#Swedengate: Reddit Post on Swedes Refusing to Feed Guests Escalates Into Debate on Imperialism

What started as an innocuous conversation about offering food to guests has avalanched into a broader debate about Sweden's weird habits, the darker aspects of its history and even overt racism.

While commonly hailed for its progressive policies, feminism and tax-funded government safety net, the country of Sweden has landed in social media debate labelled as #Swedengate that originated on the forum r/AskReddit.

In a thread about weird experiences due to foreign cultures or religion, one of the replies about not being offered food in a Swedish family caught particular attention.

“I remember going to my Swedish friend's house. And while we were playing in his room, his mom yelled that dinner was ready. And check this. He told me to WAIT in his room while they ate,” the reply went.

This post went viral, sparking a debate, with people from, among others, southern Europe calling this behaviour “unthinkable” and joking that one could even call the police if that happened.

Swedish activist Lovette Jallow weighed in on the debate, confirming Swedes' attitudes.

“Laughing at Twitter finding out that Swedish people will not feed strangers. As a kid growing up here we knew to just go home around dinner time. On the flipside, my mom would feed Swedish kids though”, she wrote, calling Swedes a “weird and antisocial lot”.

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Subsequently, a colour-coded map of Europe appeared based on the likeliness of getting served food as a guest appeared. There, all of Scandinavia, including Sweden was marked as “very unlikely”, whereas the Mediterranean South, including Italy, Spain and Greece were labelled as “almost always”.

As the debate mushroomed into other social media and was joined by hundreds of other users, the focus shifted away from the dining table first onto Swedes' typical features such as stinginess and then on the country's history of imperialism, colonialism and racism.

“Finally, justice is coming to Sweden. The Nordic nation’s troubles are hitting the timeline through #Swedengate, having long avoided criticism for its contemporary racism, and historic role in slavery and empire. Note: Sweden made a fortune from manufacturing chains for slaves,” another user tweeted. “Sweden had colonies. They had coastal forts in Ghana, Fort Carlsborg and the capital Fort Christiansborg. There was even a Swedish East India Company. Just because they failed doesn’t mean they weren’t imperialists,” he added.

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Some recalled the treatment of the indigenous Sami people, who were forcefully Swedenised and suffered numerous human rights violations, including forceful sterilisation, comparing it to the plight of the Native Americans in the US and First Nations in Canada.

“Is #Swedengate a good time to remind people of how Scandinavian countries have treated the Sámi for hundreds of years, dispossessing us of our language, land, and livelihoods, and now greenwashing while culling reindeer herds and dumping toxic waste in Sápmi?”, another user tweeted.

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Many referenced a study by Stockholm University, which found that men with “foreign-sounding names” were significantly less likely to get jobs than those with traditionally Swedish ones.

At the same time, many felt Sweden's reputation was being dishonestly smeared and rushed to the nation's defence.

“When people realise that Sweden is the bigger giver of donation to other countries by capita? Biggest immigration last decade with real benefits. Pensions as large as if you worked here all life to immigrants. But no. We must be racists,” one user mused.

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With all eyes on Swedengate, the newly-created Swedish Agency for Psychological Defence even started to investigate whether it is an “influence campaign”.

Objectively, Sweden ranks strongly above average when it comes to citizens' life satisfaction and is known for having high living standards, bolstered by high taxes and welfare system that includes a generous parental leave, and publicly funded healthcare. Sweden also has a long-standing reputation for its generous refugee policy, taking in tens of thousands of asylum seekers each year.