Tag: Perussuomalaiset

Are Finns conservatives by nature?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini was interviewed on YLE Saturday morning. Commenting on a recent opinion poll commissioned by YLE, Soini claimed that the good showing of the PS and Center Party proved that Finns are by nature conservatives. 

The YLE poll, which was published Friday, showed big gains by the opposition Center Party (23.8%) and the PS (19.3%).  The ruling National Coalition Party’s popularity slipped to 18.3% and the Social Democratic Party to 15%.

Kuvankaappaus 2013-9-7 kello 12.08.54

Read full story (in Finnish) here.

It’s nothing surprising that a politician like Soini, who will do anything to snatch as much power as he can in order to form part of the next government after the 2015 parliamentary elections, sees Finns as “conservatives.”

What does being a conservative mean in Finland in 2013? In general terms, it suggests having conservative values when it comes to marriage, work ethic and suspicion of cultural diversity.

Are Finns conservatives by nature as Soini claims? I have my serious doubts.

The reason why the PS is so popular, at least in the polls, is due to the lack of diversity and consensus-driven politics during the cold war era.

The rise of an anti-EU, anti-immigration and especially anti-Islam party like the PS in the 2011 elections would have never happened if Finland’s population would have been more culturally diverse.

When Soini speaks of Finns being “conservatives” by nature, he means that they are potential PS voters and in line with the party’s nationalistic name, the Finns Party, or the Perussuomalaiset as we call the party on Migrant Tales.

Our best insurance against populism and ideologies that have little respect for human rights is cultural and political diversity. More diversity coupled with social equality will help conserve our Nordic democratic way of life rather than undermine it.

Being too alike ideologically, culturally and ethnically is hazardous to our society.

 

Zuzeeko’s blog: MPs ignore bigger fish to fry in Finnish society

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng

Public discourse in Finnish online forums and blogs written by far-right elements and Finns Party MPs suggest that immigration is the biggest problem in Finland, but a closer look at Finnish society reveals more pertinent issues that people on the far-right of the political divide ignore, including domestic violence, family killings and violence against women and children.

Kuvankaappaus 2013-9-6 kello 6.52.16

Read original posting here.

Populist Finns Party members lead the way in fanning flames of hate against immigrants and other minorities in Finland. They slam immigrants and refugees and portray Muslims as villains. MPs like James Hirvisaari and Jussi Halla-aho have been convicted by Finnish courts for inciting hatred, but they remain defiant. Another notorious MP from the populist right-wing Finns Party, Teuvo Hakkarainen, more recently wrote a controversial blog post in which he described Muslims in Turku as the “worst Jihadists”. It’s worthy to remember that Hakkarainen used the n-word to describe people of African descent in a video interview on his first day in parliament.

From writings and utterances of Finns Party lawmakers (who also happen to be lawbreakers), you would think that immigration is the most serious problem in Finland.

In my view, there are bigger fishes to fry in Finnish society.

Numerous women and children have been killed in Finland as a result of domestic and family violence and the authorities have not done enough to arrest the problem.

According to Helsingin Sanomat, 55 people – including 48 children have been killed since 2003 as a result of family murders and the authorities have not acted adequately. For example, verbal threats of violence are usually not taken seriously. Helsingin Sanomat gathered 11 cases of family murders since 2011 – the most recent being a twin murder in Jyväskylä in August 2013.

The list of family murders doesn’t include the 1 September 2013 case where a Finnish man killed his immigrant wife and seriously wounded her three-year-old daughter with a handgun, nor the 15 June 2013 killing of an Estonian woman in broad daylight by her Finnish partner in a parking lot in Helsinki’s west harbor.

By my rough count, there have been three cases of family-related murders in less than three months this year – resulting in death of three women. This, in my assessment, is a more serious societal problem than immigration.

Finns Party MPs and other proponent of extreme views shared by Norway’s mass murderer Anders Breivik shouldn’t waste durable time in parliament taking cheap shots at immigrants and refugees. They should focus on tackling crippling societal problems like alcoholism, domestic violence and family killings.

