Poll: Poll: Is it racist if it's true or the only examples of this group match this?

[Loonyyy]

Every person I have met from the Scandinavian countries seems to be obsessed with vikings.
Am I right in thinking every Scandinavian is like this?

No.

Am I racist for thinking this?

Not specifically, since it's not one specific race, but it's the same principle at work.

Is it my fault for finding something in common with 5 people from a sub-continent and coming to the conclusion that they are all like that?

Yes. 5 people is no sample size at all. The first 5 people I could talk to from where I am would tell me that:

Metal is good.
Metal is pretty good.
Metal is good.
Metal is something you should turn your amp down for and not annoy me at night.
"What is this, "Metal"?"

So 60% of people enjoy heavy metal?

1/3 in my house enjoy hip hop in general. 1/3 enjoy LoL. 3/3 enjoy FPSes. Do you think those numbers are reflected elsewhere?

You've met some Scandinavians who think this? So what? Robbaz isn't a sample size, Swedish and Norwegian reality television aren't a sample. Really, I'm sure you know this.

It's racist if it's a generalisation based on race which is irrelevant to the specifics of race. And, really, the only firm thing you can say, that's adequately supported, that's accurate is that we look different. The rest is mostly, a tiny bit pulled from the social construct of race, and most of it just made from whole-clothe.

 

[Lonewolfm16]

Well I am Scandinavian by blood (1/4 Danish, a little more than a 1/4 Norwegian and some random amount of Swedish) and I am not obsessed with Vikings and Berserkers and Skalds and Völva and the Aesir and... wait why are you looking at my avatar? No, Stop that! I am not really that's just...ummm ummm. Ok yeah I am pretty obsessed with Vikings. I even wrote runes on my hands for luck when I took the ACT. And why wouldn't I be, my ancestors had some pretty awesome stuff.

 

[Kirke]

Scandinavians are not a race, but a collection of Germanic people groups. In Sweden, these are the Geats, Sveas and Gotlanders. There are also the Sami, who are the oldest group of people in Scandinavia. In Denmark, there are the Danes and in Norway, it's the Norwegians. All the groups except for the Sami have a common beginning in northern Europe, amongst countless other Germanic tribes.

That was a bit of a tangent, but the point is that "Scandinavians" really isn't a race. But if it were, your statment would be considered vaugely racist.

 

[themyrmidon]

One of my favorite lines from Breakout Kings:
Lloyd Lowery: No, no, no. I say racial stuff, not racist stuff. I merely state facts. A racist is an idiot to believe that one group is genetically superior to another is scientifically baseless; cultural superiority, on the other hand.
Shea: See? Racist.
Lloyd: How much do you wanna bet you dance better than me? I state facts.

 

[axlryder]

I think there's nothing wrong with racial/cultural stereotypes as long as they're viewed primarily in a macro context and aren't presumed to be genetically inherent without some factual basis for believing so. It's when you meet an individual and assume something about them that you're creating an issue. Now, merely thinking that a person who meets several criteria to fulfill a specific stereotype may indeed be more likely to do so isn't so bad, as that's still just extrapolating statistical likelihoods based on a larger data pool. I consider this important mostly for safety situations, as the instinct to do this is largely based around survival in the animal kingdom (that animal is brightly colored, I'd better not get near it, etc.). This mentality should be used very sparingly though, and such thoughts should probably be avoided when there's no potential necessity for them.

All in all though, FIVE people isn't really a decent enough sample size to form any kind of stereotypes that might be "accurate". I've met hundreds, if not thousands, of Mexicans, and only now am I starting to feel comfortable saying "yeah, Mexicans tend to do x and y things".

 

[vasiD]

Every person I have met from the Scandinavian countries seems to be obsessed with vikings.
Am I right in thinking every Scandinavian is like this?
Am I racist for thinking this?
Is it my fault for finding something in common with 5 people from a sub-continent and coming to the conclusion that they are all like that?

You've got to remember you're only getting a cross section short of going to the country yourself. If you took a cross section of the American people right now most likely you'd think we all worship Jesus, hate Arabs, and are fat.

Is that true of the majority: Yes.

Is it true for all of us: Fuck no.

 

[Yopaz]

You judge a coalition of three countries based on encounters with 5 people?

I'm not sure about racist, but you are certainly wrong in thinking we are all obsessed with Vikings. I know a lot of Scandinavians and perhaps one or two could be described as very interested in them, while 3 are mildly interested and can discuss them if the topic seems relevant at the time.

Now those combined make up almost one percent of the people I have talked to.

Scandinavians are not a race, but a collection of Germanic people groups. In Sweden, these are the Geats, Sveas and Gotlanders. There are also the Sami, who are the oldest group of people in Scandinavia. In Denmark, there are the Danes and in Norway, it's the Norwegians. All the groups except for the Sami have a common beginning in northern Europe, amongst countless other Germanic tribes.

Actually findings indicate that the Sami population isn't older than the other Scandinavians, but rather that they have taken a different path and ended up inhabiting a different area at roughly the same time if not later. I'm not sure how much evidence support that claim, but I heard something about it on the news a few years ago. It is also believed that the Scandinavian population is a lot younger than originally believed since DNA claims we're not related to the ancient Scandinavians.

