A story in Norway has attracted international attention after Karsten Nordal Hauken, a male leftist politician, stated how he was racked with “guilt and responsibility” that his rapist, a Somali man, was deported after serving time for his rape. In a documentary series entitled “I Against Me,” Hauken describes how he felt relief at the news that the Somali man was to be deported but then also felt guilt that he was the cause of the deportation.
Hauken was brutally raped by the Somali and describes the horrible crime and its aftermath. The Somali claimed that the sex was consensual but the court convicted him to four-and-a-half years in prison for the rape.
When told years later that the man would be deported, he said “The tears, they came…I felt a relief and joy that he was going away forever” but then came a feeling of “guilt and responsibility” upon hearing the news: “It was I who was the reason why he should not be left in Norway, but rather be late for a very uncertain future in Somalia. He had already served his sentence in prison. Should he now be punished again? And this time much harder?”
It is a view that, while showing a deep and admirable sense of empathy and forgiveness, is still mystifying for many of us. This is a man who came to Norway and committed a horrible crime. Why would he not be deported? Should be stay after such an offense?
It is important to note that Hauken’s interview shows a person who succeeded in transcending pain and understanding the underlying influences behind such crimes. He is remarkable in putting aside hate and working with those who live in these impoverished areas:
I lost years between depression and use of cannabis […] I learned that the original culture of the rapist was totally different from ours. In its culture sexual abuse is especially a takeover of power and not the result of desire. And it is not considered to be a homosexual act. To understand how this can happen, it must exceed its prejudices. […]
I don’t feel anger towards my abuser, because I see it more as the product of an unjust world. The product of an education marked by war and deprivation. […] I want that we continue to assist refugees in spite of such a context. […] I’m first a human being, and not one Norwegian. No, I’m part of the world, and the world is unfortunately unfair.
Hauken’s recognition of the cultural context of his rapist and the terrible conditions of Somalia is incredible for a victim of such a terrible crime. However, I find it difficult to accept his conclusion that this rapist is simply “a product of an unjust world. A product of an upbringing marked by war and deprivation.”
There are many people who have fled war and unjust conditions but do not rape people. It is the ultimate form of moral relativism and excuse in my view. I think that it is truly courageous for Hauken to come forward, particularly in showing that rape victims are not always (but overwhelmingly) female. This appears the main purpose of his interview: “I am a heterosexual man, and I was raped by another, presumably heterosexual man.”
Harken insists that he has come to understand that this is not about sex or desire but power — reflecting sexual abuse in the perpetrator’s culture: “It is not regarded as a homosexual act being the one who exerts power and raping.”
I may be a dinosaur when it comes to the psychology of such horrific experiences, but it seems to be that there are legitimate times to feel anger and that not all crimes are merely the product of upbringing or conditions. The very notion that this rapist should not have been deported is baffling and frankly disturbing. There are thousands of Somalis who want to go to countries like Norway who would never rape another person regardless of their prior suffering or desperation. While Hauken does appear to have made great strides in overcoming alcohol and drug dependence following his rape, I am not sure that he has found the “truth” and clarity that he is seeking in excusing the conduct of this man as the product of poverty or cultural abuses.
What do you think?
The only rational reason I can think of for wanting the guy to remain in Norway would be to be able to find and kill the SOB himself. Other than that, I just. don’t. get. it.
This guy needs to be unelected if he holds any office. While I am a long time liberal, this has nothing to do with liberal/conservative bias since I think the perp got his just reward. Cruel and unusual punishment would be to castrate him before deporting him. Deportation is NOT punishment at all. It is simply restoring what existed before. If he were to be thrown in prison when he gets home, that might be punishment depending on the reason.
Such a person would have excused Hitler and his occupation of Norway. Too bad he did not experience that little item of history. The Nazis and the Quislings would have changed his mind and given him a more realistic view of the world. I don’t know if Norway has the military draft, but if this attitude is prevalent,they sure need to have it and condition such people that killing people is justified in some circumstances.
Norway needs to import some goats.
@Spinelli –
“there are many people who grow up in depravity w/o becoming depraved”
That doesn’t refute causality. There are many people who smoke without getting cancer, yet smoking does cause cancer.
Individuals are neither fully responsible nor completely determined by their environment. And if one of those absolutes were true it would be the latter, because it’s an observable fact that we are influenced by our environment. So, while holding individuals responsible for their crimes, it makes sense to also look for societal causes of criminality. We can do both, without going too far in either direction as does this pathetic Mr. Hauken.
