Media and the public discourse

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The most disagreement occurred when we asked about the political reactions to the terror attack. Three out of five believe we have not confronted right-wing extremism enough, whilst just over one in five disagree. As many as a third of respondents believe that the Labour Party has politically exploited July 22.

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Let’s punish the perpetrator with silence and overwhelm those affected with love. Let's not give him what he’s after! #oslo #utøya

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If we are to keep our promise that this will not happen again, someone has to be there and keep saying ‘This was not an incident, this was a terror attack – not only was it an attack on democracy, but also an attack on our social democratic values.

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Today, we are all members of the AUF.

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Many people find it very difficult to talk about violence and harassment towards immigrants in the wake of the bombing. The majority want to preserve the memories of a cohesive community and say that they do not want to bring the negative debate back to life.

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It’s almost paradoxical. That those of us who were attacked for exercising our freedom of speech are constantly forced to respond to how our hard-earned experiences “threaten” other people’s freedom of speech.

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Regardless of how uncomfortable it is for the right to discuss 22 July, the alternative is much worse. For far too long, the Workers’ Youth League has stood alone in the face of hatred, threats and conspiracy theories.

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I hope the #Oslo #Utoya murderer is dealt with in a reasonable, just and democratic manner... because that is everything he is NOT.

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I chose to become a teacher, teaching older children. To contribute to ensuring that this would never happen again. I did it for Anders, Gunnar, Simon, Johannes and all the others who did not get a chance to grow up. [...] The new curricula make it crystal clear that pupils must be equipped to learn and understand, but it is incredibly difficult to manage the legacy in a positive manner when the politicians fail to lead the way.

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22 July is not an ace the Workers’ Youth League keeps up its sleeve. It is the trump card the rest of us can play against them so that we can continue to live under the illusion that everything is just like before.

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When terror struck Norway on 22 July 2011, many illusions shattered in society. When the next right-wing extremist attack occurred on 10 August 2019, the fear and all the painful memories returned. […] 10 August served as a reminder that our society is threatened by racist and cruel forces that we need to stand up against, together.

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Instead of taking proper action to weed out islamophobia and racism after 22 July, a lot of the public discourse has been about freedom of speech: That it is too easy to offend Muslims. We are no longer considered just a security problem but also a challenge to free speech.

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We also need to understand it from a political context. If we are unable to understand the political context, we cannot fully understand why it happened, how it happened and the consequences it should or will have. A lack of political debate could also lead to a lack of political priorities. Such as help for survivors.

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The debate over sanity was important and the debate about contingency was also important. Grief and love were important. Perhaps we should have paid more attention to the political debate after the judgment had been handed down and question of sanity had been answered. It was said that this was an act of right-wing extremism and an attack on AUF and the Labour Party, but this ended up being ignored.

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September 11th changed the world. It changed my life. It changed American society. It changed our way of flying, geopolitics. July 22nd, it didn’t even change Norway. Yes, we have this wound and we have to recover and it will never be as it used to be. But what has changed?