Married Lesbian Couple Rescued 40 Teens from Norway Massacre

If, as I insisted, you'd read Tove Jansson's elliptical, elegant Fair Play or her marvelous The Summer Book, you could perfectly envision the Norwegian island chain where married lesbians Hege Dalen and Toril Hansen [adidas] were eating at their campsite when they heard shots and screams across the water. Did they run and hide? No, they're lesbians, so they jumped in their boat and sped toward the slaughter. The women pulled terrified teens from the water and the rocky coast as the insane far-right gunman shot through their vessel. Unfortunately, there were too many youth to fit in the boat. Hege and Toril ferried the group to safety, then hurried back to the massacre, rescuing another boatload. Then they did it yet again. And still again. Altogether in their four trips they saved forty people from the scene where seventy-six died.

The mainstream U.S. media, which loves a hero story almost as much as a tragedy, has been uniformly silent about the lesbian superstars. Instead, you get a gay man, Bruce Bawer, in his self-serving WSJ piece saying how shocked he is to discover his extremist anti-Islam writings are quoted in the extremist anti-Islam writings of a killer. Ignore him and stick with Tove Jansson.

photo: Maija Tammi/HS

Comments

[Sandra Titus]

They are just great people, plain and simple.

[Hero worshipper]

Way to go ladies!!! You're both Superheroes!!!

[mike hoyle]

fuck Yeah! Telling like it is.

The gunman was not mad, he was a calculating, ruthless and very sane Nazi who wanted to start a revolution of some sort by the outrageous holocaust Killing of a whole social group who he disagreed with

[Joe Collins]

Surely it shouldn't matter if they're lesbians or not. I don't think that's important, what is important is all the lives they saved. A brilliant act of heroism

[Crystalinne]

I am thankful to hear of these brave ladies, and glad they were able to save 4 boatfuls, but I am also saddened to hear that there were still many who died at the hands of the shooter. Is there an update to this? Did the shooter ever get captured?

[Tone]

Of course, they've figured in Norwegian media. The fact that they're a couple was mentioned, but not underlined. The fact that they saved forty kids, though. That was underlined.

[Gigi Nor]

A lot of campers helped out that day with the danger of getting killed themselves. A lot of hero's were "created" that day, and a lot of more lives would have been lost without their selfless actions. In Norwegian media, these people are mentioned and thanked dearly by politicians, the police and everybody that were there that day, and they are all called hero's as they should be. Not any names have been mentioned though, but I guess we will hear more stories from and about them in the time to come, when the initial shock of this tragedy has calmed. Norway is in mourning, and people are very careful about not adding to the grief of the dead youths families by telling too much about that day in the media.

We all are so thankful to all these people, regardless of sex, religion or political views.

A Norwegian

[Saoili]

Heroines indeed. But:

"Did they run and hide? No, they're lesbians, so they jumped in their boat and sped toward the slaughter."

Wait, what? What does their sexual orientation have to do with it? I understand that it may be what is keeping them from the mainstream media and that is ridiculous. But it wasn't what made them get in their boat and do that.

I see why it makes sense to mention their sexuality in the article. But I disagree with the way you’ve done it.

[Neil]

The author really made a backward step in highlighting their sexuality in this way. What about that straight German guy who saved 20? He did he run? no he's STRAIGHT! STATING THAT THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION DICTATED THEIR ACTIONS IS HOMOPHOBIC!

[Peter Andrews]

Grant: Yes their sexual preference has "NOTHING to do with their undisputed heroism". The point of the "Pointless silly article." is that the STORY is unreported, not that their sexuality is unreported. The implication being that were they not a lesbian couple the story would be everywhere. Now do you get the point?

[Rachel]

Awesome and very brave! The new face of superheros :D

[Matt]

The fact that they jumped in a boat when a cold blooded killer was living out his video game fantasy and saved so many people from the water should be on every news channel. I don't care one little bit about their sexuality, the world would be a boring place if we were all the same. Both Hege and Toril are heros.

[E]

"Did they run and hide? No, they're lesbians". Are you trying to say that they would have hidden if the were heterosexuals? Lots of camping tourists helped save teenagers that day, and only a couple of them have been interviewed in the media. To imply that these woman aren't universally championed as heroes simply because they are lesbians is an insult. Yes, they did a great thing - because they are human, not because they are lesbian.

Posts like these doesn't do anything for equality, rather the opposite, as it's hard to swallow anyone would want to score political points of such a tragedy.

[Travels4Food]

If it had been a straight couple who rescued the kids, their faces would have been plastered all over British and American media - THAT's why it matters that they're a lesbian couple. Thanks so much for reporting this story - it made my day.

[Arahan Claveau]

Wonderful story of these heroic women. And an excellent explanation from the poster Eleanor why mentioning their sexuality matters, widespread reporting of this incident could have powerful resonance with many people who consider us second-class citizens and deny us our basic human rights.

[Natasha]

We need to see more of this documented on our TV's. Such bravery, well done ladies !!!

[lesley brown]

what difference does their sexuality make? These are two incredibly brave women who deserve world recognition for their selfless courage

[Daniel Wittekind]

i find it pathetic that just because they are lesbians that being anything short of stereotypical is insisted. great story bad writing

[Crys Blake]

way to go ladies, if the news media wont show it then ill just facebook it as much as possible to get it around. :)

[Zovesta]

God bless these women.

[Steve]

Never heard about this in UK either.. I have shared it on my facebook wall, and hope it will get the coverage it needs.

[pullyourheadsout]

@Brandon "Why should it matter what their sexuality is? If I saved lives during an event like this, I sure as hell wouldn't want to be identified as a "straight, Catholic male" in the press clippings."

You, like so many others, are totally missing the point here. If the article were about you there would be no mention of your sexuality because the assumption is always that people are heterosexual.

For all the people who are so bothered by the mention of these two being lesbians, I hope you are just as bothered by the mention of sexuality when it comes to issues like marriage equality. Are you all speaking out and saying, "What difference does their sexuality make? If two people are in love then they should be able to marry"?

[Peter Crozier]

Several people at that campground (Utvik Camping?) risked their lives to rescue the teenagers fleeing the massacre on Utøya. In addition to Dalen and Hansen there was a German tourist who also dodged bullets picking up kids in the water as well as several other campers, most of which nobody outside of Norway or maybe Scandinavia will ever hear about. Their actions are not notable because they are lesbians, straight, Germans, Norwegians, male, female or anything else, but because they acted as compassionate human beings and risked their lives to save others.

[Peg]

I'm so glad to know the world has people like these two in it. Heroes indeed. Thank you!

[Joanne]

What a wonderful pair of human beings - for me I don't really care what their partnership orientation is - I just say thank you for risking your lives to save others.

J