Male amnesia and bewitching crop tops

Is this the third or the fourth wave? It’s hard to keep track. No, I’m not talking about Covid. I’m referring to the latest resurgence of the #MeToo movement in Denmark. While the country should have been worrying about breakthrough infections from the delta variant or how to evacuate the army’s Afghan interpreters from Kabul, the problem of unwanted male attention toward women refuses to go away. The past couple of weeks saw a photo of Naser Khader, Member of Parliament, baring his shoulders, and others of celebrities and ordinary citizens baring their bellies. What’s going on? Lots, some of it stupid, some sad, and some comical.

Sofie Linde and husband in solidarity with schoolgirls on Instagram 

Swift justice
Khader was posting from a vacation in Syria, his homeland, that he was ready to end his sick leave from Parliament and get back to work. Many observers found the sunbathing look rather ill-conceived, considering Khader’s circumstances. He had taken a leave of absence in April after he threatened to go to the employers of several journalists who had been critical of him. In July came an investigative report (DK) that he had molested and harassed at least five women over a period of two decades, pressuring one to have sex with him and masturbating in front of another.

Last week the Conservative Party reported on the corroborating findings of its own internal investigation and promptly disowned Khader (DK). Khader, 58, whose family emigrated from Syria when he was 11, was a veteran politician. He entered Parliament with the Social Liberal Party in 2001, co-founded the New Alliance Party in 2007, and switched to the Conservatives in 2009. No matter which party he represented, he was always critical of the subjugation of women in Islamic communities. Khader dismisses and denounces all the charges against him.

Model offender
Kristian Hegaard was at the opposite stage of his career from Khader. Only 30 years old, this Social Liberal was the first proper Member of Parliament to be a wheelchair user. He was said to be a talented, conscientious, and promising legislator. Most people were taken by surprise when he announced that he was resigning from Parliament (DK) because he had learned that he had exhibited “offensive behavior” at a party function – “had learned” because Hegaard said that he was so drunk he couldn’t remember the events in question. 

Also in contrast to Khader, Hegaard was as contrite as possible, announcing that he would seek help to ensure that the behavior doesn’t recur. Some wondered how aggressive his actions could have been from his wheelchair, but he received praise for resigning immediately instead of taking a fake sick leave and staying on the public payroll. This kind of decision was not entirely novel for the Social Liberal Party. Morten Østergaard, its former chair, resigned in October 2020 because of inappropriate sexual conduct toward a colleague.

Khader and Hegaard were their parties' spokesperson for legal affairs. Seven of the 11 political parties represented in the Danish Parliament are led by women.

"Don't know much biology"
Meanwhile, in the town of Vejle, Jutland, the principal at Firehøje Elementary School banned “crop tops” (DK), half-blouses that expose the abdomen, because they were distracting the classes from their studies (elementary schools go up to ninth grade here). Feminist groups went into action against this assault on freedom of expression, launching #DeterBareMaver (“They’re only stomachs – a pun on “bare,” which means both “only” and “bare”). Celebrity supporters who bared their own waists in solidarity included TV presenter Sofie Linde, who had re-ignited #MeToo in August 2020 when she reported sexual harassment and threats from Danish Broadcasting Corporation management. 

“It’s not the girls’ responsibility that their principal and the boys in the class can’t concentrate when they see a navel,” wrote Linde on Instagram. Former Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt and current MPs also expressed their support, some by showing skin and others verbally. After this uproar, the Firehøje School board took stock of the situation and decided that the school did not have a ban on crop tops after all. Now, after a week all covered up, the kids can get back to their debate on the constitutionality of Denmark’s burqa ban. 

Coronavirus DK: Will it ever end?

Now that I’m finished with two book projects that have occupied most of the past year, I intend to resume posting to this blog. Although the topics will concern other things besides Covid, it may be useful to update the state of the pandemic here in light of the new surge and increased uncertainty around the world.

Denmark believes it is returning to normal. Vaccinations have been proceeding steadily, and a large majority of the adult population has now been fully vaccinated. Several test centers are being closed because they are no longer needed. The Social Democratic administration had been under pressure to ease restrictions on commercial and public behavior, and there is a consensus that the country won’t be subject to a lockdown again as others countries have been. Almost all the restrictions are being phased out (DK). Very few people wear masks in public and maintain social distance, almost all of them elderly

67% of Danes fully vaccinated; photo: Emil Helms / Ritzau Scanpix

Partying like it's 2019
Schools will open on schedule, with no requirement for masks. Masks are no longer required on public transportation. For indoor service, restaurants and bars require a “corona passport” documenting vaccination or a negative test, as do fitness centers and service businesses such as hairdressers. Limits on public gatherings and attendance at cultural and sporting events and church services have been raised. Nightclubs and discotheques are the only venues that are still closed. Travel restrictions were also eased during the summer holiday season. 

But the delta variant is interfering with a smooth transition back to pre-pandemic conditions. Infections and hospitalizations (DK) are rising again after dropping to very low levels at the end of June. They got a boost from the raucous crowds gathering to watch Denmark make it to semifinals of the European Cup soccer championship from mid-June to early July. The country now ranks in the top third of Europe (DK) in the recent infection rate.

There is a contingency plan (DK) to lockdown a county or an individual parish if it experiences an acute spike in cases: more than 20 cases; 1,000 infections per 100,000; and a positive results in more than 3% of tests. If it is closed, the area must be come under the limits for seven days before it reopens. There are no closures at present.

Covid-19 in Denmark, 19 August 2021

• Infections: yesterday 984; total 333,815 (below 200 daily in late June)
• Hospitalizations; yesterday 116 (below 30 in early July)
• ICU: yesterday 16
• Deaths: yesterday 0; total 2,562
• Positive test results: 1.60% (0.17% in June)
• Reproduction number: 1.0 (1.3 in July)
• Deaths per million: 442 (vs. USA 1,876; UK 1,930; Sweden 1,460; Norway 149)
• Infections per 100,000 in past week: 119 (vs. UK 300; France 260; Sweden 57; Germany 36)
• Vaccinations begun (first shot): 74.4% of the population
• Fully vaccinated: 67.3%

A new report from the State Serum Institute (DK) shows that the vaccines are still effective against both the delta and alpha variants in preventing infections and hospitalizations.  

New release: It doesn't matter, you'll be okay: A memoir

 Here comes volume two of my Danish chronicles.

Way back in 1988, I wrote the first draft of "Meet the Danes," a whimsical comedy based on an imaginary emigration to my wife's homeland. Six years later, we did move to Denmark, and this book tells what really happened.

From the back cover:

In a leafy suburban town in Denmark, Mark and Karin buy a picturesque old house that Karin dreams of remodeling—a home for their son, Andreas, to grow up in. Then Karin falls seriously ill.

Weathering a brutal cycle of rekindled hopes and devastating relapses, they persevere with the renovations, bedeviled by a barrage of accidents and problems that the project throws their way. But finishing the job takes on a new and bittersweet significance as Karin exhausts conventional treatments and they are forced to seek alternatives abroad.

"It doesn’t matter, you’ll be okay" is a poignant story of a family undergoing an ordeal that tests the limits of their resilience and resourcefulness, about the deep human need to create something lasting amidst the precarious uncertainties of life and death—and about how, amidst the shared moments of a lifetime, we become part of one another.

The two books differ greatly in the story they tell and in mood, but in a strange way, they're two sides of the same coin. I hope you will find it engaging and meaningful.

It's available as an eBook on Amazon.com (and in the Kindle Unlimited program) and in paperback on all Amazon sites and other online bookshops, including Saxo.com in Denmark.