Lähde: Facebook.
Hate speech study and story by Yle: Interviewing the wolf guarding the sheep
Ovem lupo commitere.
The saying in Latin, To set a wolf to guard sheep, raises the right question about a YLE news story on a hate speech study and how it intimidates politicians from expressing their opinions.
The study reveals that 75% of the messages come from anti-immigration groups, with the rest coming from left-liberal circles, according to Helsingin Sanomat, which quotes the study’s findings.
Forty percent of all politicians in the study admitted that they were intimidated by the hate speech. The party least affected by hate speech was the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, according to Iltalehti.
The study looked at 375,000 messages between March and August. Of these, 5,500 were hate messages from 2,200 accounts, of which 200 were the most active. Fifteen politicians received over 100 hate messages. These were PS chairperson Jussi Halla-aho, Green Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo, Prime Minister Antti Rinne, National Coalition Party head Petteri Orpo and Education Minister Li Andersson.
The study blames social media platforms like Twitter for allowing these types of hate messages to be sent to politicians even if they are against their community standards.
We could take the question a bit further: Why don’t the Finnish authorities, namely the police, openly demand social media platforms to follow their community standards?
Moreover, there are too few police, at the most 10, monitoring hate speech, according toan earlier Yle story. Last year, a mere 31 ethnic agitation cases ended up in, according to Migrant Tales, citing the justice ministry.
Going back to the wolf guarding the sheep, Yle interviews two MPs for the story that was aired Friday. They are PS MP Riikka Purra, who built her political career on Islamophobic soundbites, and Anna Kontula of the Left Alliance.
One does not need rocket science to discern that Finland’s hostile environment against migrants and minorities and growing hate speech derives from mainly one party: the PS.
Purra, who usually doesn’t speak anything more than bad about migrants, especially people of color, claiming they are unemployable freeloaders, and blasting black rapists as “human scum,” is the wolf guarding the sheep in the Yle story.
As she is interviewed by the reporter, Purra sheds crocodile tears to the camera about how she is a victim of hate.
“Today I received a letter from a person in Kuopio,” she said with a poker face, “where the person hopes that I die of cancer or get run over by a car. I’m told that I am a terrible person and that this curse will happen.”
Some friendly advice to Purra and her party: Stop victimizing migrants, stop your cooperation with neo-Nazis, and other Islamophobic far-right groups. Stop spreading hate.
It’s high time that Finland and the government start dealing with hate speech and racism.
This is not a request, but a demand.
- 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.
Migrant Tales Podcast: Shirlene Green Newball chats with writers Shashank Mane and Hope Nwosu
Leaving one’s first home country, one acquaints herself and himself to new worlds and ways of thinking. For a writer and artist, this source can be used to give new perspectives and meaning. Both Shashank Mane and Hope Nwosu write about their experiences and the challenges that migrants face when they move to a new country.
Migrant Tales Podcast: Shirlene Green Newball charla con Rami Thawi
Shirlene Green Newball charla con el músico y artista Rami Thawi que ha vivido en países como Venezuela, Siria y hoy en Finlandia. ¿Qué le inspira a componer música y ser de muchos lugares simultáneamente? Las canciones de Rami tienen mucha fuerza y trae a la luz los desafíos y hermosura de pertenecer a muchas culturas.
Migrant Tales Podcast: Shirlene Green Newball talks to Rami Thawi
Shirlene Green Newball talks with Rami Thawi, a musician who has lived in many countries from Venezuela to Syria to Finland now. What inspires him to compose music and be from many places simultaneously. Rami songs are full of power and expose the challenges and power of being from many places.
Exposing white Finnish privilege #63: Silence and acting dumb are the swords of institutional racism
There is one matter that makes my blood boil when there is a clear case of racist behavior, but the person hearing it, who can be your boss, remains silent, hoping that the uncomfortable situation passes over and returns to “normal.”
“Back to normal” in this case means that nothing has changed and challenged. Matters will remain as they are. Get over it.
A good example of how strong institutional racism is in Finland is a Council for Mass Media (JSN) ruling against Järviradio for playing (April 6) a racist song by Irwin Godman called “Sand n-word and n-word clown.”
The song, which is shamelessly racist and offensive to brown and black people in Finland, was released in 1989. It has been seen on YouTube three million times.
One wonders why these types of songs are played on Youtube.
