Holy carp, guys! When did this happen? Last I knew most of the people invoking Odin and Thor were just another flavor of pagan. (My best friends in high school were Wiccan, mostly. At least one of them said he worshipped… Thor?, though.)
I state here, for the record and for all time, that Einarr’s story was birthed out of a love for history, ancient mythology, and stories about badass people doing badass things. Even a cursory glance at the history of the era confirms what the Post writer says: the medieval peoples of Scandinavia were at least as much traders as raiders, with an honor society not dissimilar to Japan’s.
I am apalled at the modern (?) habit of twisting history to the needs of the moment, from both the right and the left (see, e.g., the villification of Thomas Jefferson).
Twisting history (and current affairs) to suit one’s world view is appalling, but it is not a modern invention…Much of history as we know it was written by those in power who were persistently pushing down the views of those who were powerless.