Norwegian fascists mistake empty bus seats for burka-clad women

Norwegian fascists mistake empty bus seats for burka-clad women
Members of a Norwegian far-right anti-immigrant Facebook group have been mocked after mistaking empty bus seats for a "terrifying" bus full of burka-clad women.
2 min read
01 Aug, 2017
This picture sparked outrage among fascist members of a Norwegian Facebook group [Facebook]
Far-right Norwegians have been mocked for apparently mistaking a picture of empty bus seats for burka-clad women.

The members of the Facebook group Fedrelandet viktigst -Fatherland first - commented on a photo posted with the question, "What do people think about this?" 
 
What they apparently thought is that they were seeing a bus full of burka-clad women and proof of the "Islamification" of Norway. 
 
Responses included how "frightening", "tragic" and "scary" the scene was, while others worried the non-existent passengers could have "weapons and bombs" under their garments.
 
"It looks really scary, should be banned. You can never know who is under there. Could be terrorists with weapons," one member wrote, according to Norweigian English-language site thelocal.no.
 
"Get them out of our country, those who look like collapsed umbrellas. Frightening times we are living in," wrote another. 
 
"I thought it would be like this in the year 2050, but it is happening NOW!!!!" another one said. 

Comment: Not 'alt-right' - call it what it is
 
The responses from the closed group went viral after Facebook user Sindre Beyer posted screenshots of people's reactions. 
 
"What happens when a photo of some empty bus seats is posted to a disgusting Facebook group and nearly everyone thinks they see a bunch of burkas?” he wrote in a post that was shared over 1,500 times and elicited widespread mockery.
 
Beyer told Norwegian online newspaper Nettavisen that he has been following the group, which has nearly 13,000 members, for a while.
 
"I'm shocked by how much hate and fake news is spread there. The hatred that was displayed toward some empty bus seats really shows how much prejudices trump wisdom," he said. 
 
"That's why I shared the post so that more people can see what is happening in the dark corners of the web," he added. 
 
The head of the Norwegian Centre Against Racism (Antirasistisk senter) told Nettavisen that the irrational response to six empty bus seats shows how quickly people jump to conclusions. 
 
"People see what they want to see and what they want to see are dangerous Muslims. In a way it's an interesting test of how quickly people can find confirmations of their own delusions," Rune Berglund Steen said. 
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