consider a person with multiple sclerosis staggering down a street or a person with a severe lisp or other speech impediment. Or for a more timely example - a president mocking a reporter with a disability.
Whenever a joke is made, someone or something is the butt of that joke. Humor does not exist without a butt, a loser, a victim.
DeleteIt is a matter of cultural and personal taste whether you feel that the target of a joke is deserving or appropriate. Or whether the joke is funny at all. I refer to Rowan Atkinson across the pond writing a letter to the Times about Boris Johnson's description of people who wear a niqab. https://news.sky.com/story/rowan-atkinson-among-those-leaping-to-boris-johnsons-defence-over-burka-comments-11468114
Because humor depends on independent (and quirky) thinking, denying humor is a recipe for decay and misery. Remember the pics in 1984.
I believe you're missing the point: those who get laughed at have no authority, and without authority you cannot enforce anything.
DeleteThe object of the joke is meaningless as long as you are on the mocking side.
In Jante, the 8th article means two things: outsiders should not dare mock us and those who follow are not to point out humorous discrepancies.
already had all those checked
ReplyDeleteIn the paradigm of janteloven, it is not that you cannot impart knowledge, it is you cannot teach "us" as you are us, we already know. So go ahead and sharpen blades, find gravitational centers, and by all means comfort a troubled child. There's just no reason to attach "you" or "good" to it. It is simply a thing being done.
ReplyDeleteOh but there is, because other "things" can be done that would destroy a society. In the absence of a moral quality to actions everything is accepted, and it is so, so foolish to think that anything good would come from human minds untethered.
DeleteYou see a few children not killing each other for a while and think "why would we even need rules?" and you happily attibute every massacre in history to some cultural fallacy or other.
We are monsters, we need the comfort of fantastical demons just to feel better about ourselves, and we should never forget that.
This is ridiculous, people are not eusocial insects. Some people are actually better than others and deserve more credit.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, I find the 8th rule particularly troubling: sharp mockery is an invaluable tool to diminish autority, and an intolerance to ridicule is a main hallmark of an autoritarian regime.
You cannot give everyone the same value, because most people are worthless in terms of progress. It takes an enormous sacrifice to expand what can be loosely called the cultural anthroposphere, and this effort cannot be attributed to those that did nothing.
Accept not complacency for the sake of those who cannot excel in anything: to not give any blame is not to be forced to give rewards.
Cesare, if we were discussing this over a couple rounds of drinks, I would next propose that if the people of a society follow the principles outlined by jante law, they would not have an authoritarian regime to deal with.
DeleteBut... I'm not trying to convince you that these guidelines are the best way to live. I presented them as an example of a rather different approach to social interactions.
The first thing people do when confronted with these "laws" (bad word) is to ridicule them by taking them literally. The Scandinavians don't take them literally. You wouldn't find a single Norsky crazy enough to argue that everyone in the world is equally skilled at ski jumping.
I spent 30 years as a teacher. I wouldn't accept an argument that I can't teach anything to anyone. If I had presented the 10 Commandments, someone could say "you can't kill anyone? What if the person is machine-gunning schoolchildren? Coveting is bad? But that's what makes people strive to achieve more and get more things and and..."
So I'm just leaving them out there. Not trying to argue the details. Hoping that some readers will realize there are other ways to look at the purpose and conduct of one's life.
I would definitely go for a drink or five righ now.
DeleteAside from that, though, I find that these "guidelines" are rather disturbing...
I find that this jante thing is gratingly in contrast with human nature, and as such it would be easily manipulated by a few members of a population to achieve an advantage over the rest. An authoritarian state in which a single warlord directs his people to the bloody conquest of a lesser entity is, I believe, engendered in humans.
"Rules" need to be believable, and allow space for our darker urges while condemning them; it's a difficult balance. Sets of "laws" like this one are dangerous because they present absolutes which are to be followed in good faith, and that is an incredibly scarce thing to find.
The 10 commandments are similar, in that they also lend to be used for personal gain and oppression, only they are a bit more believable in that they come from a supposedly perfect entity. Where does the jante come from? The population as a whole? Most people would rather obey a goat, myself included.
Sorry for the long rant you'll have probably hundreds to check and my writing style isn't exactly sparkling, it's just that I find these "laws" offensive, in that I categorically refuse to put my motives, thoughts, actions and objectives second to those of the community.
That is not to say that I disagree completely with that list: I do firmly believe in what article 9 says; that is something I experienced many times over, along with the natural consequence of 8, which is to say, THEY will laugh at you often and without the slightest repercussion.
> and I can stop the tears and bring a smile to a troubled child,
ReplyDeletei would loke to know about that! Any hints, tips, on how to do that?
I-)
Bring toys to your local hospital's paediatric wing.
DeleteWell, I did state that I could teach you 2 out of the 3 things I mentioned. I have been a teacher for almost 35 years and have encountered many a troubled child. Mostly, it is as simple as showing that you care, that their troubles are important, even though they may seem trivial to us. I am not so special, but I have a way about me that I can make children smile, even laugh, in the most trying of times. I sincerely do care about every one of them. I am entering my last year of teaching; the only thing I will miss is the children.
DeleteSooooo, modesty?
ReplyDelete