By Enrique Tessieri
It has been a very busy weekend for Migrant Tales: defamation, insults and even a death threat from a forum called Ylilauta. The administrator, Tuomas Siitonen, visited our blog yesterday and said he is not responsible for what has happened. Even if a typical Ylilauta blogger is eighteen years old and still living with his parents letting out steam on the Internet anonymously, there is a deeper issue at stake here.
Siitonen argues that since threads on Ylilauta disappear in a few hours or in days, the administrator isn’t responsible for what is written because it is a so-called megaboard.
I apologize for the racist content of the cartoon. An Argentinean Ylilauta blogger tells a Finnish one: You have my sword. Kill him. That “him” is me.
Moreover, Siitonen stated on a thread Sunday: “But why do we allow people insulting others and won’t censor it? Because we don’t believe that internet is serious business.”
One of the major problems I see with Siitonen’s argument is that nobody is responsible for what he or she says, especially Ylilauta that encourages unruly social media mobs to attack people anonymously. In the freedom of expression argument, he forgets the person who is being victimized and intimidated in the vilest manner.
As far as I see it, Ylilauta has declared war on Migrant Tales and especially against me for expressing my opinions on the net.
Did we get attacked because of what we write and stand for on Migrant Tales (immigration, minority rights, integration, anti-racism, Finnish identity in the new century and other topics)? You make the conclusion.
By attacking and insulting us, Ylilauta destroys its whole defense in a second. What it does is reveal, however, is what it is: A place where anti-social behavior and racism thrive anonymously.
Certainly I have a pretty good idea what censorship is. As a journalist who has worked in a number of countries during the past 25 years, I have defended that right whenever it has come under threat. Self-censorship, which is possible through intimidation, is another threat that has popped up in front of me on many occasions.
One matter that I have learned as well is that when censorship comes knocking at your door you have no choice but to defend that very important right.
If I did nothing in the face of what happened to Migrant Tales and me, I would be responsible for encouraging this type of slander and anti-social behavior to continue. I would be like the majority turning a blind eye to a serious and ever-growing social problem inflicting Finnish society.
”But why do we allow people insulting others and won’t censor it? Because we don’t believe that internet is serious business.”
Granted that Tuomas Siitonen works as a webmaster in the gutter of the Internet, but I am however inclined to believe that if the Finnish Police Force and SUPO take an interest in the criminal rants made in such fora, it is not a joke or lighthearted matter.
In my opinion, Siitonen either holds similar views or he is a coward who is unwilling to stand up and defend his fellow man. Care to respond to this Tuomas?
Please, please, please report this matter to the police again Enrique. Such threats must not be taken lightly!
Tsemppiä!
No-one has informed me that there are threats to harm you. Threatening another person’s life is a bannable offence and we will remove and ban such claims if the threatened person contacts us. This has never been an issue and we will proceed to do so without hasitation if we are contactted.
Even we draw the line somewhere, and threatening one is beyond that line.
If you take Racism seriously, it should be a banable offense on your site too and don’t come with your bullshit excuse about also making fun of other countries like Norway or USA. That’s not the same as Racism!
Hi Peter of Finland.
Doesnot it tell you about the mentality of the Finnish Policy Force and SUPO. These organizations will not admit their “hidden” agendas. To me, neutrality of these organizations are pretty doubtful.
As I have said elsewhere, many public and private organizations wear “mud-shirts” under their blue or white ones. Many examples in Europe of these “representations”.
REPORT IT TO THE POLICE ENRIQUE. TUOMAS SIITONEN, SINCE OU DON’T WANT TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR DANGEROUSE BLOGGERS, MAYBE A CASE NEEDTO BE PUT AGAINST YOU.
D4R, everything is fine here. The matter is with the police and I will keep our bloggers up to date with the latest developments.
Enrique now you fucked up, learn internet please…
I can say that youre physically safe but…
I just hope that 4chan or others wont chime in but they probably will….
I feel sorry about you, you are already meme what grabs things.
Hi Hannu.
Who are you to say that Mr. Tesseri is safe physically?? Police??
Secondly: if there are indications that 4chan or others are endangering Mr. Tesseri did you inform the police about it?? Otherwise you may be hold co-responsible for any harm coming to Mr.Tesseri.
What do you mean by the last sentence??
You have a problem, my dear friend!!
Enrique, if you want to claim that diversity is strength – and indeed, you do so claim – do you want to be censored one day by another group that can prove otherwise and who lays claim to the freedom of the press?
I say, you press your case, and let others press theirs. Your views may lead to a lot of racial violence in Finland or elsewhere, but should you be held accountable if a big increase in Somalian male immigration leads to increased rapes and crimes against Finnish women?
Should you be punished for such views even if they are not directly leading to the violence, but only indirectly influencing people to make immigration quotas in Finland?
I wonder. You are pushing for much more government control than any smart journalist should, unless you want to move to the former USSR.
Alas, the police cannot protect you, although they can be informed that you feel threatened. But then again, you started it by bringing pro-diversity views to the open forum called the Internet – they didn’t push their views on you out of the blue, but in response to yours. If funny cartoons upset you so much, can you really hack being a journalist in the modern world? Are you so sensitive?
Mr. Tessieri may or may not be safe anywhere, but only because he makes his views known. Plenty of such people walk around here in the Bay Area, but not everyone writes things down on the Internet, knowing full well how many would disagree.
You are a brave man, Enrique, but don’t cry for police protection if you want freedom of the press to continue. Grow up….
I love your remark that he’s “still living with his parents”… that makes him less dangerous? More dangerous? Only 18 and a big threat? Wow! Imagine the ones out there OVER 18 and NOT LIVING OFF PARENTS!!!!
Wait wait, what? Mary Mekko says “But then again, you started it by bringing pro-diversity views to the open forum called the Internet – they didn’t push their views on you out of the blue, but in response to yours”.
I could bet that what sparked Enrique to start this blog were his observations of phenomena in the real world, the media, and most likely the internet as well. So when he starts a blog commenting on these phenomena with his own view on the issue (asiallisesti – without any threats or teenage ‘I’m-not-accountable-for-anything’ behaviour), he has “started it”?
Bringing pro-diversity views to the internet makes it okay to receive death threats? Since when do anti-diversity people own the internet? And how come to them it’s “serious business”, but for others it’s not allowed to be? Are you saying anti-diversity people have the right to get offended to the point of blowing their lid completely and reverting to howler monkey stage in their communication, but pro-diversity people just need to “grow up”? Grow up from and to what exactly? Cartoons and funny murder jokes?
I really don’t get this reasoning.
Thank you Native Finnish Woman for those kind words of support.
Yes, because stupid fortune cookie ‘memes’ is about as deep as any of these bumpkins go in trying to understand this topic.
For anyone who doesn’t know netspeak for ‘meme’, it’s a oneliner of ‘net wisdom’ delivered against the backdrop of a well-used photo or graphic. Memes are supposed to be pithy and witty, but often they are neither, they simply perpetuate a sense of superiority that looks down on the ‘ignorant’ [read for this anyone who doesn’t share the anti-theist/anarchist vibe] and seeks to pontificate on the ‘true meaning’ of life.
Ha ha ha, best humor of the month, I knew I would hit some classics when I came back to read, but this farce really took the bisquit. thanks for the entertainment. So unfortunate you didnt take any more screencaps off kuvalauta.
Yes, teh intarweb is serios bizniz.