Debating the Guise of the Nordic Resistance Movement 

Helena Bloomberg and Jonas Stier (2019) investigated how both protagonists and antagonists of the right wing Swedish Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) are creating discourse about the movement on the Swedish based online platform “Flashback”. The study reviewed over 1500 posts on a NRM thread and concluded that protagonists of the movement attempted to create a personal connection with potential members, using pronouns and  local anecdotes,  in an attempt to recruit, while antagonists often employed satire and mockery to undermine the organisation’s validity. The rhetorical techniques employed by both sides are inline with many other studies and the researchers feel that understanding the persuasive discourse of any extremist is essential when combatting it.

As an English language and literature teacher, the article immediately piqued my interest as understanding the context of production and reception is key to unpacking the value of rhetorical strategies. It is of no surprise the antagonists  chose to satirically undermine the NRM ideologies as  many of well-liked television programs use lampooning to highlight political follies of one sort or another (Samantha Bee “Racist Fox News”, Trevor Noah “Hollywood Stars Bribing into College”). It seems that using humour to criticise extreme ideologies is being common a part of our popular culture. Likewise, the protagonists’ attempts to validate the group’s organisational structure and credibility are key to increasing its membership, particularly in the face of the mocking antagonists. Making potential new members feel safe and welcomed while investigating the taboo nature of the NRM. Also, much of the protagonist rhetoric involved “local anecdotes” that aimed to criminalise immigrants in small Swedish towns, in order to anger and activate potential members.

 

 

The “NRM Flashback” thread I feel has provided a useful platform for opposing discourse. Pictured above is a confrontational moment in which Tess Asplund stood in the way of a NRM march, as she, a minority immigrant, felt threatened by the hateful NRM rhetoric in Sweden. These types of physical confrontations can lead to violence and, despite her bravery, Ms Asplund is putting herself in a provocative situation. The online platform allows any Flashback participant to read both sides of the issue and form opinions without physical danger. Also, moderators of the platform can delete any threatening or violent “calls to action”. I certainly don’t mean to condone the rhetoric coming from the NRM Flashback platform, but the potential to allow for free speech, even racist, while allowing civil disagreement is a progressive, non violent way to debate controversial topics.

 

References
Blomberg, H., & Stier, J. (2019). Flashback as a Rhetorical Online Battleground: Debating the (Dis)guise of the Nordic Resistance Movement. Social Media + Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118823336

Image References:
Thanks to Flickr Creative Commons- images attributions below
“Tess Asplund”. Jordi Bernabeu Farrús. Retrieved from: https://bit.ly/2JzfOt0