The Swedish Democrats’ parade wasn’t just backed by an influx of immigrants but also by a worsening security in the country. Despite the Swedish population being constantly reminded that Sweden Democrats are gross, they didn’t come out of the elections weaker. Now the Swedish structures are changing, and the first swallow is here to prove it.
The Swedish advertising standards council banned a ‘distracted boyfriend’ meme. This picture originally from a photobank is already a cult and one of the best memes of 2017, however it’s also sexist. At least according to Reklamombudsmannen.
Swedish internet provider Bahnhof used the ‘distracted boyfriend’ to advertise that the company is hiring and its jobs are tempting. 15 people complained about it to the council and it proved them right, because ‘the lady in red is presented as a sex object by the man’s appreciative reaction’.
Reklamombudsmannen has no actual power in Sweden, therefore the ad wasn’t cancelled, and the company wasn’t fined. However, the finding is resonating as an experiment trying to implement Bolshevik idiocracy in a free speech environment.
Such an urge to use power is foolish and suicidal. It couldn’t happen in today’s Russia or China, unless the meme targeted the very base of its political power. The regimes there know it is necessary to control public opinion strategically and selectively. Apart from that, the public has to feel free to be obedient, more so in an era of information revolution.
So how long will it take for ideologists to become completely insane – before they discredit themselves and sadly also the liberal-order institutions they’ve colonized?
