(Editor's note: When news broke about the recent rescue
of Jaycee Dugard, there was talk of her having succumbed to so-called "Stockholm Syndrome." And, of course, when that condition was mentioned,
we were reminded of this Spark from 2007.)
Sweden
has given the world many gifts -- Vikings, Pippi Longstocking, ABBA, porn
-- and the Swedish sense of fairness offers something for everyone. Swedish cinema, for example, boasts legends (Greta Garbo) and not-so-greats (Tor Johnson).
Even in the sciences, Sweden makes accommodations for all: Alfred Nobel balanced
his discovery of dynamite with his Nobel Prizes.
Perhaps the greatest example of Swedish fairness began on August 23, 1973, when
Jan-Erik Olsson
marched into Stockholm's Kreditbanken, took four hostages, and demanded that authorities bring
guns, a car, three million kronor,
and his friend Clark Olofsson to the bank. Far from taking umbrage at their enforced
captivity, the longer Olsson's hostages were held, the closer they became to
their captors -- one even called Prime Minister Olof Palme to demand the criminals be let off scot-free!
Identifying with one's hostage-takers soon became known as "The Stockholm
Syndrome," the most notorious victim of which may have been Patty Hearst,
who was abducted by the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974, and who, after either identifying with her
kidnappers or being brainwashed by them, took up a new identity as "Tania."
For every action, there is an equal and
opposite reaction, though, and 1996 saw the birth of
the "Lima Syndrome,"
where captors became more sympathetic to their captives. Maybe the Swedes
should have traded their meatballs for Sancochado.
Suggested Sites...
- Love and Stockholm Syndrome: The Mystery of Loving an Abuser - why do captives come to identify with their captors?
- Wikipedia: Norrmalmstorg Robbery - overview of the crime and its aftermath.
- The Patty Hearst Trial - the story of the most famous American sufferer of the Stockholm Syndrome.
- How Stuff Works: What Causes Stockholm Syndrome? - well, what does cause it?
- The New Yorker: The Bank Drama - a contemporary account of the incident.
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