The Sweden Democrats are xenophobic, racist, and anti-immigration

In this round, I will address my opponent's initial arguments and defend my arguments/rebuttals in the next round. BackgroundAs agreed upon, the Sweden Democrats did have a "questionable background" initially and had close ties with white nationalist and neo-nazi movements, the party has since moderated to a fair extent. It would be inaccurate to still state that the party has close ties with white nationalism, neo-nazism, racism, etc. XenophobiaBefore I debunk any of BrendanD19's arguments, one must first understand what exactly xenophobia is. According to Merriam Webster, xenophobia is a "fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners." My opponent's first argument states that the slogan "keep Sweden Swedish" has proved the party's xenophobia. However, there is nothing wrong with this statement itself, but rather the way it has been used by white nationalist movements. And none the less, this slogan has slowly been increasingly unpopular and is not used anymore by the Sweden Democrats. My opponent also states that immigrants being pressured to culturally assimilate implies xenophobia. However, it is not necessarily xenophobic since there is no distinction between supporting assimilation and disliking foreigners. Unlike the USA, Sweden was not a country founded and built by immigrants, and has been relatively culturally homogenous. It would not be a good idea for Sweden to embrace multiculturalism to a significant degree, as it can divide the country between foreign and native populations. Sweden has had a rich culture and history, and the Swedish should not expect to have their national identity and unity be divided under having lots of other cultures exist alongside Swedish culture. Furthermore, certain immigrants could also bring a sort of "backwards" culture to threaten western Classical Liberal ideas if they do not assimilate. In general, multiculturalism in Sweden can lead to the decay of Swedish culture, as well as a lack of national unity among those residing in Sweden if they were to be brung up in different mindsets and different values.Cultural unity can not be attributed to xenophobia in all cases, considering that many people whom are in favor of cultural assimilation may have an interest in foreign culture, and may even tour the world to experience other cultures. None the less, having many cultures "invade" Sweden would "water down" Swedish culture and traditions. As evidence of Middle-Eastern Islamic culture influecing Sweden, there has been some controversy about allowing gender segregation in pools (supporting 'women-only' sessions) and pork being banned and replaced with "halal" meat in school menus. Furthermore, a library in Arvika has offered Arabic language courses in Swedish without Swedish language courses in Arabic. Swedish authorities have also approved of many polygamous marriages among Muslim immigrants. This can all be attributed to foreign middle eastern cultures "invading" Swedish culture. While arguably this is not "Islamophobia," fearing and condemning Islam and Xenophobia are entirely different. Xenophobia is disdain for a race, and Islamophobia is disdain for a culture. My opponent has also stated that Bjorn Soder has stated discriminatory statements against Jews and Samis. However, his statements were widely taken out of context. Soder's original statement was that “I think most people of Jewish origin that have become Swedes leave their Jewish identity." While this statement may be controversial, he has not stated that all Jews that become Swedes have left their identity. Furthermore, Akesson's statement on Islamic influence over Swedish culture is not xenophobic. Islam is not a country, and Muslims are not a nationality. Xenophobia is the fear or dislike of people from foreign countries. Anti-immigrant My opponent falsely states that the Sweden Democrats are opposed to immigration. However, they have only stated that "immigration is extreme" and are not opposed to the idea of immigration in general. They however do believe that there should be a balance, and that Sweden has taken in too many immigrants.Furthermore, Sweden has the highest refugee population (per 1000 people) in Europe excluding Turkey. These refugees have contributed to a great amount of crime, as 77% of rapes for example have been committed by the Muslim male population. It's also worth noting that Islam in Sweden has only increased as a result of mass migration.Considering Sweden has been generous enough to take in that many refugees, it isn't necessarily a negative thing to close borders to future refugees. Especially considering many refugees are actually just economic migrants as evident by an EU report. A lot of problems are also coming from a minority of the refugees, so it is in Sweden's national interests to stay safe and close the borders to future refugees.My opponent also falsely misquotes Akesson as stating immigrants should not come to Sweden. However, the full quote was "Stay away refugees, Sweden is full." It is quite evident he is addressing refugees, and not all immigrants. The party has also not stated that moderate immigration bring crime and harm to the economy, but they imply mass migration is what has brung crime and economic damage. I will now wrap up my argument here due to a lack of space. http://www.dailymail.co.uk...http://www.dailymail.co.uk...http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org...http://www.timesofisrael.com...https://en.wikipedia.org...http://www.pdf-archive.com...http://www.bra.se...http://www.ssd.scb.se...http://www.ssd.scb.se...http://www.scb.se...http://www.dn.se...http://statistik.bra.se...http://www.thelocal.se...http://www.dailymail.co.uk...