torsdag 21 oktober 2010

Shooter in Malmö Targeting Immigrants?

It has been revealed in recent news reports that a shooter may be targeting people "with immigrant backgrounds" in Malmö. Immigrants have even been warned by the police to not go out at night and to exercise more caution. What the press is not reporting but what I am inferring is that these attacks are not directed against immigrants - they are directed against people with non-white skin color. The shooter has not been caught but it seems as though the shooter has no direct connections with the people he/she has attempted to kill.

People from Finland make up the largest group of immigrants in Sweden. Should they be staying indoors at night? No, the shooter seems to be going after the "wrong" kind of immigrants; the same kind of immigrants which are generalized by the Swedish media to represent all immigrants - those from the Middle East. As an immigrant myself, I am in all likelihood in no danger of being shot by this person. I have light skin. The shooter has had no contact with his/her victims so there's no way the shooter would know if he's shooting an immigrant or someone born in Sweden. It's time for the Swedish press and the police to realize that their own stereotypes about immigrants are leading to inaccurate information and the continuation of the stereotype of the immigrant as non-white. We deserve not to be painted in such broad terms - we come in a range of colors and backgrounds; simplifying such a broad group of people can only lead to trouble.


Note: Although the articles I linked to are written in English, the same terms (i.e., immigrant background) are used by the Swedish press

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