To add more salt to injury, the Järviradio commentator played the song on the request from a listener who said, “The Perussuomalaiset* are taking back Finland.”
Another coating of populist racism.
White Finnish privilege #63
If the radio commentator should have known better that Goodman’s song is racist and inappropriate, which the JSN ruling reinforced, the editor of Järviradio, Markku Mäenpää, appears clueless.
Mäenpää said that he has no opinion about the song or the lyrics.
The only reason why Mäenpää does not have an opinion about Goodman’s racist song is that he does not think the lyrics are racist and offensive even after 30 years when the song was released.
Mäenpää’s statement is a shameful example of how institutional racism and prejudices find protection and see another day in Finland.
Goodman’s songs are racist, and his opinions about migrants only reinforce that he was multiculturally challenged.
One of his “hit” songs was “Marcello Magaroni.”
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
* The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. 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.
Kuopio tragedy: The Muslim “terrorist” and the “mentally troubled” lone wolf white guy
The tragedy that took place Tuesday in Kuopio, which claimed the life of a person and left ten injured, including the suspect, raises a lot of questions. One of these is if we should treat what happened as a terrorist act or just some mentally troubled lone wolf?
The National Board of Investigation (Keskusrikospoliisi) Detective Chief Inspector Olli Töyräs was quoted as saying in Yle that the motive of the crime is still unknown and under investigation. According to the latest information, the police believe that the suspect acted alone and had no ties to organized crime.
The suspect, who was a student at the Savo Vocational School, did not know any of the victims. He allegedly set a fire in the building that was quickly put out.
Helsingin Sanomat reported today that the suspect was not in a relationship with any of the victims.
The reaction of some Finns on social media was disgraceful. Some blamed the attack on a foreigner and appeared to be disappointed when it was confirmed that the suspect was a white Finn.
The Perussuomalaiset*, which specializes in fear-mongering and spreading racist hatred of groups like Muslims, were strangely quiet on Tuesday.
Green Party Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo said that despite what happened in Kuopio, Finland is still one of the safest countries in the world.
True, Minister Ohisalo, but for whom? Remember what happened after the Turku stabbings in August 2017? Migrants and especially Muslims were harassed and attacked and blamed by white Finns for the stabbings. If the attacker in Kuopio were a Muslim, what type of violence would be unleashed against non-white Finns and migrants?
Would Ohisalo reassure us then that Finland is one of the safest counties in the world?
Even without these types of crimes, Finland is not a safe country for too many migrants, especially people of color.
* The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. 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.
Neo-Nazi Kansallinen vapaustaistelu before and after
On my daily walk, I saw a number of far-right vigilante group Soldiers of Odin stickers last week on lampposts. This evening, I encountered two neo-Nazi Kansallinen vapaustaistelu* stickers in Mikkeli. They ended up having the same fate as the Soldiers of Odin stickers.
*Unofficial translation: National Struggle for Freedom.
The Kuopio tragedy and the shameful silence of the Perussuomalaiset party
The Finnish city of Kuopio tragically witnessed the death of a person and 10 others injured at the Savo Vocational College, The Guardian reported, citing the local media and police. Our heartfelt thoughts and condolences go to the victims of the incident.
The East Finland Police tweeted earlier today that the suspect is “a native-born Finnish citizen.” Is this the reason why there is silence from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party?
Checking the Facebook pages of Islamophobic PS politicians like Sebastian Tynkyynen, Mauri Peltokangas, Jussi Halla-aho, Riikka Purra, to only name a few, there is absolute silence.
The fact that the PS does not even send condolences to the victims in Kuopio shows and exposes in the raw their hypocrisy.
If the suspect would have been a Muslim, it would be a different story. Using the same narrative of the Islamophobes, should we ask why Finns kill people and why aren’t Finns denouncing this form of violence collectively?
Shouldn’t we treat such a person as a suspected terrorist? Or do the PS see him as a lone wolf?
The PS’ language and rhetoric incite and legitimize violence against migrants, especially people of color. The usage of such violent language resembles a flat tire: You must pump it constantly with hate in order for the tire to have air.
* The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. 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.
Itä-Suomen poliisi: #Hermanni n tapahtumista epäilty on miespuolinen, syntyperäinen Suomen kansalainen
Syvimmät osanottoni väkivallanteon uhreille.