A disturbing report revealed that a homicide is committed in Finland every third day. Majority of the perpetrators are discriminated, unemployed and alcoholic men. According to the report, more homicides are committed in Finland than in any other Nordic country.

MPs like Hakkarainen, Hirvisaari and Halla-aho focus on inciting hatred and shy away from discussing life-threatening problems that plague their constituencies. Perhaps, given their track record, the MPs would address the issues if perpetrators were mostly Muslims, immigrants, Roma or other minorities.

Read original blog entry here.

This piece was reprinted by Migrant Tales with permission.

Why we call the Finns Party the Perussuomalaiset

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Some may wonder why we don’t call on Migrant Tales the Perussuomalaiset (PS) by their official English name, the Finns Party. When I speak to people in English and mention the PS, they answer back by naming it the Perussuomalaiset.  

There was a lively discussion on Migrant Tales in 2010 on whether the correct translation of the PS was True, Basic or Elementary Finns.

When the PS decided to officially change its English name in August 2011 from True Finns to the Finns Party, that’s when I threw in the towel and had enough of the party’s populism. That’s why we call them the Perussuomalaiset on Migrant Tales.

And it is a good matter that we did not jump on their populist bandwagon.

images (2)

Far right attire? Read again: Suomi (Finland) is spelled Soumi. On the back of the shirt it reads: Winter War, 1939-1940, never forget. Source: www.varusteleka.fi

How many parties in Europe use names to exclude other ethnic groups?* One that comes immediately to mind is the far right British National Party and the Finns Party, which means the party of Finland’s ethnic majority, or white Finnish-speaking Finns.

The question I’d like to ask the National Coalition Party, Center Party, Social Democrats and others except the PS, is how they have permitted the PS to hijack a name like “the Finns Party” all for themselves?

If you are a white Finnish-speaking Finn, how can I be against a party that calls itself the Finns Party?

The same dangerous game has been played with success by other far right and populist groups, the PS included, which show off our national symbols and icons as if they were their personal property.

 

*For more reading on this topic, see Nationalism threatens racism, not war.

 

 

PALJASTETTU.: Miksi maahanmuuttokeskustelu Suomessa ei keskity oleelliseen?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Enrique Tessieri

Tässä on tärkeä kysymys, joka on tehtävä kun keskustellaan julkisesti maahanmuutto ilmiönä: Jos pakolaiset koostuvat vain pieni osa kaikista maahanmuuttajista Suomessa, miksi maahanmuuttovastaiset tahot ja lehdistö kiinnittää heihin niin paljon huomiota? 

Vaikka jotkut meistä uskovat että Suomessa on erityisen paljon pakolaisia, totuus on aivan toinen.

Viime vuonna, Suomeen saapui 3 129 turvapaikkahakijaa, Maahanmuuttoviraston mukaan. Näistä noin puolet (1 601) saivat turvapaikan Suomesta. 

Kuten näemme näistä tilastoista, pakolaisten määrä on pieni ja vielä pienempi jos vertaamme Ruotsiin. Naapurimaassa saapui viime vuonna 43 900 turvapaikkahakijat, eli kymmenen kertaa enemmän kun meille. Suomi on myös luvannut ottaa 750 kiintiöpakolaisia joka vuosi. Viime kerta kun tämä pakolaiskiintiö täyttyi oli 2003.

Yksi syy miksi emme olemme pystyneet täyttämään vuosittaista pakolaiskiintiötä on ollut kuntien kova vastustus. Yksi perussuomalaisten kunnanvaalienohjelman tärkeä sanoma oli vastustaa kuntien pakolaisten ottamista.

Kysymys ei ole sittenkään liian paljon pakolaisista Suomessa vaan liian vähän.

Miksi sitten kun puhutaan maahanmuuttajista, harvoin keskeydymme oleellisen ja vääristämme oikeita tietoa? 

