Jimmie

Sweden had an election yesterday, and a right-wing party called Sverigedemokraterna, led by this man, Jimmie Åkesson, won enough votes to take 20 seats in the Swedish parliament. So today people are up in arms, calling it a black day in Swedish political history and deleting Facebook friends who have voted for Jimmie.
I would never vote for Jimmie, but people – this is what happens when you have democracy, freedom of association and freedom of speech. You call an election and respect the outcome.
This is our big chance to step up and do battle, figuratively speaking. If Jimmie’s views are so reprehensible, it shouldn’t take much intellectual energy to outsmart him, should it? Refusing to talk to these people, calling them idiots and giving them the finger are not civilized reactions. We can do better.