In a country like Finland, where even politicians can make political careers with their bigotry, what impact does the label “immigrant background” have in reinforcing intolerance and prejudices?
This question is an important one because, like racism, the label rarely if ever affects white Finns.
The tragic rape of a woman this week by a group of teenagers in the northern Helsinki neighborhood of Tapanila is a case in point.
Even if the police apprehended the five suspects and they were in custody, they labeled them in a statement as having “immigrant backgrounds.” The police said that the ethnic label used in the statement was necessary since they needed more eyewitnesses.
Helsingin Sanomat used the term “immigrant background” in a first take of a story. In a column the daily explained why it took out the ethnic label in a newer take but admitted that it could have been left in the story since the police were trying to get more eyewitnesses.
Even if the daily posed some good questions about the problem in using such a label and if it is ethical under the circumstances that all of the suspects were apprehended, Helsingin Sanomat contradicted itself in another story where it highlighted in a headline that it later changed from “every third sentenced [for rape] was a foreigner” to “Tapanila gang rape suspects have been jailed.”
Continue reading “Using the term “immigrant background” in a bigoted country”
