Copenhagen – Losing Your Teeth at Ungdomshuset
In September there was a big riot in Copenhagen. People went crazy over the closing of an old punk venue. It was the kind of thing the mainstream media would be ecstatic to get the inside scoop on. But since they had been slagging off the punks, everyone with a camera was a pariah. Of course, we didn’t know that and couldn’t understand why no one would go and film it for us. So in the end we sent our distribution guy Ivar down there to get a piece of the action. This is his story...
One of my friends, Robin, is a crazy anarchist who lives in a basement, subsists on a strict booze diet, and fixes cars for a living. He is the truest punk I know. Some weeks ago he called to tell me that the Danish punk stronghold Ungdomshuset (The Youth House) was about to get shut down by the government.
The building was handed to the founders of Ungdomshuset by the City Council in the early eighties, but since the mid-nineties the council have been trying to take it back. In 2001 it was sold to a religious sect called Faderhuset (The Father House). Faderhuset think it’s their God-given mission to evict the punks. They think punks are the spawn of Satan.
Unlike CBGBs, Ungdomshuset is still a big deal to punks all over northern Europe. Even kids as young as 11 or 12 stay there. Robin told me that this would be my last chance to see it, before everyone got evicted. He also said there was going to be a wild party that would most likely end up in riots. I’m not a man to turn down a good party so I grabbed my crappy Disneyworld/Majorca/family vacation type camcorder and got in the car.
When we arrived the police had already shut down the entire block around Ungdomshuset, but Robin knew a shortcut so we got in through the backyard. Inside there were a mix of hipsters, punks, hip hop kids, reggae dudes, anarchists, rockers, indie kids and punks all peacefully partying. No sign of a riot yet. I couldn’t figure out what all the fuss was about - until the Sunday rally.
As soon as we joined the march I saw a bottle whizzing overhead. Then bottles and stones started raining down on the police who were about 75 metres in front of me. Almost immediately, the police started running towards us. I started poking around for the camcorder as I ran into the mayhem, trying to get it all on tape. I got to the frontline and saw about 260 youngsters getting arrested. The Danish police are renowned for their riot control capabilities. They had already trapped almost everyone between two houses and after that they just grabbed people one by one.
I hurried back to the Ungdomshuset to find out what was going on, but no one seemed to have a clue. Also, everyone had a friend who had just been arrested so they weren’t too keen on interviews. So I got a six-pack, plopped myself down by a bonfire and watched people preparing for war.
They were convinced the police were going to storm the building that night. There was a meeting where they discussed riot tactics. A medieval-looking log was propped up against the inside of the front door. Trash cans and pallets were set on fire and positioned to block the entry of the police. There was tension. No one spoke. Everyone was just waiting for the war to start.
In the end, the police never showed up but it was still a fun weekend (even though I managed to get my teeth knocked out by a punk who didn’t approve of me filming him).
yeah, great writing, you sure put me there...asshole...first
Posted by: peas | 23/10/2006 at 17:05
danes must be the stupidest fucks on the face of the earth. 90% of the population are south-carolina-1950's-style racist bigots, the rest are either "anarchist" fuckwits who riot at the drop of a hat, or heroin-addicted eskimos. yes, eskimos. greenland was a danish colony (way to build an empire, danes! how about annexing antarctica while you're at it?), so eskimos in denmark are like pakis in england. only on heroin. with huge fucking mangy dogs. don't even get me started on the amount of dogshit on the sidewalks in denmark. fuck danes.
Posted by: fuxor | 23/10/2006 at 18:16
sounds like fuxor is taking anger that he couldn't even score with the fattest, nastiest danish don't, which is basically equaivalent to a british '7'.
nice work ass mouth
Posted by: jan rasmussen | 23/10/2006 at 20:47
p.s. ass mouth, greenland still IS a colony of denmark.
Posted by: jan rasmussen | 23/10/2006 at 20:48
Yeah, but fuxor got the dog shit part right...
Posted by: holger danske | 23/10/2006 at 21:14
Hey Jan, your british "7" is an American "4". Probably a Canadian "3", too. Just wanted to make sure you knew about that. Fucking ugly-ass Brits....
Posted by: carbunkle | 24/10/2006 at 02:01
Americans can count to four*?
*=4
Posted by: Dan | 24/10/2006 at 07:59
Fuxor you are an idiot. You call us racist and you are bitching about the pakis in England and all the drunk, smacked-up eskimos you have to trip over non-stop when visiting Denmark. Are you also racist? No you are probably more of a realist, just like 90% of Denmark.
Posted by: South Carolina 1950s style Danish bigot | 24/10/2006 at 10:51
this is the face of a heroin addicted eskimo while he's fucking you in the ass.
:D
Posted by: Irobot | 24/10/2006 at 13:51
eskimos on heroin...in dk? your so stupid. come on, they drink Fine Festival's. Thats all they can afford. They miss ice so much they have to drink from they get up from the gutter untill they pass out in another gutter. Even though they take you out in a beer marathon anytime!
By the way check ungdomshuset.dk for more info and huge 24year b-dayparty this week.
Posted by: M | 26/10/2006 at 01:17
Danish people are drunk all the time.
Posted by: ool | 26/10/2006 at 09:44
Ahh carbunkle wants mommas attention?
