Woman's Defiant Pose Strikes Chord in Sweden

She stood up to neo-Nazis during march
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 5, 2016 10:17 AM CDT
Woman's Defiant Pose Strikes Chord in Sweden
In this image made from video, Tess Asplund gestures toward a group of far-right protesters in Borlange, Sweden.   (DT.se via AP)

A 42-year-old woman has become the "talk of Sweden" after striking a defiant pose against neo-Nazi marchers, reports the Local. Tess Asplund stood in the path of the marchers with her fist raised in a photo captured by David Lagerlof of the anti-racism group Expo. "It was an impulse. I was so angry, I just went out into the street,” she tells the Guardian. “I was thinking, 'Hell no, they can't march here! I had this adrenaline." The incident took place in the city of Borlange between Asplund and members of the Nordic Resistance Movement, and police quickly hustled her away. The image, however, has resonated on social media in the country, notes the Independent. "Tess has captured one of the conflicts of our time,” says another member of Expo.

The Local notes that many are comparing the image to an iconic photo from 1985 of a woman hitting a neo-Nazi demonstrator with her handbag, though "I really don't want to go that far," says photographer Lagerlof. He recalls the scene: NRM leaders are "slowly walking towards her, and it looks like hers and the leader's eyes meet, that they are staring at each other," he says. "When they are quite close to each other the police come along and push her away." For her part, Asplund says she hopes the image leads to positive change, though she admits being a little unnerved by the attention. "These guys are big and crazy," she says. "It's a mixed feeling, but I am trying to stay calm." (More Sweden stories.)

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