The last couple of weeks have been interesting. My blog post “The beast I can’t control” made national headlines and a heated discussion on the Viking scene and tolerance for right-wing attitudes followed.

I said I would step on toes and I sure did.

The debate developed far beyond what I had imagined, both in theme and scope, and I’m left just a little bit wiser.

PS: The header picture is made by a friend and was posted in a comments section as a joke. I find it hilarious and very to the point.

A short summary

The essence of my initial blog post on the matter can be boiled down to the following:

How people with different political agendas– left or right - read different political and ideological meaning into the scene, and how they act on them. That people blur political opinions to sustain popularity or choose to stay “neutral” in political matters, hoping that ignoring these issues will make them go away. How in many ways, the Viking scene is destructing its own reputation from within and that the scene attracts, sometimes even welcome idiots.

I also pointed out that organizers and those in charge have a responsibility as the gate keepers and how reproducing stereotypes contribute to an unhealthy, damaging misconception of the Viking age which again, ironically, attracts even more idiots.

What I did in this blogpost was merely to point out some unpleasant truths. I did not reveal any breaking news and I did not disclose the scene for the world to se.

In some ways the outsiders and onlookers had their assumptions confirmed, but in most ways they already knew.

And they have been on to us for quite some time.

Let me take you to Saturday dinner at my parents’ place.

My father, a pretty normal office worker, has been on the sideline of the Viking scene for as long as I have been in it. We never really talked much about my hobby, but out of courtesy he came to a few events, met some of my Viking friends, and served as a baby-sitter when I spent my summers organizing and travelling.

He was always kind of silent when it came to the topic of Vikings.

When I visited my parents’ house for Saturday dinner, I asked them if they had read the blog and if they followed the debate.

“I would love to hear your thoughts”, I said.

My dad went silent again, before he calmly said, “We are relieved you finally got in the ring with this Viking stuff”.

He continued to explain that, over the years, he had indeed observed them, the right wings. The way they strolled about at events, the way they talked, their unpleasant glance. He always wondered and worried about what kind of people I was hanging out with and what their true agenda was. To him, some of them seemed like people I normally would not seek out or be seen with, but when in Viking gear, it was all good and we were all the best of friends.

“Kind of like living two different lives”, he said.

“If a person with the same attitudes showed up in modern clothes, you would probably kick that person out”, he added.

My mom, a professor in theater, jumped into the conversation:

“To me, the gender roles are probably the hardest to swallow. I mean how some of these men idolize the brutal, roaring Viking masculinity with the swords and beards while the women were knitting or something. As an old feminist I found that very reactionary and anti-feminist. I know most of you girls didn’t buy into that, but I still didn’t quite understand where this came from. Because it’s not role-playing is it? You are portraying yourselves and the costumes provide you with an alibi to say or do stuff you normally can’t”.

“I kind of understand the part about masculinity”, my husband said. “Must feel good to get it out. Not many places left in society where one is applauded for tossing once testosterone around. Can’t be compared to my daily getting firewood routine”, he chuckled.

He continued: “But anyway, it’s never a good sign when people look back in history to find solutions to modern struggles or political challenges. That just proves you are desperate, have run out of ideas or ways to adapt and cope. And sadly, I think some of these people are like that”.

And since I’m done defending the whole thing and have chosen not to get angry, but to laugh, I laughed.

We continued our conversation for a while, lingering on the romantic past and the chaotic present and how this particular piece of the past, with so much room for interpretation, serves as a great big bucket of everything for people to pour them selves into.

I’ve had several similar conversations with so called outsiders these last couple of weeks, and not one single one of them seem surprised or shocked about the contents of my blog post.

On the contrary they were glad I addressed the elephant in the room.

Reactions from the “politically neutral”.

When the topic went from blog to national media, one can safely say that the contents of my text went from being nuanced too unvarnished. It went from me raising my hand to address double communication and a conflict of interest, to me advocating on behalf of the political left.

“This is complex, and we won’t have room for all of it in the article. But what we end up printing will be truthful”, the journalist reassured me.

And it was.

