Exposing white Finnish privilege #73: Stoking and exploiting white suspicion

Few of us will forget the 2011 parliamentary election when an Islamophobic and no-holes-barred racist party saw the number of MPs rise to 39 from 5 in 2007.

Even if the result was a wake-up call for Finland, the reaction to the rise of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) as a major political force. Some shrugged off the election as an anomaly and it would only be a matter of time when the PS would implode, like the Rural Party (SMP) in the 1970s.

It’s been near a decade since 2010 and the PS hasn’t imploded, disappeared but strengthened and influaneced its racist message on other parties like the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus).

Some analysts saw the rise of the PS as a direct answer to mounting social and economic inequality.

It could be a factor, but does growing social inequality turn you into a scapegoating racist?

Certainly not unless you had such issues before.

The most successful party of the 2011 (39 MPs), 2015 (38 MPs), and 2019 (39 MPs) parliamentary elections has been the PS. Even if suffered a hiccup in June 2017, when the party split into two factions, the PS, it has survived and lived to see another day.

FINNISH WHITE PRIVILEGE #73

Not confronting the success of the PS in the political arena is similar to covering one’s eyes and being in denial. The PS is a racist party that has risen to prominence and made a name for itself, thanks to xenophobia.

Disagree?

Name one of the 39 PS MPs who did not get elected on an anti-immigration and anti-Muslim message?

White privilege permits you to give half-hearted answers to social problems and to not get too worried about the rise of Islamophobic parties.

It is clear that the Trump phenomenon in the United States is possible because about 40% of USAmericans are racists and have no qualms about being led by an autocratic president.

In Finland, fortunately, the corresponding figure is about 17%.

In both cases, our education system and our moral checks and balances have failed at least a large part of the population.

White privlege is the fuel that keeps it going.

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