Helsinki City Councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussein has a lot of grit against racist parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and its band of followers. The latest incident proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that the PS is a racist party.
Hussein is a courageous politician who gets stronger with every racist death threat and harassment hurled at him. In July, the white fragility of the party suffered a blow in summer when Hussein tweeted that the PS, those who voted and supported the party, are racists.
In their misguided and blind racism, politicians like PS leader Jussi Halla-aho, who was convicted of ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion in 2012, take constant snipes at Hussein. They ask themselves in anger how a black Finn can question their white supremacy and racism?
Hussein tweeted Monday that while he was driving his taxi, a passenger started to insult him in a racist manner. The councilperson decided that he had heard enough and told the passenger to get out of the car.
“He [the passenger] was quite surprised that I did not accept his money [for part of the ride]. I told him that I do not accept money from racists.”
Hussein asked in the tweet why the passenger thought he had the right to insult him in such a racist manner. “I would not go to your work an start to tell you off,” he ended the tweet.
Attempting to score political points and to satisfy his hatred of the Somalis, Halla-aho tweets that what Hussein did was wrong and that you cannot ask a passenger to get off a vehicle on a motorway.
Halla-aho even gives us that the section of the law that incorrectly prohibits motor vehicles from stopping on the freeway. Indeed, people on buses or in a taxi can get off on the motorway if there is a bus stop.
The PS under Halla-aho has shown clearly its far-right racist colors. Robin DiAngelo gives an excellent definition of racism that sits perfectly with the PS leader and his followers.
A racist is an individual, always an individual, who does not like people based on race – must be conscious – and who intentionally seems to be mean to them.
Blogger Saku Timonen offers some advice to Hussein.
“He [the passenger] could have been taken to the nearest police station [and charged with racist harassment and hate speech].”
*A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.