Just south of Stockholm, Sweden. 70% of the population in this city is middle eastern. (Irani, Iraqi, Syrian, Assyrian.)
Your latest purchases, cont.
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Just south of Stockholm, Sweden. 70% of the population in this city is middle eastern. (Irani, Iraqi, Syrian, Assyrian.)
Groceries. Lots of groceries, so I don't have to go again for a while.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine.
Last night I bought an iPad.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine.
And what has caused this spite, apart form some people having specific dietary needs? Just curious.
I ordered some saxophone and clarinet reeds online. I'm planning on taking some lessons and learn how to play the instruments. 
I'm planning on taking some lessons and learn how to play the instruments. 
Some salt & pepper kettle chips and a Dr. Pepper for the long drive home.
This isn't the only reason tension has escalated over here, but its a good example. There's this store where i live. Two brothers own it. One of then is the nicest bloke you can imagine. But for some reason the other one took over maybe a year or so ago. Now he refuses to sell anything that's not middle eastern. In me neighborhood its actually pretty close to 50-50 in terms of nationality so this pissed off some swedes/europeans. Eventually it went so far that the bloke has milk, bread and all that written in arabic. The place looks like it was removed from Baghdad, put in a box, shipped to sweden and unboxed here. So unless you can read arabic you dont even know whats in the bloody cans, bottles or bags.
Since its the only store in the neighborhood i asked him once if he could start selling some non middle eastern products a well. Like swedish milk for instance. Then he gave me an earful how he wont support countries who ally themselves with those infidel americans and those cowardly brits. That they had destroyed his homeland without provocation, that their soldiers had killed children and all those lovely war crimes he could think of. He basically said to me face that he hates swedes.
I mean, yeah sure, war is messy. Shit happens, I'm sure. But he made it sound like the yanks and brits were aiming at kids deliberately. Safe to say that i kind of blew on him. Its not enough that me girlfriend is (half) british, i had a friend who was a US Marine and gave his life over there in that bloody desert. I refused to stand by while he spoke ill of him.
I mean, he doesn't support a country who allies itself with the yanks and the brits? Fine, don't support them. Then you can go home. These things rile me up so badly. Me own parents came to this country. The swedes were kind enough to let people like me parents into this country, and now, these types just throw it back in their faces? No wonder immigrants have such a bad reputation.
But even after this, don't get me wrong, one of me best mates is both syrian and muslim. Hell, one of his uncles is even in the bloody mafia. I'm not a racist, despite the fact the some may see me views as such. As far as I'm concerned, if you come here and behave and try to better this society, i have no problems with you. But if you abuse what you've been given by trying to undermine everything the swedes have been trying to build. Then as far as I'm concerned, you can go back home.
There's one problem i have with swedes, they don't stand up for themselves. You take poland, serbia, hungary for instance. They raise the gas prices a few cents, and there are demonstrations on the streets against the government. What do the swedes do? They say; "Of well, I don't like it, but I'd better live with it. Its better not to make a fuss."
End rant.
ares93, over and out.
Thank you for the honest explanation... I can see why you are annoyed with this man and his shop.
I would ask you to consider whether one guy you met, who didn't treat you well, is reason to band middle-eastern/immigrant people together. To be honest in return with you, I have met a Swede I didn't like, while on holiday. I do however recognise they are all individuals. I don't imagine they are all the same. My experience was not significant enough to make me want to boycott their products and people entirely.
Maybe he took offense at you asking him to switch to Swedish foods, since you are both currently in Sweden, and I would imagine Swedish groceries are not so scarce that you need to wander into immigrant owned shops and ask them to switch. Perhaps he read your request as a hostile - your goods are not welcome here type of thing, rather than a polite genuine inquiry because you don't want to travel too far.
It's sensitive ground... if your country had been invaded, some of your family killed as collateral damage, and you had to travel thousands of miles, and beg for asylum from here and there, tail between your legs and hat in hand... then you work hard trying organise yourself to get things you find comforting and familiar - you yourself may feel sort of scarce, fragile, a need to fight your corner. Perhaps even traumatised and disturbed from atrocities witnessed and hardships faced.
I am not surprised he is not too concerned about your difficulties acquiring Swedish milk in Sweden... he could have handled it way smoother, and he just made himself an enemy in his own community unnecessarily. So yeah, not a shining example. There is a mis-communication perhaps, you are thinking about convenience, he is thinking about how he will survive in your country. You have different priorities. It always takes time for new communities to fully integrate, and the initial stages are not always pretty. Maybe your family had a similar experience during their early days? Where are they from? I wonder if they had the added trouble of difference in colour and religion?
I do think however you might have benefited from hearing the man's experiences. If he got himself all the way to Sweden, set up a business, and is self-sufficient... he is a survivor, and worthy of respect. He is adding to your economy during tough times, rather than sitting on his ass claiming benefits like he no doubt could. God knows if any of us would have what it takes.
Buy the man's goods, or leave him in peace, I am sure he has suffered enough without your help. And who knows, you might like middle-eastern milk, and increase the variety of your groceries, which is no bad thing, some might even see that as a sign of civilization.
We had a local Indian corner store close some years ago, and it was bought up by Iraqi brothers, who really jazzed up the place. And yes, everything they sold had middle-eastern labeling, but I developed a taste for their fruit flavoured thick bio yoghurts - I haven't drunk yoghurt that good before or since. I've since moved from the area but sometimes travel there just for the yoghurt. And they had some fab honeys on the cheap, the ones with the honey combs still inside, which are hard to come by and quite expensive usually. They were very honest in their pricing, as Islam encourages reasonable pricing ethics.
