For outsiders, Sweden's international image as a bastion of egalitarianism, harmony, and prosperity took a shocking hit as youths rioted in the suburbs of Stockholm last week. But for many Swedes, the images of stone-throwing, car-torching youths have not come as such a complete surprise. The riots started May 19 in the west Stockholm suburb of Husby, following the fatal police shooting of a local 69-year-old. Within days, they spread to more than a dozen other areas outside the city center and to several other towns. On the first night of unrest, several residents were evacuated from an apartment building and fire fighters and police officers were met with a shower of rocks. Every day fresh...
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