Mielestäni vastaus on yksinkertainen: he jotka vastustavat maahanmuuttoa ja maamme kasvava moninaisuuttamme, käyttävät kaikki mahdolliset keinot esittämällä mielipiteensä liioittelemalla ja kärjistämällä.

Lehdistö pelaa tärkeä roolia tässäkin, koska se antaa maahanmuuttovastustajille ja heidän argumentille arvostusta ja merkitystä. Harvoin siinä on maahanmuuttajia tai näkyvä vähemmistön edustaja kertomassa omaa mielipidettä asiasta.

Jos minä puhuisin suomalaisista samalla tavalla kun jotkut maahanmuuttovastustajat ja rasistit puhuvat meidän uusista asukkaista, varmasti väittäisin että kaikki suomalaiset ovat alkoholisteja ja pedofiileja, joka ei ole totta.

Olen kasvanut Yhdysvalloissa ja Argentiinassa. Molemmat maat ovat rakennettu maahanmuuttajien voimalla. Minä en pystyy ymmärtämään kuinka joku voi väittää, että maahanmuutto on rasite yhteiskunnalle.

OECD tutkimuksen mukaan, maahanmuutto auttoi vuonna 2011 Suomen taloutta kasvamaan 0,16%. Jos maahanmuutto luo taloudellista kasvua muualla se pysty luomaan samaa kasvua Suomeakin. He jotka epäilevät OECD:n luvut voisivat käydä Yhdysvalloissa, Kanadassa, Englannissa tai Saksassa ja ottaa selvä mistä osaa talouskasvua on peräisin.

On korkea aika Suomessa muuttaa keskustelun suuntaa maahanmuutosta, maahanmuuttajista ja kasvavasta moninaisuudesta.

Vain silloin voimme löytää oikeat ratkaisut haasteisiin ja keskittyä oleelliseen.

Alkuperäisen blogikirjoituksen voi lukea tästä.

Supreme Court upholds PS city councilman’s conviction for ethnic agitation

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it will not grant Perussuomalaiset (PS) Kotka City Councilman Freddy van Wonterghem the right to appeal a conviction for ethnic agitation in February by the Kouvola appeals court, reports YLE. The ruling is similar to a lower court ruling on PS MP James Hirvisaari’s hate speech conviction in June 2012. 

Van Wonterghem said he would appeal the decision to the European Court of Human Rights.

Kuvankaappaus 2013-8-29 kello 6.56.01

Read full story here.

The city councilman commented on a blog entry written by Migrant Tales that he had no regrets about what he wrote in the summer of 2011. He wrote back then that it was a good matter that a Muslim woman would die since it would be one less person giving birth to a member of that religious group. 

While it’s clear what van Wonterghem wrote is something he would most likely never say to a woman from his own national or ethnic group, his defiance and support from the PS is more than revealing. The excuses are an insult to any sensible person’s intelligence.

The PS of the region of Kymi played down the whole affair by stating that the councilman didn’t know how to express himself adequately in Finnish.

The Belgian-born naturalized Finn has lived in Finland for over 30 years.

Van Wonterghem knew exactly what he said and did it get national attention, which he succeeded.

The councilman, who is a Holocaust denier, played down the whole affair by stating that it was “only a sentence” and that he didn’t consider it offensive and/or racist, which it was.

A common excuse used by racists in Finland is that their comment was either taken out of context or that it was humor.

Van Wonterghem claims that his statement about killing a Muslim woman was “irony.”   

The whole case is another example of how PS chairman Timo Soini has been forced to eat his words and promises on racism.

He said that any PS candidate that was convicted for ethnic agitation would be kicked out of the party.

First Soini claimed there were no racists, later “one, two or three,” and now his totally silent.

 

 

 

Old Finnish national social constructs still fuel intolerance and exclude visible minorities

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The Association of Finnish Culture and Identity (Suomalaisuuden liitto) is an association founded in 1906 to “strengthen the sense of national identity, to promote Finnish education and culture.” While this statement may appear innocent at first, the association endorses the intolerance white Finnish speakers have today against Swedish speakers never mind immigrants and visible minorities.