Posted by: eol | 26/10/2006 at 17:12
what's wrong with being drunk all the time? even though americans are better looking than the brits, an american "7" in style is the equilant of a british and danish "4"
Posted by: Lauge | 29/10/2006 at 21:47
i'll sock all of you
Posted by: biggins | 30/10/2006 at 23:02
Oh my fucking good.. Im not a racist,, im rather left-wing in my views,.. but can still see ungdomshuset for what it is.. its a place where people of leftish convictions meet.. nothing more, nothing less.. they are staying there illegally, and when the police throw them out, they unleash hell on copehagen.. but thats just the way it is,. in other countries, peopple get killed.. were not there yet,.
Btw: why are all people in here so Fucking negative.,..?!
Posted by: Dane | 01/03/2007 at 18:53
Most of the eskimos are alcos, not smackheads. This place was just evicted yersterday, there's massive riots and streetfights been going on since then. Oh, and the Danes are far beyond the Yankies, fuck, a Danish 4 is a Yankee 7. A Danish 2 is a Brit 9. You Brits are a pack of ugly shits. And as for the Yanks, at least you can have a conversation with a Dane after you fuck 'em -you're not gonna get that with all you dumbass Yankee bitches.
Posted by: Yourmother | 02/03/2007 at 14:25
wtf are you all talking about?! danish 3.. british 6... GROW UP YOU ALL SOUND RIDICULOUS!
Fuxor's comment about racists and dog shit in denmark was spot on, and you all know it. However, he/she comes off as a bit of a racist by slanging around "paki" and "eskimo" (which means 'raw-fish-eater' by the way).. even the culturally-retarded-danes have sense enough to say inuit, you fucking moron.
in any case, the article was alright... how about another now that the house has actually been evicted?
Posted by: wtf? | 02/03/2007 at 14:53
Dumbass yankee bitches eh? At least we're not inbred, monocultural, isolationists. And wasn't it Denmark that was just rated as having one of the lowest quality education sysytems in europe? Rated lower than Poland, even? Where do you find the best schools in the world? That's right... they're all in the US & the UK.
I'd rather be smart and cultured than blonde, ignorant & stupid.
Posted by: DumbassYankeeBitch | 02/03/2007 at 15:36
Your language alone demonstrates ignorance.
Posted by: Birgit | 03/03/2007 at 14:18
Hey now.. Copenhagen ain't so bad ya'll! Yes, dog shit everywhere & subtle omnipresent racism.. but we have that in the US too, don't we? Only in denamrk people don't tend to kill eachother over it.
Ok, and there's not as much variety in Dk.. but it's a tiny country!
People are chill, give em a break. Just the fact that places like Christiania and Ungdomshuset exist in Copenhagen is enough to make it cool. I just hope these places can survive the danish neoliberal nationalist gov't.
We support you ungeren! Don't listen to these other cocky ass motherfuckers. You do alright.
Posted by: Hey Now | 03/03/2007 at 18:52
Staying illegal in the ungdomshuset? They goverment gave them the house, then sold it to a extreme christian movement (wich is suspected for brainwash)!! The youth in DK have a right to have a place, but the state wont let em.
Try watching a 13.. Thats right 13 YEAR OLD girl getting beat'n up by 4 fucking police-mens by staves, then getting arrested and then her fucking mom gets arrested for screaming they should stop the beating? Try see 10 uniformed police-mens beating on a group sittig on the ground singing peace-full song!!!! Try getting into the case before calling us racists! Ungdomshuset is a house for all races, and is a anti-racism people. Police are arresting random people and jailed them for 27 days on the argument "Then the wont join the fights" THIS IS PEOPLE WHO HAVENT DONE ANYTHING!!!! Police, goverment, faderhuset Is way out here!
Posted by: XoB | 03/03/2007 at 23:06
UNGDOMSHUSET ER OG BLIR!!!
ANARCHY LIVES!!!
Posted by: - | 03/03/2007 at 23:07
What the fuck is a 13 year old girl doing in a riot? And with her stupid mother with her? I have NO sympathy left for the spoiled brats of Ungdomshuset. Sure the town council fucked them over by selling the house, but hell if that gives them the rigtht to throw stones at other people. Even if those people are policemen. Police brutallity my ass!
And I was there. I live in one of the houses next to the riots, and I saw what went on from my window. The police were defending themselves against the spoiled assholes who started fires close to buildings filled with people and who threw bottles, fireworks and bricks after them. And just because they didn't get their way. Fuck 'em all.
And I've been to plenty of concerts in Ungdomshuset and thought it was a great place. Now a crazy ass bitch from a fucked up religious sect owns the place and that's a crying shame, but still it doesn't in any way justify violence.
Posted by: Ungdomsluset | 06/03/2007 at 19:26
great comments !
its very hard to find so much stupidity and ignorance elsewhere
Posted by: o_theos | 15/05/2007 at 14:56
You really are an enlightened bunch, I must say. We (eskimos) prefer to be called inuit these days. But I can't take offense at the comments posted here. To do that, I would have to respect your opinions.
I am neither a smack head, nor an alco. I do, however have a masters Degree in English. Just goes to show, eh... And Greenland has not been a danish colony (officially) since 1953. The rest is a long story, and much too mundane for the truly inspired contributors to this thread.
Thanks for your time,
Tuluk
Posted by: tuluk | 13/08/2007 at 12:35