The angle was single tracked on the far-right threat to the scene and the headline was slightly conspicuous, but I agreed to that. Besides the fact that the journalist needed a distinct angle because she knows what will keep people reading, the threat from the far-right is considered an import social dilemma. Unlike the general quarrels of the Viking scene, this bigger topic is of interest to most people.

And people kept on reading, sharing, and commenting.

While my blog post got parts of the scene talking, the news article infused a tempered debate outside the inner circle. And I’m happy it did.

The heated discussions that arose after the publication of the news article, prove that a public debate on tolerance for right-wing attitudes is both necessary and long overdue. Not just in the viking-scene but in the general field of cultural heritage and history management. These matters have been discussed within the scene for years. In many ways the problems are being handled, but there is still a long way to go. I mentioned some examples in my blog post, and they continue to emerge. People from all over the world have written to me, sharing their stories about exclusion, harassment and racism within the Viking-scene.

“I see your point; however, this is not such a big problem in MY group or in MY country”, some claimed.

The Viking community is a cross-border international network with joint events and internet forums. No re-enactment group, regardless of national affiliation, can claim to be an isolated entity free of this or that. We all take part in and represent the same scene.

Just because the English soccer scene has more hooligans and racists than the Norwegian, does not mean Norwegian players and clubs are off the hook. It’s a problem they have in common and the people in charge jointly have to take a clear stand for or against it. We just had a national clean up within the soccer clubs on the topic of racism. My impression was that everyone agreed to talk about these issues openly and to tackle (no pun intended) the challenges ahead.

If one is to take an active part in a community that obviously has political, moral or ethical challenges, one must also take an active position. And as a wise friend of mine said: Being politically neutral is also an active choice. A choice that belongs to the privileged. But I get why taking an active position can be hard and I see why it can be bothersome.

Like most re-enactors, I don’t want the scene to be driven by this or that political or ideological truth – Viking re-enactment should not be all about politics, it should be about history, crafts, nature and all that jazz. But we’ve kind of reached a point of no return. However, politics and ideology in the field of history and cultural heritage should not be a motivation or agenda, but a position.

Some say calling it like I did will damage the overall reputation of the scene, that it will lead to further polarization and that lifting this topic might in fact aggravate the problem. That this is not a public debate, and that these matters should be discussed internally.

To some extent I agree, and I would have been fine with that if Viking re-enactment was some secret, underground club. But it’s not.

There is public funding involved. There are public events where families with children participate.

In my opinion it’s pretty naive to think that the scene can solve all of its problems on its own, when time has shown that this is in fact not possible.

Maybe, just maybe, this time the discussions can lead to someone from the outside world, let’s say a financier, pressing the people in charge to present public ethical guidelines.

Or maybe it will lead to the museums actually giving a f*** about what re-enactors are up to, resulting in better collaborations on content and dissemination.

Maybe it will be a wake-up call for some of the politicians who grant way too little funding for Viking age researchers who’s research is crucial in understanding this complicated era.

Or maybe, it might whip up the general debate on the abuse of cultural heritage and Viking age symbols.

I know I’m dreaming big here, but I think it’s worth a thought.

If the negative attention from the outside world forces re-enactment groups to revise their practices and set up a proper system, it may all be worth it in the end.

My main takeaway

We live in a world where being critical towards far-right attitudes has become an issue.

And I’m not referring to the reactions I got from people who are clearly on the far-right side of things. Of course they find me being critical both problematic and annoying.

I’m referring to the negative reactions I got from the so called “political neutral” people in the scene. People who seldom talk about politics or ask critical questions. The people who think not talking about it will make it go away. The people who would prefer it if we could all just be in it for the love of Vikings and that we could all be friends. Just like me, a few years back.

“You see, the re-enactment scene should be tolerant and inclusive”, they said.

In fact, it should be so inclusive that it includes the people who seek to exclude.

My emotions are mixed, but my mind is still made up. I’m out. And I’m more sure of my decision than I was a couple of weeks ago.

I’m glad the debate and comments sections forced me into voicing my political opinion and I’m happy this debate is rolling.

I have exposed myself as one of those “left wing-extremist-weirdos”. I guess I just have to live with that. If anything, this whole debate has reassured me of where I prefer to stand.

Now, I’m of to enjoy this magical winter landscape.

XoXo

The Aftermath