There’s something fishy, smelly, in Norway. The guy is either an aberration or it was consensual and got out of hand. Nobody in their right mind would not want to wax someone who raped them. Perhaps a ten year stretch in a US prison where the rapist would get a daily dose of his own would be the appropriate sentence. But then he would probably be giving a daily dose of his own cultural differences as well. 4.5 years in a Norwegian prison and then a free trip back home, he got off light, the victim is deranged to feel sorry for him.
There is no country on earth where rape is culturally accepted, only countries so out of whack that deviants get away with it.
Personal responsibility is dying, just like free speech. Like JT, I KNOW there are many people who grow up in depravity w/o becoming depraved. We need to focus on and help those good people, and use incarceration and extradition to keep predators away from prey like this guy, and all people.
Guilt is the most inequitably distributed emotion. Those who need guilt often have none, and those who don’t need guilt are often consumed by it. That’s one reason why there are so many shrinks in the world.
There are those who hold that liberalism is a mental illness. It could be that he has two problems. The rape and liberalism.
Maybe he feels guilty because the sex was (initially) consensual.
Norway should adopt a new national motto: “Kick me.”
Dear Europe: The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Corporal punishment for the rapist. Not just jail time. Deportation after the corporal punishment and jail time. Cut off the genitals, stuff them in his mouth, tape it shut and drop him out of a plane over Somali without a parachute. Or one with a hole in it. Send his relatives some condoms so that they are less likely to procreate another perp.
The victim of the rape here is not the only victim. The rapist posed a threat to everyone else and cost the government a ton of money.
Method: hacksaw not a razor.
The victim is the perfect example why much of Europe will be run by the Caliphate.
Self-hatred and will not/cannot defend himself or Western Civilization from barbarians.
He wants to lose, to expiate his “guilt.”
Watch the show Lilyhammer. This guy is pegged in the same job description. This social experiment going on in Europe right now is horrifying as it unfolds. Maybe about three or four different things going on at the same time serving different interests. No matter what the obvious fact is that if they keep it up the whole area will be no place to even visit soon. If I am weighing a vacation to anywhere in the world right now Europe is ranking second to last next to the middle east. North Korea and Ukraine are somewhere down there also.
Reblogged this on Truth Troubles: Why people hate the truths' of the real world and commented:
Reblog: you know some times some people need to not be so darn passive when they are the victim of a violent crime.
The rapist should have had all of his equipment cut off, then deported so that he doesn’t ever do such a thing again, ever.
I’m a little conflicted by this. I feel sympathy for the man as a victim of a horrible, degrading crime. But I also feel disgust that he doesn’t have more self-respect. A normal person would hate the guy who raped him. Personally, I’d want to kill him. Norwegians seem to have a culture based on self-abasement. They invite refuges into their country and shower them with highly generous welfare benefits. Then when some of these refuges turn around and brutalize their benefactors, the Norweigans blame themselves. This kind of culture does not bode well for the victim ever recovering. He needs to feel some righteous anger.
The poor man needs serious conseling. He is not responsible for the deportation of his rapist! His rapist is responsible for his own deportation. His criminal activity resulted in his deportation and so it should be.
Rape victims suffer serious psychological damage and many feel guild and shame. It shouldn’t be but it is. It is up to the justice system to deal with the rapist and it is up to the medical establishment to help the victim cope with the entire range of emotional and physical issues the rape causes. My heart goes out to the victim.
As to the suggestion that the rapist should be excused because he had a rough life….no way. Many humans live lives that are difficult and sometimes even tragic yet they rise above that and don’t rape other humans. Allowing a “bad childhood or a bad life” to excuse for violent criminal behavior gives license to the predators among us. It is wrong.
The great majority of rapes both in Norway and Sweden are committed by such individuals. Look it up.
It is sad but only White Liberals feel guilt over such matters.
A better question would be “who let these individuals in my formerly safe country and why?”
stop mixing cultures.
you can’t invite such people to your country and let them run lose among the poor and your most innocent
That is more than irresponsible that’s criminal.
If you’re not going to teach the new-comers your rules, if you’re not going to protect your most vulnerable and innocent then you are evil.
Hauken will or will not have to come to terms with his rape. Hauken excuses this thug on the grounds he was the product of poverty and cultural abuse. It’s his decision. I think that he will change his mind when he fully recovers, if ever. He still has a lot of work to do. God help him.