 

[Mike the Bard]

Stereotypes are born when we take the most identifiable trait of a group of people, irrelevant of how common it is, and use that as a benchmark for all proceeding encounters. Every human does this, it makes it easier for us to organize our current knowledge and acts as a filter for any knew knowledge.

stereotypes can only be applied in the most general sense to a population, because you don't know how well a group of people or a single person conforms to the stereotype. Since your questioning your current stereotype of Scandinavians, your aware of this fact and thus not racist. I would say that it was a little naive of you to extrapolate like that. but, you were only doing what any other human does in your situation so no one can hold that against you.

 

[Kirke]

snip

snip

I have heard about that, and it seems like a few of the viking gods actually predated the vikings. I don't know much about that however, and thus will not go in on more detail. I know the current population has been here for more than a thousand years, and that the Sami were not encountered until later than that since the vikings didn't really fancy going even further north.

 

[The Funslinger]

Well I am Scandinavian by blood (1/4 Danish, a little more than a 1/4 Norwegian and some random amount of Swedish) and I am not obsessed with Vikings and Berserkers and Skalds and Völva and the Aesir and... wait why are you looking at my avatar? No, Stop that! I am not really that's just...ummm ummm. Ok yeah I am pretty obsessed with Vikings. I even wrote runes on my hands for luck when I took the ACT. And why wouldn't I be, my ancestors had some pretty awesome stuff.

What is the ACT? If it's an exam in the education system, I'd be careful writing stuff on your hand. Could give the wrong impression.

OT: On a tangentially related note, when faced with racial stereotyping, the best thing I've found is to make a joke out of it. I'm part Romani, though I don't look it. Some who've found out have treated me differently, and others haven't.

Either way, I persist in telling them I'm going to steal anything that isn't nailed down, because it's hilarious. Especially when they take it seriously.

Also, it means I'm multiracial, and can therefore express exacerbation at the follies of white people.

 

[Robot Number V]

....

You're being rhetorical, right? Like, you actually met someone ELSE that made this ridiculous assumption, and you're trying to prove that they're an idiot in the most elaborate way possible?

That's what's happening, right?

 

[freakonaleash]

Considering people from scandinavia are not a race, i'd say that you're not being racist.

 

[Souplex]

Scandinavians are obsessed with Vikings because everyone is.
It's like the sterotype of black people liking fried chicken: Everybody likes fried chicken.

 

[Lonewolfm16]

Well I am Scandinavian by blood (1/4 Danish, a little more than a 1/4 Norwegian and some random amount of Swedish) and I am not obsessed with Vikings and Berserkers and Skalds and Völva and the Aesir and... wait why are you looking at my avatar? No, Stop that! I am not really that's just...ummm ummm. Ok yeah I am pretty obsessed with Vikings. I even wrote runes on my hands for luck when I took the ACT. And why wouldn't I be, my ancestors had some pretty awesome stuff.

What is the ACT? If it's an exam in the education system, I'd be careful writing stuff on your hand. Could give the wrong impression.

OT: On a tangentially related note, when faced with racial stereotyping, the best thing I've found is to make a joke out of it. I'm part Romani, though I don't look it. Some who've found out have treated me differently, and others haven't.

Either way, I persist in telling them I'm going to steal anything that isn't nailed down, because it's hilarious. Especially when they take it seriously.

Also, it means I'm multiracial, and can therefore express exacerbation at the follies of white people.

The ACT is sorta like the SAT except more commonly used in the Midwest than the East coast. I am not sure why we have two different exams when one that was accepted by all colleges would do, but who am I to argue with the random arbitrary system. Plus some schools accept both, so thats nice. At any rate, if people asked I just explained the runes and their meaning. Besides, its not like four random characters from a ancient and allegedly magical alphabet would actually be helpful.

 

[trollnystan]

Every person I have met from the Scandinavian countries seems to be obsessed with vikings.
Am I right in thinking every Scandinavian is like this?
Am I racist for thinking this?
Is it my fault for finding something in common with 5 people from a sub-continent and coming to the conclusion that they are all like that?

*raises hand timidly*

Er, I'm Scandinavian and I'm not obsessed with vikings. Does this mean I lose my Scandinavian Membership Card? I've almost enough points[footnote]50 000 of them, took me 10 years of ignoring people at bus stops like a true Swede to get those![/footnote] to get my own Sæhrímnir-- er, I mean perfectly normal everlasting bacon. Yeah. Cough.

 

[Something Amyss]

I grew up on a native reservation. Many outsiders claim that those who live on reservation are all drunks.
Many who live on reservation are drunks, so I correct them by saying "most, not all".

Stereotypes frustrate me.

I'm only half native, and I'm supposed to be drunk all the time as well, if I'm to listen to most people.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

To be racist is to make a judgement about someone based on their race instead of anything else. "Is it racist if it's true" doesn't matter because you still make a generalization of people based on their race, thus it's racist.

 

[Eric the Orange]

What, Vikings are awesome, everyone should like them.

Though I'm only like 1/3 Norwegian.

 

[SonofaJohannes]

Scandinavian here, born and raised. Nobody I know gives a sh*t about vikings. Or at the very least, nobody is "obsessed". So no, you are wrong in thinking that. And while I wouldn't call it racism, it is definetely a pretty freaking massive generalisation you got going there. Meeting 5 people that like vikings is not enough to assume that every Scandinavian likes them.