Blue Monday and Jantes Law (not Jude, no..)

As the Boomtown rats questioned "tell me why I don't like mondays" I'll tell you, I'm still on the sick note despite thinking I'd improved over the weekend.So its a blue monday indeed.

However, just like Oppenheimer a bomb was suddely dropped on my doorstep and yes indeed it was as huge as Oppy dropped in the desert. Jantes Law.Not Jude Law, he's the fugly bloke that all the woman are falling in love with , hence my passion for "Cold Mountain" where he gets shot.

Anyway, back to Jantes Law. This snippet was dropped by me whilst having a chat and it is frightening and yet perhaps the ultimate summary of scandinavia EVER. Now, I've lived on these shores and never seen this before, but it feels like I've just discovered the "Dead Sea Scrolls" all over again, or perhaps just the scrolls that the Vatican stole and hid under their private little city.

So, jantes Law, here we go:-
There are ten different rules in the law, but they are all variations on a single theme and are usually referred to as a homogeneous unit: Don't think you're anyone special or that you're better than us.

The ten rules are:

You shall not think that you are special.
You shall not think that you are of the same standing as us.
You shall not think that you are smarter than us.
Don't fancy yourself as being better than us.
You shall not think that you know more than us.
You shall not think that you are more important than us.
You shall not think that you are good at anything.
You shall not laugh at us.
You shall not think that anyone cares about you.
You shall not think that you can teach us anything.

It sounds like a ritual you'd have upon entering "Livets ord" at the same time you leave your wallet at reception. Seriously, these ten commandments are actually taught in school.Now, they may not be advertised as the best shaver on the market, but the very fact that they are out there speaks volumes and has finally answered many questions regarding the way that conflicts are despised and your not allowed to really show off what you've achieved in anyway
Read those 10 commandments again, sounds like something from "the Village" or more importantly "Scarey movie 4".

Rumour has it that people in this country are cold. Thats unfair to generalise , it's like generalising that the scots are tight. It has to be said though that there is a subconcious truth to those 10 laws that can be reflected in a lot of peoples attitudes. It's almost as if nobody wants to really take the reins and lead as they don't wanna put their hand up and say "I can do it". or even better "I'd be awesome at doing it!". It has nothing to do with humbleness, thats another "egenskap".
Those that are outside of the ten commandments are considered difference and I've heard that people can be very envious in a silent fashion and of course destructive fashion, perhaps this ties in nicely with the 10 C's. I wonder if that was deliberate, if there is a Moses connection from the auther in 33.
Roughly translating the entire 10 leaves you with a kinda concept of "be average or be nothing at all" and that initself would describe a lot of situations I've come across over the past years.
I suppose the question is if its a positive or negative, as there doesn't appear to be any common ground. After all, its called Law..
A good example I can offer up as proof would be the fact that I had such a hard time to find a Captain for rugby sides that I coach. I get players from outside the country lining up to take the position, but otherwise it has been very difficult and I feel it has a lot to do with this melting into the background average way of thinking.

Ironically I was sent this info by a scandinavian who basically meant that this was the case and was indeed very tiresome. Here is what others have written:

The Jante Law has become symbolic of what many see as a permeating cultural code in Sweden, Denmark, and other Nordic countries: it is frowned upon to appear to elevate oneself or claim to be better or smarter than others. Those who assert to the influence of the Jante Law often maintain that the values of the Danish and other Nordic welfare states can be credited to the persistence of the Jante Law, in particular their stress on social equality and their emphasis on fairness for all.
Others point to such traits as protestant work ethic and an early development of a modern central government in the Nordic states. The Jante Law is a product of the agrarian society that existed in Scandinavia until the beginning of the 20th century, where adherence to social norms was necessary to maintain cohesion and stability in the small villages. Due to a fairly recent industrialization compared to many other countries, as well as a general sparse population, Scandinavia has maintained many social aspects of this society, even while being amongst the most modernised regions in the world.
This kind of communal order has been observed in many areas of the world. It has echoes in the attitude towards others in some areas of England, exemplified in sayings such as "Just who does he think he is?". The "tall poppy syndrome" – cutting off the heads of the tallest poppies – is another expression of the idea, and is a prominent phenomenon in Australia and New Zealand. The Jante Law should also be seen in the light of the "smallness" of the individual Nordic nations, which forms an important part of their self-image.
Jante Law can be also seen as the mirror image, and perhaps more pessimistic side of lagomhet. While the Swedish lagom, (Finnish passeli, Norwegian passe, Danish passende) is often translated as "adequate" or "mediocre", there is actually more than that. Being lagom as a person means being one of us; it means being qualified in the team and being just as good as everyone else. The Nordic welfare state expects teamwork and team playing of everyone, "blowing on the same coal". If someone attempts to raise himself above the team or to play solo, he is often frowned upon as a team-breaker. The Jante Law can be interpreted as a reaction on team-breaking and breaking lagomhet. Many regard lagom as a positive thing, as it stresses satisfaction through slight moderation and rationality, though not all hold this view.

I'll let you decide on this one, just now I feel like one of the pilots on the "Enola gay"!