A pretentious loud-mouthed bigot is definitely words I wouldn’t use for describing myself but I don’t think anyone would.
I’ve only been described as dark once and hardly ever as stupid. I don’t conform to a 9-5 job and hope I never will. Change and variation keeps things interesting.
You’re a Swede with American citizenship who lives in Mexico City. Why aren’t you living in Sweden or the US?
I’ve already lived there. I’m a traveler by heart and enjoy new cultures and experiences which means I move around a lot. Believe this might be because of me growing up with two cultures and wanting to learn more about how other people think and act.
What isn’t the Pirate Party?
It’s not a normal political party. I hope, and believe, that it will become a “normal” party in the future, but firstly after the definition of what is normal gets more adjusted towards the views of the Pirate Party. Just like the green movement changed how the other parties acted and behaved in their politics.
The Pirate Party is not a one-issue-party as a few claim. It is centered around a few main points but as with all things they are connected one way or another. Therefore an issue that starts out as freedom on the net can easily move to freedom in the labor market. A one-issue-party would not be able to spread to more than 60 countries.
You run the Pirate Times, an international news website for pirate parties. How isn’t the Pirate Times like other news websites?
It is a very niche news service. Focusing on the pirate movement and related events. In true pirate spirit we try to share the news as much as possible instead of locking it into our website like most news sites do. Therefore you can find all our content on a creative commons license and also find it published on other sites such as http://live.piratpartiet.se
Another important difference is the flat mentality of the team membership. We don’t have leaders, only administrative
Where don’t you see the Pirate Party in ten years?
At the same level as today. With +60 countries, in varying levels of activity, and an improving interaction between the countries I believe the movement will grow strong and established in ten years from now.
Is there anything you don’t like about the Pirate Party movement?
As with all new starts some people cling to power. Especially with politics we have a lot of strong opinions from some people causing conflicts. People feeling they have the right to something (ideas, concepts, ideology) sometimes become very negative and criticize people making changes. Some people have a destructive behavior, talking negatively instead of showing desired results through actions.
To finish, a hypothetical – if you were to be stranded on a desert island, what wouldn’t you bring and why not?
My favorite book. If that was all I was able to read it would quickly change from my favorite book to something I disliked. Things you value in life need to be cherished but not to obsession.
Thanks to Josef for his time. Keep up with what he’s up to here
