#Hvisjegvarhvit

#Hvisjegvarhvit (translated: #ifiwerewhite) is a norwegian hashtag that turned up in my twitter feed the evening of 19. March 2013. The twitter user @AbuHus started to post tweets about his experiences of being a colored person in Norway. His first tweet said: “#ifiwerewhite people would believe me when I say I am from Norway”. Soon several colored twitter users used the hashtag to tell stories from their lives as colored Norwegians. Through generalizing how white Norwegians act towards colored people also white Norwegians could get a feeling of how it feels to be generalized on behalf of your skin color. This wordplay shows how collaborative creativity can arise in social media based on the social relations in the Norwegian community. Among funny and entertaining tweets about being colored in Norway there is a recurring theme telling a about a reality that white Norwegians do not experience. We are not asked questions or being regarded with suspicion just because we are white. @AbuHus gave the colored Norwegians a voice which reached beyond twitter, and was noted by papers like Aftenposten and Dagbladet. The sudden development of tweets that arisen from @Abuhus first tweet can be seen as a reaction towards the Norwegian community. Using humor and generalization, as a recursive poem that lead to criticism of the Norwegian culture and how white Norwegians act towards what we look at as foreigners, how colored people that see themselves as Norwegians don’t get that recognition of the man in the street.