It’s clear that if we allowed ourselves to be spoon-fed by the populism and anti-EU, homophobic and anti-immigration rhetoric of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, minorities would always be threatened with social exclusion. PS MP Maria Lohela, who is said to turn into a Ms Hyde if you mention the word “Islam” to her, offered in…
Month: May 2014
Integration by perkele
Some have heard of the expression of management by perkele, which means swift decision-making by management and where your opinion as an employee counts little. In Finland the goal is integration, or two-way adaption, but what happens on too many occasions is integration by perkele. Integration by perkele has a clear message: This is our country, perkele,…
Migrants’ Rights Network: The anti-immigrant message stumbles, but who will come out on top?
By Don Flynn* Only a few days left before the vote in the European and local election poll. The anti-immigrant hardliners are taking flack after an inept radio interview performance by the leading Ukipper. But has the liberal mainstream the gumption to allow it forge past them with an optimistic message about diversity? For…
A racist cartoon by the PS, a Finnish anti-EU, anti-immigration, homophobic and especially anti-Islam party
Does the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party have issues with racism? Many will agree that they do starting from MPs like Jussi Halla-aho, who were sentenced for ethnic agitation, to city of Kemi councilman, Harri Turtiainen, who shamefully posted racist slogans of the Ku Klux Klan and US American Nazi party on his Facebook page. The intolerance…
Anti-immigration Europe: The fruits you harvest depend on the seed you plant
In many respects, Europe looks like a region that is running scared with a notable part of its population seeking to support populist, anti-immigration and even neo-Nazi parties that offer no credible solutions to issues like rising unemployment, poverty and estrangement from our political institutions. If students from a small town in Eastern Finland did…
In the hands of white Finnish privilege, our ever-growing cultural and ethnic diversity is a pathway of good intentions and social exclusion
Or is the saying: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions?” One would think that the great amount of effort put into Finland’s educational system would help it to come to grips with social ills like racism and xenophobia. If we look at the political landscape of Finland, and how hostile this country…
Pew Research Center survey: Anti-immigration and anti-minority sentiment runs high before Euro elections
Pew Research Center, a Washington-based “fact tank,” reveals in a survey just before the European parliamentary elections on May 22-25 that anti-immigration and anti-minority sentiment runs in countries like Poland, Germany, France, UK, Spain, Italy and Greece. Euro MEP candidates like Jussi Halla-aho and Juho Eerola of the PS have used anti-immigration sentiment to attract…
Migrants’ Rights Network: Public moods on free movement: Should we just follow the herd?
Don Flynn* The new report on free movement in the EU from IPPR argues that pro-migration groups have to triangulate their advocacy with the antagonistic moods that currently hold sway. But do they need to go quite so stridently in the direction of arguing that they dictate the need for a ‘new…
If you went back 200 generations, how many grandparents would you have?
Whenever I look at the chart below I think about the one-sidedness of genealogical studies and the justification of “blue blood.” This simple chart show tear to shreds any justification that we haven’t mixed with other ethnic groups if we all once migrated from Africa. The question isn’t how different we are but how closely related we…
YLE Puhe: Maahanmuutto on kriisi
Vieraaseen maahan muuttaminen voi olla aikamoinen haaste. Erityisen vaikeaa se voi olla ihmiselle, joka on paennut sotaa, mutta vaikka muuttaisi työn tai rakkauden perässä, voi uudessa kulttuurissa riittää nieltävää. Kuuntele ohjelma tästä. Lanttulataamossa puhuttiin maahanmuutosta kriisinä sekä tietysti siitä, miten siitä selviää. Yksinäisyys, ulkopuolisuus, masennus ja ahdistus voivat piinata. Niinsanotun kuherruskuukauden jälkeen sotaa, kidutusta ja…