My son is in high school and is going to be an exchange student in Sweden next year.
Our family background is Swedish. His first name is a typical American name, but his middle name is Swedish, and our last name is Swedish.
For example, John Sture Andersson.
Nobody calls him Sture in the US; people canât pronounce it. But he has been asking Swedish people who heâs met (so far, as part of the exchange program process) to call him Sture.
Is that weird; if he asks people in Sweden to call him Sture, will Swedes make fun of him or think that his request is bizarre, since he is called John in the US? And is the name âStureâ a nice name?
Thanks.
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The original was posted on /r/sweden by /u/CraftAccomplished784 at 2024-03-27 13:08:14+00:00.
Obligatorium1 at 2024-03-27 14:19:13+00:00 ID:
kwsumzeIâd like to note that this isnât really a standardised opinion that everyone can be expected to share. There are unfortunately plenty of people who will demand âSwedish bloodâ to consider someone a Swede, and personally I donât care at all about cultural norms, language or whatever. To me, someone is a Swede if they live in Sweden, have previously lived in Sweden for a significant portion of their life, or have Swedish citizenship. Beyond that, they can exclusively speak Swahili for all I care.
henfodi at 2024-03-27 14:37:38+00:00 ID:
kwsxtadWhat is the point of the distinction then? Why not call everyone Swedish if it fills no practical purpose? I think the cultural distinction is the only useful one.
My girlfriends best friend is adopted from Rwanda, she is as Swedish as you can be (in response to the line about Swedish blood, whatever that means).
But calling someone who âjustâ lives here Swedish fills no purpose. Like you get no information that is not conveyed by just saying âlives in Swedenâ. Being something is about identity, not location.
Precioustooth at 2024-03-27 14:55:10+00:00 ID:
kwt0x2pIâm a Dane who lives here currently and please please PLEASE do not consider me Swedish
SuspiciousBoat at 2024-03-27 15:03:56+00:00 ID:
kwt2hj2Oh weâd rather die before calling a Dane Swedish
Precioustooth at 2024-03-27 15:09:14+00:00 ID:
kwt3f3vThank you, I appreciate that!
Obligatorium1 at 2024-03-27 16:14:23+00:00 ID:
kwtf7gpSorry, I will consider you Swedish (and probably Danish too, since it sounds like you spent a lot of your life in Denmark and possibly have a Danish citizenship). That doesnât mean you have to do it as well, though. You can consider yourself a Dane, a Great Dane or an Oompa Loompa if you want - I have no stake in that.
Precioustooth at 2024-03-27 16:27:15+00:00 ID:
kwthlatBut I donât see myself as Swedish, thus I cannot be a part of this identity (is what I argue anyway). Doesnât mean I have anything at all against Sweden or Swedish people, donât get me wrong⊠If Jehovaâs Witnesses view me as a member of their cult for whatever reason it doesnât mean that I become a part of that identity just on that basis.
bobbylaserbones at 2024-03-27 14:46:55+00:00 ID:
kwszgd6Lol if you have a swedish passport youâre of course swedish, donât be silly.
henfodi at 2024-03-27 14:54:21+00:00 ID:
kwt0rsbHaving a Swedish passport is a pretty big reduction from what the comment above me described.
Also there is a discussion to be had in wheather Swedes should get Swedish passports or if you become a Swede from getting the passport. I tend towards the former as I see no reason to introduce people who have no interest in being part of the cultural sphere to the citizenry. There are many opinions about this however. If my friend who lives in Switzerland gets a child there who is raised Swiss I see no practical reason to call them Swedish even though they probably would be entited to Swedish citizenship.
I think fundamentally you have to chose to be part of the culture. That is however my opinion.
bobbylaserbones at 2024-03-27 14:59:55+00:00 ID:
kwt1rwjIf you live in sweden youâre gonna have some form of residence or citizenship is what I meant.
Why would you call a Swiss person swedish? Thatâs something a yank would do
henfodi at 2024-03-27 15:07:13+00:00 ID:
kwt32a8I disagree with the passport (or another administrative document) âmakingâ anyone anything but that is again a matter of opinion.
Like if a person has perfect cultural and linguistic understanding but no documents is more Swedish than the description the commenter above described who just speaks Swahili but has a passport.
bobbylaserbones at 2024-03-27 15:37:36+00:00 ID:
kwt8i6hNo, a yank who likes meatballs and âfeels connectedâ to Sweden is not more swedish than Somali Momo and his swedish passport. He is just a distant descendant of swedes. If momo has swedish citizenship his passport will say âSwedeâ, regardless of Yankee feelings about genealogy.
If momo flies home to Somalia, and they ask where he lives, he says Stockholm, is he not then a Stockholmer? And if he resides in Sweden isnât he swedish.
Precioustooth at 2024-03-27 14:57:07+00:00 ID:
kwt19roWhat if you have double citizenship and only have it for convenience? Not really disagreeing per se, but it should at least be required that you identify as âSwedishâ. You may be Polish and move here at 50, then after five years become a citizen while identifying entirely as Polish. Thatâs not âbeing Swedishâ to me
Obligatorium1 at 2024-03-27 16:16:11+00:00 ID:
kwtfjd8Why canât you be both Swedish and Polish at the same time?