In sum, the Association of Finnish Culture and Identity is an enemy of Finland’s inevitable cultural diversity.

The values and attitudes of the association are maintained with the help of myths tucked deep in the nineteenth and twentieth century. In their world, Finnish-speaking culture is static and supposed to remain in a time warp. They promote an exclusive ethnic club that has no place in modern Finland today.

One of its campaigns is to undermine cultural diversity in Finland together with Vapaa kielivalinta, the youth wings of the PS and National Coalition Party. These four groups succeeded at gathering over 50,000 signatures for a direct initiative to demote the Swedish language  to elective status at schools.

Swedish is a minority language in Finland. It is the country’s second official language together with Finnish.

593-Etela-Savon_maakuntaliitto_logoHere’s a logo used before by the Regional Council of South Savo. It depicts the inhabitants of this region as indigenous natives, which fuels “us” versus “them.” Anti-immigration groups in Finland argue that they are “vulnerable natives” being attacked by “immigrant colonizers.”

 

When the association speaks in defense of “Finnish culture,” it is defending only the rights of white Finnish speakers and not that of other groups who are Finns as well.

It shouldn’t be surprising that in the face of Finland’s ever-growing cultural diversity, there’s still no non-white Finns on the board “strengthening our national identity.”

The Association of Finnish Culture and Identity is today led by anti-immigration and anti-EU Perussuomalaiset (PS) party members. Its chairman is Sampo Terho, a PS Euro MP.

When building a social construct like Finnish national identity, like what happened to Swedish and foreign surnames in 1906-07 and in the 1930s that were changed into Finnish ones, there are bad side effects like xenophobia and racism.

Groups like the Association of Finnish Culture and Identity continue to promote intolerance, indirectly and directly, by not questioning, or even recognizing, how some of its former causes, like strengthen Finnish identity, promoted, and continue to fuel, intolerance and hostility towards non-white Finns.  

One of the biggest decision that Finland must make in order to take that first crucial step towards cultural diversity is acceptance and respect for other groups. This process is a two-way street.

While many of us are acceptant of cultural diversity, the shadow of our own national identity social construct continues to intimidate us into not accepting that our national identity in this century is very different from what it was before.

Apart from being a proud nation of its accomplishments, it is a nation that accepts and is respectful of its cultural diversity that is inclusive.

 

 

 

Reija Härkonen: Kansanedustaja levittää väärää tietoa

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MT comment: Anti-immigration and anti-EU Perussuomalaiset party MP Reijo Tossavainen claims in a blog entry that refugees get more financial help in Finland than anywhere else in Europe. Tossavainen cites a Tampere-based daily Aamulehti article from 2009, which is simply wrong. 

Distorting the facts to make a xenophobic and racist point is nothing new in Finland but happens throughout Europe. Writes the Institute of Race Relations: “Political parties at election times have systematically poisoned debates around asylum, immigration, terrorism and law and order with euphemisms and trigger phrases which allegedly appeal to the perceived racist views of key sections of the electorate.”

Tossavainen’s blog entry, which he sarcastically headlined “Welcome to Finland asylum seekers,” is a perfect example of the latter and shows how low some politicians will stoop to make their racist arguments sound credible.  

__________________

Reijä Härkönen

Kansanedustaja Reijo Tossavainen on kopioinut blogikirjoituksekseen Helsingin Sanomien uutisen vuodelta 2009, jossa lainataan Aamulehden julkaisemaa vertailua turvapaikan hakijan saamasta toimeentulotuesta Ruotsissa ja Suomessa.

Kuvankaappaus 2013-8-23 kello 8.33.08

Read blog entry (in Finnish) here.

Bloginsa lopuksi Tossavainen toteaa:

”Edellä oleva teksti on suora lainaus STT:n uutisesta. Siihen ei ole mitään lisättävää. Siinä on olennainen totuus.”

