Expecting from others what you would never ask of yourself
Nouveau riche, self-made "car tire baron" and Norway's second koenigsegg-owner Tommy Sharif is not impressed with politicians' proposal to implement affirmative action in order to remedy the lack of ethnic plurality in official positions.
-I find it annoying to read complaints that the government isn't doing enough, and that Norwegians are racists. Why do they stay if they think it is so awful? Immigrants expect that Norwegians shouldn't be subject to preferential treatment in the workforce. Why should immigrants be, Sharif asks in daily newspaper Dagbladet.
Saying this is like adding fuel to fire in this country, whose poll-winning party "Fremskrittspartiet" last election symptomatically appealed for votes with this charming and attention-grabbing poster:
Four hours later the article had spawned more than 300 comments from readers eager to applaud Sharif's viewpoint.
"Way to go Tommy! If everybody were like you, immigration would not be a problem. You totally deserve everything you've earned. Why should someone get a job for nothing? Sharif has done what every immigrant has the opportunity to do. If you really want to, you can find work or start a business."
And so they go.
We should, of course, give acclaim to people who work their way up from nothing. Apart from that, Sharif is a fun addition to the public arena. For instance, he offered suspected terrorist Mullah Krekar half a million nkr to leave the country, on the grounds of Krekar being a "pain in the butt for Norwegian Muslims."
Defying obstacles rather than ruminating on problems is probably a fruitful strategy, on a personal level. I believe that immigrants face a lot of barriers, both hidden as well as more direct. But I also believe that a lot depends on how one chooses to deal with things- and having the stamina not to be broken by ignorance and prejudice is probably a good beginning.
Credit where credit's due. However, the problem is this: Sharif and his followers demand too much. Tommy Sharif is unique. Most likely, he has a supreme talent for what he does, and on top of that he might have gotten lucky. But not everybody can be a millionaire. And not everybody can be übermenschen, not even immigrants in the pursuit of better lives, and especially not refugees escaping war-torn countries.
One can also wonder if the authors of these comments are truly aware of what they're asking for. What if all immigrants were like Sharif: Strong, inventive, successful and rich? Life would not be the same for us "original" Norwegians. We would have to clean the floors of tire barons and kebab kings. They should be careful what they wish for.
If one looks back 60 years, another ethnic group in another country earned a reputation for being superior in business. They didn't win the popularity contest, and we can still see the consequences from that debacle.
If every immigrant were like Sharif, these commentators would not be able to sit on their brooding behinds, taking their god-given opportunities for granted while demanding excellence from others; they would be lucky if they could get a job.
If these commentators got what they claim to want, they would simply have something new to complain about.
