Here is the trailer of the Marshal of Finland/Suomen Marsalkka, which has raised a lot of debate in Finland. See the trailer below or read the story on Migrant Tales.
Author: Migrant Tales
Black and white Marshal Mannerheim
Tabloids such as Iltalehti and blog forums like Uusi Suomi have raised passions to fever pitch due to a new movie about Marshal Carl Mannerheim (1867-1951). The issue that they are heatedly debating and questioning is why Finland’s most famous military figure is being played in a movie by a black man from Kenya?
The producer of the movie, Erkko Lyytinen, told Ilalehti that he has received death threats as a result of the movie, which will debut in Finland on September 29.
So? Black Mannerheim. What’s the problem? Why is it an issue?
Andy Warhol had no problems about painting political figures like Mao in unnatural skin-colors like dark blue and green. The unnatural colors reminded us that these people are human like us.
Warhol saw Mao with green lips and dark-blue skin…
… Marilyn Monroe’s skin changed colors too.
Since we’re not talking about a serious documentary, picturing Mannerheim as a black man should not raise passions. Isn’t it a good thing that some are using poetic license to understand who Mannerheim was and what he represents today?
Certainly.
Mannerheim is still a controversial figure, who is seen by some Finns as a savior and by others as a scoundrel.
Kalle Kinnunen, a Suomen Kuvalehti columnist, claims that the strong reactions by some Finns about black Mannerheim expose racism.
At the end of the day, is it such a sacrilege to picture Mannerheim and his deeds in a different skin color other than white?
What does it say about our history and how we see ourselves ethnically?
Julian Abagond: “Stereotypes have some truth to them”
By Julian Abagond
“Stereotypes have some truth to them” has some truth to it but not in the way people think. That truth is not about the stereotyped but the stereotyper.
First, stereotypes are kept alive by confirmation bias: We notice the few examples that fit the stereotype and overlook the ton of examples that do not. This has been proved by studies.
For example, here are two stereotypes that I used to think had some truth to them:
- Black women are harder to get along with than white women.
- Asians are more serious about their studies than whites or blacks.
So when I argue with my wife, it “proves” the first one true – even though I have never been with a white woman!
Or when I go to the library and see Asians there I think, “See how studious they are!” – even though there are way more blacks and whites there doing their homework!
That is confirmation bias. Stereotypes are not based in fact but instead make you blind to the facts.
Second, stereotypes can be made up out of thin air.
For example, black people are supposed to love watermelon way more than anyone. But when I looked it up on the Internet it was Asians who ate the most watermelon by far of anyone in America. Blacks do eat more watermelon than whites but the difference is so slight – like a slice more a year – that no one would notice it.
Or: Some white people say that there are all these black rapists on the loose going after white women. They said the government numbers proved it! But when I looked at the numbers for myself I found out that they had imagined the whole thing!
Or: When I read about the Mammy stereotype I found out it was made up by white people in the early 1800s to defend slavery! Made up.
Third, whites know so little about black people they must be talking about themselves.
Whites keep themselves apart from blacks. So much so that they seem to get most of what they know about blacks from television. But television is put together by other whites who, if anything, know even less about blacks since they can afford to keep themselves even more apart. The blinder leading the blind.
In effect black people become a canvas on which white people paint their fears and self-serving lies. So stereotypes often become this strange mirror of white people:
- Whites got rich off of black slave labour. So blacks are pictured as not wanting to work hard, as being a drain on society.
- White men raped black slave women in such huge numbers that Black Americans are now 15% white. So black men are pictured as dangerous rapists.
- White men use to kill blacks without fear of the law. So black men are seen as violent and dangerous without fear of the law.
- Whites repeatedly broke their treaties with American Indians, so now “Indian giver” means someone who takes back what he promised.
Read original story here.
This piece was reprinted by Migrant Tales with permission.
Helena Eronen, the one that wrote about sleeve badges, resigns
Helena Eronen announced Monday on Uusi Suomi her resignation as Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari’s aide. Eronen suggested in a controversial blog entry in April that foreigners should start wearing sleeve badges to help police hunt criminals.
Even if Eronen claimed that her controversial blog entry was satire and not intended to insult anyone, it did just the opposite.
There is some unconfirmed speculation that one factor behind Eronen’s resignation was an affair with Hirvisaari, which the latter’s wife wasn’t too happy about.
Hirvisaari got suspended for five months by the PS parliamentary group for not sacking his aide.
Even if Eronen isn’t a member of the PS, she used to advertise on Uusi Suomi as belonging to Muutos 2011, a far-right anti-immigration party.
While the PS has not said a word about Eronen’s resignation, it’s clear that the party is releived because she was a liability.
While the choice of hiring aides by some PS MPs raises some questions, Ulla Pyysalo is another aide that is still working at parliament after her name appeared on a Suomen Kansalinen Vastarinta (SKV) membership list. SKV is a neo-Nazi association.
