It is surprising how a politician like Timo Soini of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party can argue anything he wants on television about immigrants and visible minorities. His objection to positive discrimination on a debate on MTV3 Wednesday is a case in point. Migrant Tales has written in the past about colorblind racism, which is one of the most common…
Search Results for: red herring
Banning circumcision would be the first step in undermining religious freedom in Finland
Why is it that anti-immigration parties and politicians are usually making a case or drafting legislation to outlaw circumcision of boys or ban Muslim women from wearing burkas? Is it because they have a soft spot for Muslim or Jewish children and women? Take a whiff of their arguments and you will find an obvious…
We will win the battle against hate speech and intolerance
Much is at stake as Finland and Europe speeds into the depths of the new century. One of the greatest threats to our way of life and society today is hate speech and far-right ideology. Our resolve to identify and challenge these menaces is crucial during these times. Even if the media, politicians and public…
Greece and its bad case of ethnic profiling and scapegoating
The Greek Police announced that 16,836 foreign nationals were brought for questioning during the first month that Xenios Zeus was instigated, according to the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE). A staggering 80% of those brought in for questioning were legal residents. Only 2,144 held by the police didn’t have their residence permits in…
Migrant Tales March 15, 2012: Finland’s darkest period 2011-15
In the future, when Finnish historians of different ethnic backgrounds look at the present parliamentary term 2011-15, they will most likely conclude that it was the darkest period for Finland and immigrants in the new century. A prelude to this sombre period were the municipal election of 2008 and how it reflected a shift in…
Trolls come in many sizes and shapes in Finland
I read an interesting blog entry on Iowa State Daily that gave a very good suggestion to the vicious racist stuff you find in the blogsphere: “Require identification for comments and monitor, monitor, monitor the trolls,” said Michael Bugeja, director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication. “The blogosphere is full of trolls, and some write the most vicious things. Keep them out of mainstream media, and ignore them whenever you can.”
Ten fallacies of the PS’ anti-immigration arguments
When I was a kid growing up in California we used to say phony baloney when a fellow classmate exaggerated or lied. If we look at the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s mindset and claims on immigration, I would certainly be one of the first to let out a vociferous cry: “Phony baloney!”
Finnish voters deserve better
The opportunity to make political capital out of immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers that come to Finland has proven irresistible to some politicians ranging from the True Finns to Social Democrats. Certainly on this dubious list of politicians are representatives from all the parties.
Pekka Siikala: Three types of immigration critics in Finland
Pekka Siikala is a blogger of the Green Party who writes stinging commentary about anti-immigration groups in Finland. In his latest blog on Uusi Suomi, Three type of immigration critics (Kolmen sortin maahanmuuttokriitikoita), is no exception.
Illegal immigration in Finland and the European Union
The approval on June 18 by the European Parliament (click on T6-0293) of a common EU policy on illegal immigration is going to fail for a very simple reason — there is a market for these types of immigrants and because they provide bad employers a chance to cheat the system and slash overheads. The…