Sunday, July 24, 2011

Norwegian solidarity

After being completely unenergetic for a few days, I had to gather the pieces last night, and do something normal. For the last couple of days, I have, like so many other, been in a vacuum. Friday afternoon, Oslo, Norway, was struck by unbelievable acts of terrorism: a bomb went off by the government buildings, killing 7 people, and only two hours later, the same perpetrator set foot on a small island a few kilometers away, dressed as a policeman, and gunned down more than a hundred youth and children, of which 85 have now been declared dead.

By the principle of proximity, this hit me hard. Not only because Norway is Sweden's neighboring nation, but also because the kids on Utøya, who were there attending a summer camp, were part of a political youth movement with views very close to my own. I feel as it is my children who have been killed, the next generation supposed to follow the path of justice, equality, peace and solidarity. They were shot because of their political beliefs, and because they were young - this crowd was targeted for a reason.

I do not usually wave flags or national colors, being a firm believer of international solidarity and seeing all people on Earth as one, but as a step towards the recovery even those of us on the fringe of effect need, I decided to paint my nails for Norwegian solidarity.





I used China Glaze Midnight Mission, a stark white mini Color Club creme, American Apparel Downtown LA for the not very well executed heart, and topped the very same with Kleancolor Red Hot. It may not look like much, especially with the lack of skill in mind, but this is a rather thought-through manicure. I will not elaborate on this, as I'm sure you're all able to use your own imaginations, and the detailed meaning it has to me may not be valid to you.

I really don't trust myself using freehand painting on my nails, so I cut out a small heart in ordinary scotch tape, placing it over the white once it had fully dried, and even though I first applied a topcoat to avoid bleeding under the tape, it did so anyway. [Grr.] Because it largely got fecked up for various reasons, I did some... Erhmm... Correcting. This is painfully visible in closeup, with additional bubbles, topcoat bleeding and everything:

Oops. It's still rather cute from a distance though. And I kind of like that the heart shape is a bit irregular. And yes, I wanted to do the accent on my index, because I like to point at things!

I'll finish this post by asking you to please do what you're able to to take a stand against political violence. Killing others, or even trying to exterminate them, because of their views - especially when they are of the peaceful kind - is many steps away from democracy.

Swedish and Norwegian (bokmål) word of the day:
Norge -noun Norway
The heart is close.

23 comments:

  1. I think it looks lovely, and I certainly share the sentiment. It all feels awful.

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  2. Hi!
    Just a quick message of solidarity from Amsterdam. Like you, I was shocked beyond belief. Like you, the political views of the kids are mine. And like you, my motherheart aches. On top of that, the guy looked to the Netherlands for inspiration. I am too embarrased for words.
    Thank you for your wonderful blog, and kudos for voicing your views!

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  3. I too was saddened and sickened when I heard of these horrible events, and I agree with everything you said with my whole heart.

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  4. So tragic. I feel speechless.

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  5. I was shocked when I heard the news Friday. I still have trouble believing that anyone could hate so much...

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  6. What a beautiful, well-written post. I'm sending some solidarity from the US too. We are all in shock over the atrocities in Norway.

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  7. What a beautiful manicure for such a sad event. It's really shocking that something so horrifying could happen in such an ordinarily peaceful country.

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  8. Thank you for both the warm words and the manicure. I work in the government buildings (but was luckily not at work on Friday) and am beyond appaled at the way he went over to Utøya to gun down so many kids.

    I have been wanting to paint my nails in a way that shows my love for Oslo, Norway and all. For me this star-sparkly blue with the white accent nail with the red heart is perfect. I will use this as my inspiration tonight.

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  9. Aw this is absolutely adorable . I love all the colors :D

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  10. It's such a terrible thing that happened...it's especially hurtful and shocking that he would target defenseless children. And I really can't even begin to fathom how their parents must feel. It's scary how wicked human beings can be towards one another.

    The mani is beautiful, btw...there's nothing badly executed about it.

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  11. I've been hearing about this since Friday,yet your post made me cry.

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  12. I, too, have been stuck in front of the TV. Being Danish, this feels so close that it's almost scary. Your post is very beautiful, both the message and the manicure

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  13. I agree with you completely! I was so shocked and so saddened that anyone thinks that violence is the way to solve any difference of opinion or politics. And I am immensely saddened that so many young people were victims. My thoughts and prayers are with Norway right now.

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  14. Thanks for sharing that. I had wondered how Norway's close country Sweden (and my heritage country - only one generation removed to the states), was feeling about all this hitting so close to home. I do feel there is a global solidarity. Certainly the news in the states has been all over this. Sloppy heart or not, we all know your heart is in this. Blessings.

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  15. My heart goes out to everyone and anyone affected by the tragedy in Norway. Your mani is a wonderful way to show your heartfelt empathy. Yay for anyone who stands out against political violence!

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  16. I feel really sick about this too. When I was younger I went to similar events in Sweden a couple of times which makes it even more scary. It's so weird to be around for a countrys worst moment in so many years :S

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  17. I am shocked about this awful terrorist act, as a blast investigation expert and as a HUMAN. I cannot find the right words to express my pain and my solidarity.
    Thank you for this wonderful post.

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  18. Precis så är det - de är våra egna ungar och syskon. Vårt framtidshopp. Det är så obeskrivligt brutalt och grymt.

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  19. When I found out what happened, I actually felt the slight kick in the stomack, you know, the type when you get when something catches you completely off guard. Every action like this does and should hurt us. We're all people. Perhaps i feel even more sensitive about it since they are people of approx. my age and that share my side of political beliefs. But the bottom line remains. Young people were killed. No. People were killed. That should be horrifing and painful enough. I have great respect for Scandinavian countires, for my personal experiences, also from my studies and music taste and in general from what is known about them and this comes as an ever greater shock than usually. My friends are travelling to Norway in Tuesday, I'm sure they'll have time to show support and compassion, as I'd like to do.

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  20. Sweetie, I remember when reading about the Island murders and got to the part they said the camp had a political view similar to yours and thought 'oh Féline'...
    I felt so strange when I read about the attacks on Norway...Nordic Europe is always so peaceful...

    *sends love your way*

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  21. I absolutely love this manicure! I would love to know how to do it, I am not skilled with nail art! Very nice! My favorite!

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  22. The mani is very beautiful. I absolutly love it! I really think you did this for a great cause and that it must been known what happen. In america this tragic event has been over shadowed by Amy Whinehouse's death. I find that sad in all honestly that some drug addicts death is more celebrated then all those that died in this tragic event. It's a scary thought isn't it. I wish more people acknowledged what happen. It seems like in America that Children's deaths weren't that important and it truely makes me sad.

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  23. I still can't even wrap my head around what happened. It's just incredibly terrible that someone could do something like this. I am not at all religious but things like this make me believe that there certainly is true evil in this world. :(

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