Their shop mostly had people from local offices buying their flavoured nuts, little packaged cakes, and exotic drinks, it was doing a better business than the local Sainsbury's at lunchtime. Variety is the spice of life. Perhaps if you were not so unwilling to try their goods, you would be happy they were there, and enjoying some different but tasty food. Life is whichever way you turn it. You can turn good things into bad, and you can also do vice versa. Spite never helped anyone: the term "cut off your nose to spite your face" comes to mind.
We end up buying a lot of our groceries from local Korean (they had the most amazing plum drinks with little plums at the bottom of the bottle, also fruit aloe juices), Chinese (fab and endless variety of noodles and dumplings), Indian (spices, 'nuff said), Thai (some not to be beaten dipping sauces)... I could go on... but I dread to think what my diet would be like if I only ever bought from British food and drink.
I gotta' try this Swedish food of yours, it must be unbeatable!
I would ask you to consider whether one guy you met, who didn't treat you well, is reason to band middle-eastern/immigrant people together. To be honest in return with you, I have met a Swede I didn't like, while on holiday. I do however recognise they are all individuals. I don't imagine they are all the same. My experience was not significant enough to make me want to boycott their products and people entirely.
Maybe he took offense at you asking him to switch to Swedish foods, since you are both currently in Sweden, and I would imagine Swedish groceries are not so scarce that you need to wander into immigrant owned shops and ask them to switch. Perhaps he read your request as a hostile - your goods are not welcome here type of thing, rather than a polite genuine inquiry because you don't want to travel too far.
It's sensitive ground... if your country had been invaded, some of your family killed as collateral damage, and you had to travel thousands of miles, and beg for asylum from here and there, tail between your legs and hat in hand... then you work hard trying organise yourself to get things you find comforting and familiar - you yourself may feel sort of scarce, fragile, a need to fight your corner. Perhaps even traumatised and disturbed from atrocities witnessed and hardships faced.
I am not surprised he is not too concerned about your difficulties acquiring Swedish milk in Sweden... he could have handled it way smoother, and he just made himself an enemy in his own community unnecessarily. So yeah, not a shining example. There is a mis-communication perhaps, you are thinking about convenience, he is thinking about how he will survive in your country. You have different priorities. It always takes time for new communities to fully integrate, and the initial stages are not always pretty. Maybe your family had a similar experience during their early days? Where are they from? I wonder if they had the added trouble of difference in colour and religion?
I do think however you might have benefited from hearing the man's experiences. If he got himself all the way to Sweden, set up a business, and is self-sufficient... he is a survivor, and worthy of respect. He is adding to your economy during tough times, rather than sitting on his ass claiming benefits like he no doubt could. God knows if any of us would have what it takes.
Buy the man's goods, or leave him in peace, I am sure he has suffered enough without your help. And who knows, you might like middle-eastern milk, and increase the variety of your groceries, which is no bad thing, some might even see that as a sign of civilization.
We had a local Indian corner store close some years ago, and it was bought up by Iraqi brothers, who really jazzed up the place. And yes, everything they sold had middle-eastern labeling, but I developed a taste for their fruit flavoured thick bio yoghurts - I haven't drunk yoghurt that good before or since. I've since moved from the area but sometimes travel there just for the yoghurt. And they had some fab honeys on the cheap, the ones with the honey combs still inside, which are hard to come by and quite expensive usually. They were very honest in their pricing, as Islam encourages reasonable pricing ethics.
Their shop mostly had people from local offices buying their flavoured nuts, little packaged cakes, and exotic drinks, it was doing a better business than the local Sainsbury's at lunchtime. Variety is the spice of life. Perhaps if you were not so unwilling to try their goods, you would be happy they were there, and enjoying some different but tasty food. Life is whichever way you turn it. You can turn good things into bad, and you can also do vice versa. Spite never helped anyone: the term "cut off your nose to spite your face" comes to mind.
We end up buying a lot of our groceries from local Korean (they had the most amazing plum drinks with little plums at the bottom of the bottle, also fruit aloe juices), Chinese (fab and endless variety of noodles and dumplings), Indian (spices, 'nuff said), Thai (some not to be beaten dipping sauces)... I could go on... but I dread to think what my diet would be like if I only ever bought from British food and drink.
I gotta' try this Swedish food of yours, it must be unbeatable!
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Groceries and gasoline.
Cat food. A new mailbox and house numbers.
Baked beans
Two tickets to Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, some groceries and lunch for two at Five Guys.
^ Is Five Guys any good? There's been one near here for awhile now but I've never eaten there.
A leather Reclining Couch & Chair today, $2629.76 all in.(Boxing week sale) saved about $800.00
No photo bucket right now or I'd post.
No photo bucket right now or I'd post.
Eh. It's a fast-food burger joint. As far as they go, then yeah, it's pretty good--better than most fast-food burger places. You certainly get more options on toppings. The fries are REALLY good. But Five Guys is also more expensive than most other fast food joints, as well. If you're really into burgers & fries, then give it a try. My hubby likes it.
^ My favorite these days is Smash Burger... 
Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America on Blu-Ray...
4 pounds of coffee beans.
iPhone
Bought a bunch of ice yesterday for a friend's party.