Hirvisaari was fined in December for inciting ethnic hatred.
Pasta macaroni: a 1-2-euro meal in Finland
Asylum seekers and immigrants are very resourceful people when it comes to stretching their small allowances. Pasta macaroni is a common meal among some immigrants and doesn’t cost very much to make. You can feed yourself for only 1-2 euros.
Taking into account the high cost of living and low allowances that asylum seekers and unemployed immigrants receive in Finland, the school is for some the only place where they can eat a balanced and varied meal.
Here is one example of what an unemployed immigrant family may eat in Finland: breakfast consists of white bread, butter, marmalade and a glass of milk; pasta macaroni for lunch (see below); and pancakes with jam, butter or tuna flakes with oil for dinner.
Pasta macaroni is a cheap way to feed yourself.
There are different versions of how to make pasta macaroni.
Pasta macaroni (about 1 euro/person):
- Small onion
- Garlic
- 200g of macaronies
- Can of tuna fish flakes with oil
- Water
- Salt and spices like chili
Chop onions and fry until golden brown. Add macaronies, water and salt to taste. Place tuna fish flakes with oil after the macaronies have absorbed the water. Macaronies can be boiled separately and served with the fried onion-tuna-oil sauce.
Pasta macaroni tomato sauce (about 1.50 euro/person):
- Small onion
- Garlic
- 200g of macaronies
- Can of tuna fish flakes
- Can of tomato sauce
- Salt and spices like chili
Chop onions and fry until golden brown. Add tuna flakes, tomato sauce and spices. Boil macaronies spearately. Mix cooked macaronies with tomato-tuna-fish sauce.
If you get tired of macaronies, you can switch to spaghetti, which is more expensive. It can add about 0.50 euros to the cost of your meal.
Are current levels of benefits for asylum seekers inhumane?
The German Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that current levels of benefits for asylum seekers in Germany are inhumane, according to Spiegel Online International. Are benefit levels in Finland, which amount to 290 euros/month, inhumane?
For an asylum seeker in Finland who stays at a refugee center, the monthly allowance (lowered from about 400 euros in 2010) is supposed to cover all of the person’s expenses except for rent and some travel expenses.
If the asylum seeker moves to another address from the refugee center, 50 euros are discounted from his or her monthly allowance. The monthly allowance will then total 240 euros, or close to what is paid (224 euros/month) to asylum seekers in Germany.
“The sleeping quarters at the refugee center can have between eight and two people,” a former asylum seeker told Migrant Tales. “All cellphone, food and clothing expenses must be paid from the monthly allowance. If the person has to travel to visit the police, those expenses are paid by the state.”
macaronies, tuna fish flakes, onion and oil will quench your hunger for about a euro.
Is living off 30 euros/month, or about 1 euro/day for food expenses, sufficient proof that current allowance levels are sufficient in Finland?
How can anyone spend 30 euros a month for groceries when we spend such an amount daily?
Here’s how it works:
- macaronies 0.22 euros/400 grams
- Can of tuna fish flakes 0.80 euros/150 grams
- Onions 0.99 eruos/kilo
“Extras” include vegetable oil (2.50 euros/liter), milk (about 1 euro/liter), and flour (1 euro/kilo), 10 eggs (about 1.80 euros) to make pancakes.
While inadequate monthly allowances may encourage you to eat unhealthy foods that can have long-run health consequences, other problems emerge as well. Would you shoplift if you were hungry and without money?
It is unfortunate that Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen and the government have turned a blind eye to the plight of asylum seekers and immigrants in Finland when it comes to their monthly allowances. This unfortunate trend began in the previous government, when Astrid Thors was minister for immigration and European affairs.
Exceptional Finns with immigrant backgrounds
Some Exceptional Finns with so-called immigrant backgrounds are Husein Muhammed, Nasima Razmyar, Arman Alizad, Tino Singh, Abdirahim Husu Hussein and Ali Jahangiri. All of them have one thing in common: They are exceptions to the stereotype but have immigrant backgrounds.
But how can you call a person who has lived most of his or her life in Finland “a person with immigrant background” if he speaks Finnish or Swedish as his main language or is near-perfectly bilingual? For how long must that person carry that extra label, immigrant background, before he or she is accepted?
You know that there is something fishy about the whole term, Exceptional Finns, since anti-immigration parties like the Perussuomalaiset, speak in favor of these types of immigrants and Finns.
Exceptional minorities permit racists to be racists. You are an exception and therefore you can get your shoes shined. Only exceptional people count from your ethnic group. Let’s not dwell on the problem: Why are people shining shoes and living in poverty in the first place? Answer: They are not exceptions. Source: Flickr.
The fact that these exceptional people are not considered full-fledged Finns (because they have that drop of immigrant background) not only reveals a lot about our racism but our views of cultural diversity.
