"Denmark has made marriage between Danish citizens and foreigners into something of a human rights

[pampango]

violation."

http://allmediany.com/details_article.php?art_id=459

There is something rotten in the state of Denmark. That rotten thing is disgusting, distasteful, and racist: Denmark's marriage laws. The Danish government, apparently under the thumb of a tiny third party called the Danish People's Party and led by Pia Kjaersgaard, whose political knowledge comes from having worked as a social worker in a retirement home, has made marriage between Danish citizens and foreigners into something of a human rights violation.

The DPP, a populist party that runs on a simple platform of hatred for and fear of immigrants, influenced a marriage law that requires anyone wishing to marry a Danish citizen to post a bond of $11,600, while the foreigner needs pass a language and knowledge test. Both the Danish citizen and the foreigner need to be at least 24 years of age and both need to demonstrate an attachment to Denmark greater than an attachment to any other country.

This should be a moment of reflection for the people of Denmark. Following a decade of increased xenophobia, Denmark is slowly finding that its international goodwill is decreasing that many nations which are today rising in positions of leadership will find it difficult to work with a country that has made itself so unpopular.

It is true that Denmark lives under the cushy protection of European Union. However, that relationship will become difficult should the EU decide that Denmark's marriage laws violate EU policies. The Danish marriage laws are a violation, in spirit, of Article 16, sub-article one, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Denmark is a signatory. That sub-article states that individuals of legal adult age should "without limitation due to race, nationality, or religion" have the right to marry and to found a family.

[seabeyond]

1. the "tiny" third party of hate didnt get it passed all on their own. what bothers me

on du is the dellusion of utopia in these european countries when in fact, that is not a reality. every once in a while we get a little peek that they are not so progressive either, and dealing with their own problems.

[Flubadubya]

2. It comes as no surprise that there are regressive tendencies in any culture...

But, overall, the European countries far outstrip the U. S. in progressivism... and that is no delusion. They're still WAY ahead of us.

[KittyWampus]

10. No, they really aren't. Especially as regards Segregation. And Censorship.

Okay, when it comes to Economics and Welfare States, they are more Progressive.

[sufrommich]

4. Yes, I've always said that if European countries were as big

a melting pot as the US is,their true colors would show through.It's ridiculous to imagine that they are any more progressive than the rest of us.

[Flubadubya]

6. "Ridiculous", eh?

I actually believe that they have learned more from their much longer history (than ours as a nation) of what social regression can really mean to a society. They have an "experiential" history that has propelled them out of the "dark ages" of social ignorance and its real consequences.

We still have a way to go, but not to worry, given the atmosphere that is quickly developing in our country, we may hit rock bottom sooner than later before we make the turn-around that Europe already has.

[WatsonT]

7. We are descended from europeans

largely. So don't we have the same history?

Unless it resets every time a new nation is formed. In which case most of them have a far shorter history than we do.

History isn't genetic, you aren't born with the collective wisdom of past ages. If it were then China and India would be flawless by now.

[sufrommich]

8. European countries have been somewhat ethnically pure

for a long time.The U.S. has been a melting pot from it's inception. We'll see how Europeans react to the new melting pots in their countries. I don't expect to see a great acceptance across Europe.

[WatsonT]

3. Those racist europeans

perhaps they could learn a thing or two from our marriage laws.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. Wow

Just wow! :-( Emailing this link to my parents. They were married in May of 1969 and five minutes later my dad got stationed at Fort Knox, KY. Not good for a black officer married to a white woman. This sound an awful like: You can only 'miscegenate' IF you . . . .

[Blue_Tires]

9. So now I have to fork out twelve grand and pass two tests to marry Rie Rasmussen??

Hardly worth it now, is it??:banghead:

[DCKit]

11. OMG, do they know it's still legal and free to stick you dick in to someone?

Can't wait to see how that one turns out.

[MadHound]

12. This is symptomatic of what is going on across Europe,

Europeans aren't the tolerant, loving people that we like to romanticize about. A fairly large percentage of them, probably the same percentage as here in the US, are nothing but bigoted fucking assholes. The reason that we haven't noticed this before is that Europe has been a fairly homogeneous culture when it comes to race. But now that Europe needs people from radically different cultures and different races to not only fill out its workforce, but to also pay the taxes needed to support their elderly heavy welfare state, we're seeing racism and bigotry rear its ugly head.

This problem is only going to increase as more and more people from Turkey, Africa and elsewhere stream into Europe. It's also why we're seeing a resurgence of Neo Nazi groups, skinheads, people like Le Penn and his ilk.

[pampango]

13. It's true that Europe has the same percentage of "bigoted fucking assholes"

that we have. Their "bfa's" are part of their right wing and represent their version of teabaggers who want their country back. Fortunately for Europe their "teabaggers" are a small (but vocal) percentage of their population (as you say they are in every country) and they exist in progressive societies that have learned how to take care of their own people.

No matter how much progress has been made in constructing progressive societies over there, racism still exists; it is primarily a focus of the right wing. I suppose no one ever said that progressive societies would not have any controversy or serious issues to deal with. European countries are newer at the whole "immigration" thing that we are in the US (and we still have problems with immigration), so they have issues to work out. Fortunately the left in Europe largely supports immigration and multiculturalism. It's the right that we read so much about in terms of resistance to change.

We shall see if the left prevails and Europe gradually creates progressive multiethnic societies which is the way they have been headed or if their "teabaggers" can "get their countries back" and exploit "us vs them" fear effectively.