Carsten Juste, editor-in-chief at Jyllands-Posten, might be a diplomat in disguise. Yes, he is currently making new friends all over the world. In an interview in today’s Dagens Nyheter he inadvertently puts the finger on what this whole issue is about – the right for ignorant pricks to speak their minds.
DN: What have you learned from the Muhammad-affair?
– I have learned to appreciate humor more and the Danish character. Humor is in short supply in the world, especially with you [Swedes]. In regards of humor, there are ten Danes on one Swede.
That’s the spirit. Any more nations or religions you would like to insult, while you’re at it? It is so much easier to laugh at others, and maybe that is why Juste feels Danes have more humor. The last time I had the privilege of being entertained by a Danish journalist, in an international setting, most of the jokes were at others expense, including loads of prejudices against gays. In an article about humor in the French publication Libération, Swedish humor was characterized as “in the politically correct Sweden, it is more accepted to laugh at yourself than at others, even if everyone realizes that you are actually laughing at others”. Go figure.