An Enemy of the People in Oslo

I am working as head of the labour-market policies unit in Virke, a big employers organisation with member enterprises from private sector. 

I belong to the pragmatic, the strong, the ones who ride the storm, the unsnobbish, the people who see things from two sides, the ones who sharpen their arguments and the Marka walkers but I do not belong to the ones driven by consensus, the ones avoiding conflicts, the black&white-thinkers, the harmony seekers or the sailors.

I am born and raised in Oslo. I like it here, and I don’t want to live in a smaller city. Since I enjoy working in organisations trying to influence politics on a national level, it is convenient to live in the capital. Some people say that Oslo is a segregated city. In some aspects that is true, but I am not sure if that is really a big problem. 

I used to be a Norwegian teacher, and I have read An Enemy of the People before. Dr. Stockman is a man going too far in pursuing his ideas. In addition I think he could have tried to make alliances to avoid standing all alone. This is how you have to do it if you want political influence. On the other hand: As a human being you are all by yourself. Nobody else can really understand you. And you have to be prepared for that.

Life is full of turning points, small ones and big ones. A turning point in my life came when I found out that I liked being kissed by a woman. I spent three hours thinking about what that would mean. I found out I had to pursue my feelings. I have never regretted that decision. 

For the performance I would go straight from the fitness centre to the theatre. After the show I would take bus number 37 back home to Etterstad.