Motus Mentis

Commenting on our previous item about immigrant gangs in Sweden, and the wave of bombings and shootings they have brought to that previously peaceful nation, reader “Whitewall” offered up this link, from the BBC:

Sweden’s 100 explosions this year: What’s going on?

The first subheading asks:

Who is to blame?

If you thought they might actually tell you, ha! — you’re new at this. Instead, we get:

“Bangers, improvised explosives and hand grenades” are behind most of the blasts, says Linda H Straaf, head of intelligence at Sweden’s National Operations Department.

Oh! I thought there might have been people to blame.

“It’s very new in Sweden, and we are looking for knowledge around the world,” says Mats Lovning, head of the National Operations Department.

For criminologist Amir Rostami, who has researched the use of hand grenades in Sweden, the only relevant comparison is Mexico, plagued by gang violence.

“This is unique in countries that pretty much don’t have a war or don’t have a long history of terrorism,” he says.

Gosh, what changed?

… 25 people were hurt when a block of flats was targeted in the central town of Linkoping…”If it was targeted then to be honest it makes us feel safer, because then the attack was not aimed to harm the public,” says Ms Bradshaw, hoping it was not a random attack.

Well yes, that’s a blessing. Almost as good as no gang bombings in your neighborhood at all, really.

The article finally does, it seems, ask the pressing question:

Who are Sweden’s criminal gangs?

Yes! That’s what we want to know!

Here’s the answer:

Swedish police do not record or release the ethnicity of suspects or convicted criminals, but intelligence chief Linda H Straaf says many do share a similar profile.

No profile in particular, mind you, just “similar”.

For some reason, the article then mentions… immigration. (Given what we’ve been told so far, I can’t imagine why this would be relevant in a piece about “Swedish gangs”, but there it is anyway.)

Ideological debates about immigration have intensified since Sweden took in the highest number of asylum seekers per capita in the EU during the migrant crisis of 2015. But Ms Straaf says it is “not correct” to suggest new arrivals are typically involved in gang networks.

Whereas it would be correct to say that gang networks overwhelmingly involve new arrivals. So we won’t say that.

It is just fantastic to see how much of modern “journalism” consist of not saying things that everybody knows. (And by the way, whatever you do, don’t mention Eric Ciaramella.)

Serious question: How much longer can this go on?