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» FrederikHugger - Weather and Janteloven

At first, let me start to make an exuse for my bad english, but it is not my first language, I rarly use it and I haven been chosen to do this because of my languastic abilities. Next let me explain why I'm writing this. For a couple of months ago a friend of mine made some random search on the web and ended up reading an article about Denmark, he found it quite funny to read about his own country from another point of view and as such started to search the web for more articles. After having read many articles he realised that they had all had some great flaws. They where made of foreigners and as such only explained what kind of picture most foreigners got of Denmark, making them great tools for danes to see themself from the outside, but really not helping foreigners to see danes from the inside.After having found this site/forum he decide that he wanted some articles about Denmark writen by danes. But he wasn't sure that all danes saw Denmark in the same way as he did, so he chosed to gathere a small number(I'm one of them) of danes to discuss how they saw Denmark, danes and how to communicate it.
Well a couple of months have now passed and it would seem that I have been chosen to be the communicator... Simply because I'm the one with most time, so I hope you can forgive my bad language, poor spelling and that this is not so much a discussion as it is an article.(I didn't now how to post an article)

Weather
I will start where it all begins... At the weather. Maybe this sound strange, but most danes think that the weather and the winter is the greatest shapper of their cultur. It may be hard to understand these days, where we can import food and heat our houses, but let me try and explain.
In the old days, when you lived in a cold place you couldn't go individualistic. You had to work hard together in the summer to gather food. The reason you have to work together is that to get enough food for an entire winter you have to bring down big animals, which one hunter can't do for himself. Of course it have proberly been like this in most culturs, but where you in France, Spain or Itali could just leave the tribe if you fell out with some one, you had to stick arround in Denmark. Why? Because of the winter. You can't survieve a winter on your own, it is to cold. In the winter we used to live all together in one big house (tent/hut) for about 4 months. Think about it 4 month where you barly see the sun, see the same people every hour, every day, there is no escape from behaviors that irretats you. You can't just go out to take a mouthfull of fresh air. Under such conditions even the sligtest irretation can become a great row and there where no way to sepperate the combatents. The only way to solve such a conflict is to make sure it never happens. We did and still do that by making and respecting rooms and borders.
How do you explain this terms? Hm let me give some examples. Making room is that you move aside from a person who want to get past you before he say it, it is standing on the right side of the escalators so busy people can get past you. It is what we find and I hope most find common behavior.
Respecting borders are then not to ask people to move because you are in a hurry and not strike up a conversation because you are bored( The person you want to talk to might have a bad day and just don't need an idiot that starts a gibbering conversation). I hope that this examples shows what I mean, but if you doesn't get the point or think you have a bether way of explaining it, then pleace write.

Janteloven
This brings us neatly to "Janteloven", to me it seams that most foreigners think it as a bad thing, maybe because there are so many negative words in it. I don't know why. To those who doesn't know janteloven, it goes like this:
1. You shall not think(or "Don't ever belive"), that you are something.
2. You shall not think, that you are just as much as use.
3. You shall not think, that you know as much as us.
4. You shall not think, that you are bether than us.
5. You shall not think, that you are more than us.
6. You shall not think, that you are more than us.
7. You shall not think, that you are cappel of anything.
8. You shall not laugh of us.
9. You shall not think, that anybody care about you.
10. You shall not think, that you can learn us anything.

Allright it sems pretty negative and the first time I read it, I to found it awfully, but now let me explain it to you.
First of all this isn't a law it is just a code of behaviore and we follove it happily and have no problem:-) Why one might ask... Well because "us" is the same as "you" and it is only belive;-) Do you get it? Well first of all if I ever behaved against this rules no one would punish me for it, because in doing that he or she would break the rules them self. So there is only one upholder of this law and that is yourself, if you don't like it well break it. Then why don't we? Why don't we take pride in being bether, greater or what ever than others? Well why should we? Does it help anybody? Do I feel bether because I show to the world how good I am? No, it doesn't and that is why we doesn't do it there is no point.

Well my time is up for now, but I hope that I will soon have time to write again.

-- posted by FrederikHugger

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» denmarkeditor - Weather and Janteloven

In response to An article or? posted by FrederikHugger:

Thank you very much for your thoughts Frederik. I do not have a problem reading your English.

Yes I know it can be odd to read of your native country form someone who is not there, but that is part of the joy of being able to discuss things. You can certainly add to the dialogue with your thoughts, whatever they may be.

I am not a native Dane, but have visited a number of times and have a Danish sweetheart and a number of Danish friends. They help to give me some perspective. I will be living in Denmark soon.

About Jante's Law, I am well aware of it and want to write an article on it at some point. Yes it does seem negative to me, however, separating out positive/negative and viewing it simply as a part of Danish culture, I have seen it explain much of how I have come to know my sweetheart to behave. It also seems to be an unconscious part of, hmmm, all the Danes I do know. There is a question that arises in me about it....why are people so concerned about someone else being different, or so concerned about someone else speaking about thier achievements or so concerned about someone else trying to advance beyond where they are presntly? Why do people care? Why are they not so deeply focused on their own lives that they have no time to worry about other's actions, achievements etc? Just a thought.

Another thought is this - you say that no one punichses you if you break the Janteloven - however is that REALLY true? My personal opinion is that the punishment is done by others in the form of ignoring, snubbing or excluding the person who they feel has not obeyed the silent rules of Janteloven. They do not join in celebrating the other person's achievement and may in fact downplay it. Do you think this is an incorrect perception? Please let me know!

The weather - you are correct. Weather always shapes culture!

-- posted by denmarkeditor

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» FrederikHugger - Re: Weather and Janteloven

In response to Weather and Janteloven posted by denmarkeditor:

I am happy that you found my english acceptable. Yes, I feel you are incorrect;-) and I think there is a need for a longer explanation, but where should I start?

Well first of all Jante's law is often blamed for many absurb things. If a rockband or artist can't get recognition then, in England or America, they may blame the producere and customers for being close minded, but in Denmark they will more often than not blame the Jante's law(Instead of realizing that people just don't like their music/art).

The next thing is that most of us have known only one or two in our intire life that didn't followe the Jante law:-) That some of them may have fellt that they get some kind of silent treatment, may be right, but that is simply because they where boring to talk with. I don't know about you, but when I am not involved in a conversation, I tend to find it rather boring... I rarly do things I find boring:-) Understand? People that brag and speak only about themself tend to be boring and most of them are the ones that "break" the Jante law (Yes, this is two generalization and a very bad sentence)

My point here is simply. You can blame the Jante law for many things and it is easy, but then you just blame the wrong thing.

Before you read the rest of this answer, I would like you to read one of the best essay we have found about the Jante law:
http://www.silkeborgsem.dk/english_versi...

Have you read it? Good then I think you know why we don't celebrate other person's achievements and downplay then. We rarly see our own achievements as importen and as such we wouldn't fell comfortable if any body started to celebrate them. If an achievement is importent to us, then it is importent to us and that is enough. And you would proberly also understand that we care about how other people is doing because we want to help them if they are doing bad.

-- posted by FrederikHugger

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