I think itâs much more reasonable to separate personal identity from outside perception. No one but you get to decide your own personal identity, and you can pick that at random if thatâs what you want. It just doesnât mean other people have to view you the same way as you view yourself.
Precioustooth at 2024-03-27 16:25:00+00:00 ID:
kwth5ziHe can be, but only if he considers himself to be that way. The basic requirements for group membership should at least be:
I will never be Swedish if I donât see myself that way nor will I be if people that are Swedish donât consider me to be. I would also not be an African-American simply because I choose to see myself that way because people that are actually African-American would never view me as a group member. Of course itâs arbitrary when you âgetâ to belong to a certain group but there is some degree of requirement
GSPM18 at 2024-03-27 14:33:50+00:00 ID:
kwsx5kcIf an American exchange student whoâs never lived in Sweden and doesnât speak Swedish calls himself Swedish, people will find him weird.
bobbylaserbones at 2024-03-27 14:45:37+00:00 ID:
kwsz82aNo, in Sweden nobody is gonna consider a yank swedish cos his great grandma went on a boat ride to the corn colony in the 1800s.
We arenât fixated with genetics and color like yanks.
Lol nobody gonna demand âswedish bloodâ, gtfo here with that yankoid nazi shit, SĂPO will probably register your opinion if you express that one.
Obligatorium1 at 2024-03-27 16:10:17+00:00 ID:
kwtegofGo ahead and read a random thread at Flashback, or why not even a random post in Sweddit about muslims or whatever (at least before the moderators get there and clean it up), and youâll find plenty of people who talk about Swedish blood and other âyankoid nazi shitâ (incidentally, âyankoidâ sounds like some pretty nazi shit to me).
bobbylaserbones at 2024-03-27 16:12:20+00:00 ID:
kwteu4hYeah cos some random Nazi on an internet forum is a good indication of the opinion of the general masses đ
Yankee isnât a race, sir.
Obligatorium1 at 2024-03-27 16:20:14+00:00 ID:
kwtga5i⊠But my argument is that there is no such thing as an âopinion of the general massesâ in this issue, because itâs a politically divisive issue.
I agree - because the entire concept of race as applied to humanity is pseudoscientific poppycock. âYankoidâ still sounds like some pretty nazi shit to me, though.
bobbylaserbones at 2024-03-27 16:22:43+00:00 ID:
kwtgqtqWhen they stop bombing the rest of us and drag us into their wars for profit Iâll stop insulting then
granistuta at 2024-03-27 15:29:56+00:00 ID:
kwt74e7Du fÄr nog ta och lÀsa /u/Obligatorium1 kommentar en gÄng till,
ingenstans stĂ„r det att det var hens Ă„sikter, utan att det finns de som hyser dessa Ă„sikter. Och det stĂ€mmer ju, Ă€ven om det kanske inte Ă€r âplentyâ.
bobbylaserbones at 2024-03-27 15:32:45+00:00 ID:
kwt7mj1Och jag försöker förklara för honom att bara nazister skulle tÀnka sÄ och de Àr sÀkert registrerade av SÀpo.
Du fÄr nog lÀsa Bobby laserbens kommentar igen ;)
Det finns folk som tycker alla utlÀnningar ska utvisas ur Sverige men de representerar förmodligen en vÀldigt liten minoritet som knappt Àr vÀrd att nÀmna.
granistuta at 2024-03-27 15:38:56+00:00 ID:
kwt8qyaFair enough :)
Additional_Onion2784 at 2024-03-27 15:13:38+00:00 ID:
kwt47cfDo you understand that not all people consider being Swedish the highest honor imaginable? Quite a lot of people of the kind you describe donât consider themselves Swedish at all, and are perfectly happy being whatever nationality they are.
Obligatorium1 at 2024-03-27 16:08:52+00:00 ID:
kwte7icSure, but we werenât talking about peopleâs personal identities, but rather how others will define them. If you live in Sweden, I will consider you a Swede. Some will require you to have a Swedish heritage. Others will require you to adhere to some nebulous âSwedish cultureâ, whatever that is. Your personal identity is an entirely different matter, because no one can decide that but you.
Pick a leg to stand on. Should we consider what people define themselves as, or is there an objective nationality that you either belong to or donât, regardless of what anyone thinks abou it? Because by saying they are happy âbeing whatever nationality they areâ, you are defining them as unequivocally one specific nationality - regardless of their identity, or how others perceive them.
Jacc3 at 2024-03-27 14:38:26+00:00 ID:
kwsxya7Basically nobody would demand âSwedish bloodâ. The question is rather if you need to adhere to Swedish cultural norms to be considered Swedish, or if a citizenship is enough.
Obligatorium1 at 2024-03-27 16:11:55+00:00 ID:
kwterf1Wouldnât it be grand if that were true?
Sure, thatâs what you think. Others will disagree. As stated, to me questions of culture and heritage are irrelevant - and citizenship isnât a requirement. To me, itâs a question of residence and personal history (i.e. it doesnât matter where your ancestors lived, but where you lived).