Cultural diversity is not a social illness. It not colorblind as well. It is a lifestyle-identity choice that we make personally and which society should protect and encourage. Whether we want to hyphenated our identity or not is a personal choice. It is our choice.
The existence of the Exceptional Finn with immigrant background reveals how some want to eat their racist cake and have it at the same time. It permits them to feel like they are not racist even if they are. This line of thinking in a white Finnish world would work in the following way: Those who do not succeed at becoming exceptions are failures.
In many respects, and in a Finnish context, all these cases represent what Julian Abagond calls in the United States Exceptional Negroes.
“Exceptional Negroes are those who are ‘no like other blacks.’ They do not fit the stereotypes. Sometimes they achieve great things, rise to the top of their field,” writes Abagond. “They become sports heroes, film stars, tokens, black best friends, beloved servants and so on. Some even have white fans, lovers or admirers.”
Language plays an important role in Finland and is an important factor fueling discrimination. Finland’s large white Russian community is a case in point.
Will JSN react to the A-Studio program on rape convictions?
I have sent a complaint to the Council for Mass Media in Finland (JSN) concerning the A-Studio program that gave, in my opinion, a one-sided view of a problem that has an impact on all immigrants living in Finland. A-Studio claimed that a quarter of all rape convictions in Finland during the first five months of the year were by foreigners.
What the A-Studio report forgot to stress enough was that the total number of rape convictions by foreigners totaled 25 during the period under review.
Rape statistics are commonly used by far-right and anti-immigration groups to fuel ethnic hatred.
The Anti-Defamation League of the U.S. singles out a number of ways to recognize hate speech. One of these is the use of crime statistics incorrectly to drive home their claim: men from certain groups rape and therefore are a danger to our society.
The question that the A-Studio reporter, Tuomas Kerkkänen, should have asked is if 25 convicted rape convictions constitute a problem never mind a documentary to highlight the issue. Moreover, very little is said in the story about the majority of rape convictions, which are by Finnish men.
A number of similar storied like the one by A-Studio were published after the story was aired on August 1. What is surprising, however, is that many of these stories use only percentage figures. They don’t mention that rape convictions totaled 25 cases.
While everyone has a right to express himself or herself in our society, such a right should not be misused by a state-owned broadcaster like YLE to reinforce a reporter’s apparent prejudices of certain ethnic groups in Finland.
Fairness is an important aspect of any good news story. The A-Studio story wasn’t fair to the viewers or to those immigrant groups that it unfairly labelled.
How rape statistics reveal a serious problem: racism and prejudice
You know there is something fishy whenever any person starts to use percentages to drive home the point that immigrants are rapists. If anything, rape statistics do reveal a problem: racism and prejudice.
One blogger on Uusi Suomi writes: ”In April, Finns were told that men from xxxx are guilty of committing rape alarmingly often.” Using a tabloid story as a source, he states that in 2006-09 34% of all convicted rapes were by foreigners.
There are some serious problems with the conclusions of the tabloid never mind the writer:
- How many foreigners were convicted of rape?
- Are we speaking of an ”alarmingly high” amount?
In the Uusi Suomi blog entry, Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari, who was fined in December for inciting ethnic hatred, believes that 25 rape convictions during the first five months of the year is enough proof to close our borders.
Hirvisaari writes: “We don’t need ‘free movement’ since it only brings too many problems and forms part of the left-wing agenda to undermine the nation-state. ’Let’s do away with borders and mix different nationalities.’ Border control and immigration policy should be contrarily tightened.”
Here is some of Hirvisaari’s latest double-talk on his latest blog entry: “Multiculturalism is a destroying politicial ideology, which does not fit in a [culturally] diverse society.”*
Yes, that’s right, such a comment was made by a Finnish MP based on 25 rape convictions during the first five months of the year!
If anything, rape statistics reveal a serious problem: a society’s racism and prejudice.
Migrant Tales Literary: ???? ?? ????? Start or the end
By Dana
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Start or the end
There’s only one step to take to a love story There’s only one step more to take to a love story.
Sigh, but there’s not a bit of courage left. This is a reminder that there’s only one step to your.
Sigh, but my existence has left and said adieu.
That lover-sweetheart look, I am Dana?.
Isolated, isolated from me, and without me
There is no ointment that will cure my broken heart.
Except for the existence of a kind and tired friend
After this I never want anyone, no-one.
Because now I am one with the Grand Spirit
Will be alive maybe for some time?.
Break this tough spell of bad luck, Change the course of my hard suffering.
Sigh, he comes and will help me to destroy the dam that holds so much misfortune
In the massive arms of my hero, I sit effortlessly and stay with him.
Instantly, turn to one person with him, oh I don’t want anyone else except for my pal from this world.
Almighty God, what time will the end of my story be? Lover come and heal us, sigh.
