I can’t remember. It’s not important anyway.
Finland’s political amnesia shrowded in denial and hostility comes in the form of knee-jerk reactions. Those knee-jerk reactions may appear by acting dumb to difficult questions or by destroying your credibility in public.
I met Maryan Abdulkarim many years ago and commended her bravery in the face of continuous suspicion and hostility. Many in this country see her bravery as a positive matter needed in a Finland that suffers from too many Teflon politicians and political amnesia.
After six years of being a host on the Yle television show Jälkivisaat raati, which discusses topical issues of the day, Abdulkarim decided to leave after the program decided to include former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson (1995-2017), Timo Soini, as its new host.
Writes Abdulkarim:
“This [the election victory of the PS in 2011] directly impacted the social debate. What was considered acceptable political discourse [had now] changed. It was evident in my daily life and in those close to me – racist views surfaced increasingly both in words and in actions…[H]e [Timo Soini] has never apologized for his actions, his populism, which normalized racism. Timo Soini is, to quote a friend of mine, ‘a self-proclaimed apostle of good, the prince of darkness.'”
Soini in a nutshell: An opportunist who will sell his soul to attain power. He went to bed with people like Jussi Halla-aho and others who decapitated his power over the party in 2017.
White privilege in Finland #86
Thank you, Maryan Abdulkarim, for standing up once again for what is right in this country and offering smelling salt to our state of denial and political amnesia.
Your example offers us hope that you don’t need an army to defeat racism but determined people who will not succumb to chicanery-fed fame.
I know, and I am certain that you, too, understand, that the present anemic state of Finland is not forever.
Our leadership and example have an enormous impact.
See also:
- Defining white Finnish privilege #1: I have it and you don’t
- Defining white Finnish privilege #2: Third culture children versus “pupil with immigrant background”
- Defining white Finnish privilege #3 No history, no doctrine, no heroes and no martyrs
- Defining white Finnish privilege #4 Holding the short end of the stick
- Defining white Finnish privilege #5 It’s ok to be a racist
- Defining white Finnish privilege #6 Not having a voice and the media
- Defining white Finnish privilege #7 A definitive guide
- Defining white Finnish privilege #8 Underrated and less intelligent
- Defining white Finnish privilege #9 Mohammad Ali’s insight
- Defining white Finnish privilege #10 I can victimize and make up any story I like about migrants because I’m white
- Defining white Finnish privilege #11: Case Teuvo Hakkarainen
- Defining white Finnish privilege #12: Case Tom Packalén
- Defining white Finnish privilege #13: Case Matti Putkonen
- Defining white Finnish privilege #14: Losing sight of the real issue
- Defining white Finnish privilege #15: Case Halla-ago on the PS
- Defining white Finnish privilege #16: Rosa Emilia Clay and my history versus yours
- Defining white Finnish privilege #17: The Perussuomalaiset and our civil rights
- Defining white Finnish privilege #18: Labeling others according to your prejudice
- Defining white Finnish privilege #19: My rape statistics about your group
- Defining white Finnish privilege #20: Labeling Others to strengthen “us” and “them.”
- Defining white Finnish privilege #21: Who can be a Finn?
- Defining white Finnish privilege #22: From racist, fascist to a politician without memory
- Defining white Finnish privilege #23: Greater police powers to monitor migrants and minorities
- Defining white Finnish privilege #24: Becoming a heartless accomplice in wars and people’s suffering
- Defining white Finnish privilege #25: This land is my land, this isn’t your land
- Defining white Finnish privilege #26: Are you an ethnic Finn?
- Defining white Finnish privilege #27: White versus Other media
- Defining white Finnish privilege #28: Are you an ethnic Finn (Part 2)?
- Defining white Finnish privilege #29: Your family is worth less than mine
- White Finnish privilege #30: Whitewashing and racializing the news
- White Finnish privilege #31: The Soldiers of Odin and the Finnish media
- White Finnish privilege #32: The white Finnish police and “them”
- White Finnish privilege #33: Appropriating our narrative to maintain the status quo, amass more power and privilege
- White Finnish privilege #34: Building a political career on privilege and nativist nationalism
- White Finnish privilege #35: Case Sampo Terho and the ministry of (dis)culture
- White Finnish privilege #36: Hate speech and censorship
- White Finnish privilege #37: The master of near-everything
- Defining white Finnish privilege #38: Cultural appropriation and racism are quaint discussion topics between white Finns
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #39: The Hollywood ending of racism that will never happen in Finland
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #40: To whitewash or to disenfranchise
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #41: An Islamophobic politician and gender equality
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #42: Labeling and shaming
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #43: White versus dark skin
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #44: Defending Nazis’ rights to march is ok as long we agree on the common enemy
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #45: Do blondes have more fun?
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #46: Teuvo Hakkarainen = white racism and sexism
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #47: President Sauli Niinistö’s “culture inside four walls”
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #48: Allow me to smear your religion so mine can shine
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #49: When white privilege backfires
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #50: Caving in to white narratives
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #51: The police are the defenders of white power and privilege
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #52: Having no privilege is dangerous
- White Finnish privilege #53: Plan Finland’s unplanned pregnancy campaign #ProtectBlackGirlsToo #Whatofme
- White Finnish privilege #54: Disguising your racism, bigotry, and prejudices effectively
- White Finnish privilege #55: It’s that time of the year – Christmas!
- White Finnish privilege #56: How Islamophobic is Finland?
- White Finnish privilege #57: Finland’s “hostile environment” against migrants
- White Finnish privilege #58: How the police, media and politicians fuel Finland’s hostile environment against Muslims and migrants
- White Finnish privilege #59: In this country, you are guilty before proven innocent
- White Finnish privilege #60: Oulu, OULU! Awaken and sniff the racist coffee.
- Exposing Finnish white privilege #61: #NoRacismInUniversity #WeAreNotSkinColour
- Exposing Finnish white privilege #62: On free speech and scared white men
- Exposing Finnish white privilege #63: Silence and acting dumb are the swords of institutional racism
- Exposing Finnish white privilege #64: The cancer of institutional racism in Finland
- Exposing Finnish white privilege #65: Racism exists because our society profits from it
- Exposing Finnish white privilege #66: Abdirahim Husu Hussein and dealing with racist passengers in a racist environment
- Exposing Finnish white privilege #67: Pirkka-Pekka Petelius’ apology exposes deep-rooted white Finnish supremacy
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #68: The party that injects Finland’s Islamophobia with steroids and other hate-enhancing drugs
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #69: At the dentist – do you speak Finnish?
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #70: At the dentist’s and where are you from?
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #71: Hate speech is an example of white supremacist privilege
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #72: False police reporting is an example of violence and open hostility
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #73: Stoking and exploiting white suspicion
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #74: The anti-Semitic beast inside Jussi Halla-aho
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #75: Obsession with race, ethnicity, and us versus them
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #76: Two news stories that expose entitlement
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #77: The PS are Finnish white supremacists
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #78: the spread and acceptance of white nationalism
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #79: Spreading lies at our economic peril
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #80: Violence against you counts but mine doesn’t
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #81: Racializing crime, perpetuating stereotypes and racism
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #82: Good “refugees” are white and Christian, “bad” ones are Muslims
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #83: War doesn’t give a hoot if you are white or black
- Exposing white privilege in Finland #84: Suomineidot offers refuge to privilege, white power, whitewashing, the far right and racism
- Exposing white privilege in Finland #85: We need solutions, not racist provocations