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Oct

20

I ♥ Copenhagen

Filed Under Bicycling, Cities, Copenhagen 

Note: Ryan Miller is a Seattle University student majoring in Political Science. He is currently studying abroad in Copenhagen and will be writing blog posts for Great City about his experiences and impressions of the Danish Capitol (and possibly other locations around Europe).

Oh Hipster, Where art thou?

(A quick word of warning: This post, while loosely related to Danish cycling culture, mostly devolves into a longwinded discussion on Danish culture as a whole.)

It is peculiar that even though Copenhagen seems perfectly suited to riding “fixies,” I have only seen a grand total of 2 ridden during my time here. I can find more of those in an hour riding around Seattle. By Seattle standards, I should be up to my neck in them, I live by not 1, but several college campuses, in what is considered the “cool” part of the city, yet there are none to be found. Even the bicycle messengers don’t ride them, instead they ride the run-of- the-mill road bikes for their business.

Initially, I found this dichotomy puzzling. After all, it would make sense that a city that is better suited to fixies (especially one with such a love for cycling) would have more of them, yet somehow the opposite is true. Admittedly, my experience with fixies stems from me racing at a velodrome, and not from “the streets,” so my perspective on this particular aspect of cycling culture is likely to be severly flawed. However, in my experience I have definitely observed a direct correlation between “hipsters” and the people who typically ride fixies in Seattle.

For those of you not aware of what a “hipster” is, I suggest you take a short trip to Capitol Hill, and look at every other person there. These people will be instantly recognizable by their thick, black, plastic glasses, their “ironic” facial hair, second-hand clothing (preferably with pants that could have been painted on), and a fierce shunning of “conformity.”

Oddly enough, Copenhagen does not lack hipsters due to any distaste for their appearance*, but rather are lacking in hipster quantity due to the society itself. Denmark is an extremely homogeneous society, so much so that differing from what society considers “Danish” is to be both feared and avoided. Much of this stems from Denmark’s historic territorial losses in the mid 19th century creating a country filled with only those who were ethnically Danish.
However, as much fun as 19th century Danish-Prussian relations are, I think we can skip forward a couple chapters in cultural subtext to the so called “Law of Jante.” This is a concept written on by a Norwegian author in the 1933, which is still widely regarded as the “Ten Commandments” of Danish society and mentality. For reference, I have included them below:

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

While these “Laws” may seem overly negative, they underscore some of the most positive aspects of Danish society, their humility and egalitarian attitude. By stifling people’s belief that they are “superior” to your neighbor, you create both a sense of community and the desire to cooperate to solve your problems. The creation of this mentality is in many ways what created the basis for the Danish welfare system and their cooperation and compromise based political and labor system.

While admittedly it is almost impossible to see this mentality at first glance, when one looks closer at the Danish people, this mentality can be seen manifesting itself in a myriad of interesting ways. For example, talking to a Danish person about programs for “gifted” students elicits a look of confusion similar to if you had just suggested that all classroom instruction was conducted on a tightrope. To them, the idea of treating certain students specially seems extraordinarily unfair to the rest of the student population.

Additionally, Jante Law can be seen in the way people dress. Below this paragraph is a photo taken at random during my first few days in Denmark. When you look at this I would like you to count the number of people not wearing a black coat.

If you look closely, you may find 2 or possibly 3 that match this description (and this is a fairly “touristy” street, when riding the Metro with Danish commuters you will see even fewer colors). I will freely admit that black is a common color for coats. But when it is the only color I can find I take notice. Again, this isn’t a bad thing, but it does emphasize how little the Danes value “sticking out.”
As Denmark becomes more and more globally interdependent and integrated, the Law of Jante has been slowly loosing prevalence in Danish society. However, I feel Denmark is a long way from having the same sort of fixie culture Seattle has.

*Now before you think I am too critical about on this particular population, let me freely admit that I am (quite literally) lost without my thick, plastic-framed glasses, and that you can more often than not find me hanging out in Café Vita and Easy Street records scoffing at both Starbucks (too cooperate) and artists on major record labels (sell outs). After all, if you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?

Comments

6 Responses to “I ♥ Copenhagen”

  1. holz on October 21st, 2009 12:47 am

    not all danes are conformists…
    Fristaden Christiania is full of non-conforming danes.

    regarding fixies, it might have more to do w/ bike culture in europe. i think danes look at fixies as inferior (no brakes!) and therefore not as logical. the glut of reliable, cheap and old bikes might have something to do with it as well…

    although copenhagen is much better suited for them than cap hill.

  2. Justin on October 21st, 2009 2:00 pm

    I got here to Copenhagen yesterday and I have seen one fixie so far (from the window of the S-train, on a platform at a stop in the direction of Lyngby). And lots of black jackets! (good thing I brought mine as well)

  3. Michael Oxman on October 21st, 2009 6:33 pm

    Thanks for the report from Denmark.

    Unfortunately there are more non-black jackets than trees in the photograph. If urban density without trees is desireable, amenities like a green infrastructure need to receive at least equal emphasis as those fire hydrants, streetlights, signposts, and other sterile streetscape fixtures.

    The almighty dollar has supplanted the urban ecosystem that is absent from the photo. For example, a streetlight costs about $10-15,000. The appraised value of a tree is about the same. When a tree is removed, it is often never replaced. If a streetlight were knocked over by a car accident, it would automatically be replaced without a second thought as to its essential nature.

    Treesneed to be thought of as essential fixtures in the urban ecoystem.

  4. Phil Miller on October 21st, 2009 8:25 pm

    Michael’s point on trees is well-taken, however I have a hunch that the trees were gone from that particular streetscape several hundred years before either fire hydrants or streetlights were invented.

    The point that Ryan makes is one that could cause a bit of indigestion for devotees of both Seattle “process” and Copenhagen’s deserved reputation for sustainability. Can you generate action across a wide front of civic issues while retaining a committment to political and cultural diversity? I’m starting to get the impression that much of Copenhagen’s success comes from not having to worry about the nuts and bolts of a representitive democracy – if we don’t have to worry about minority viewpoints, I suppose it IS easier to get things done…but at what cost?

    Does “Copenhagenize” mean ignoring minority viewpoints or the passive suppressing of ideas that don’t necessarily correspond to what “we” think?

    Ryan, tell us more…

  5. Adam Parast on October 23rd, 2009 10:59 am

    Hey Ryan. Are you there with ScanDesign? I’m currently living in Stockholm and I’m studying here on the Valle scholarship. I’m studying public transport at KTH. If you want to come up here and need a place to crash let me know.

    I visited a few months ago to see a friend and for me my biggest reaction while riding my bike around the city was that there were too many bikes. It really did freak me out.

    Just search for my name on skype and you’ll find me.

  6. I ♥ Copenhagen : Great City on November 3rd, 2009 1:01 pm

    [...] along with our recent theme of Copenhagen sustainability envy, we are posting another report written by our friends at [...]

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