Valheellisten tietojen korjaus:

Suomessa ei vuodesta 2011 enää makseta turvapaikanhakijalle toimeentulotukea, vaan vastaanottorahaa, jonka suuruus viisihenkiseltä perheeltä jää nyt neljä vuotta Tossavaisen uutista myöhemminkin pari sataa euroa alle Tossavaisen ilmoittaman summan. Jos perhe asuu vastaanottokeskuksessa, joka tarjoaa ateriat, perheen saama vastaanottoraha on 326 euroa – siis aivan jotain muuta, kuin Tossavaisen 1277 euroa.

Vastaanottorahaa ei makseta automaattisesti, vaan sitä pitää erikseen hakea ja turvapaikanhakijan tulot ja omaisuus vaikuttavat rahan määrään.

Vähäistä suurempiin terveydenhuoltomenoihin, kuten vaikkapa silmälasien hankintaa, voidaan maksaa ylimääräistä vastaanottorahaa. Turvapaikanhakijalasta kohdellaan terveydenhuollossa, kuten suomalaista lasta.

http://www.pakolaisneuvonta.fi/?lid=66

http://www.pakolaisneuvonta.fi/?lid=35

http://www.pakolaisneuvonta.fi/index_html?lid=90&lang=suo

 

Kansanedustaja Tossavainen tarkoitus on ilmeinen: hän haluaa pitää yllä samaa kohua, joka tuosta Aamulehden uutisesta nousi vuonna 2009. Tossavainen yhtyy jälleen samaan lietsontaan, jota päivittäin harrastavat perussuomalaisten maahanmuuttajavastaiset tahot.

Asukkaiden saama sosiaaliturva vaihtelee maittain johtuen erilaisista käytännöistä. Jokaisessa turvapaikanhakijoita vastaanottavassa maassa pyritään takaamaan pakolaisille edes jollain lailla inhimillinen elämä.

Vastaanottoraha oli vuonna 2010 pakolaisneuvonnan mukaan Suomessa 30 % pienempi kuin vähimmäistoimeentulotuki. Suomalaiset mummot eivät siis elä pakolaisia kurjemmin, kuten Tossavainen väittää. Suomalaisilla mummoilla on myös vielä yleensä jäljellä isänmaa, koti ja omaisuus sekä omaiset ja ystävät.

Kansanedustajalla on toimessaan mahdollisuus saada ajankohtaista tietoa asiasta kuin asiasta. Maksamme myös kansanedustajien avustajien palkan – heiltä voi pyytää apua, jos itse ei kykene tietojansa päivittämään.

Epäluulojen ja kateuden herättäminen pakolaisia kohtaan on alhaista.

Kansanedustaja Tossavainen haluaa blogissaan estää kritiikin ja on estänyt minuakin kommentoimasta. Tällä kertaa katson tarpeelliseksi antaa oman blogini kautta oikaisevaa ja täydentävää tietoa. Kommentteja minulla ei nyt ole aikaa päivystää ja poistella aina ilmestyviä epäasiallisia ja rasistisia tekstejä, siksi suljin tällä kertaa kommentoinnin kaikilta.

Alkuperäisen blogikirjoituksen voi lukea tästä.

Tämä blogikirjoitus julkaistiin Migrant Talesissä luvalla.

Abdirahim Hussein Mohamed: Hakkarainen pelkää muslimeja!

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Abdirahim Hussein Mohamed

HusseinSomalia

Maanantaina 19. elokuuta Iltasanomissa oli artikkeli, joka on sinällään mielenkiintoinen, kun maanantai on muuten viikon vaikein päivä, etenkin nyt kun kesälomat ovat takana. Lehdessä kerrottiin kuinka kansaedustaja Hakkarainen jälleen kerran näytti oikean värinsä.

Minulle ja monelle muulle muslimitaustaiselle ihmiselle tämä uutinen ei ole mikään yllätys. Olen odottanut milloin tulee seuraavan Hakkarais-pläjäyksen. Se oli vain ajan kysymys, ja ihmettelin kuinka hänellä kesti näin kauan. Hakkarainen jälleen kerran tuomitsee suomessa asuvia muslimitaustaisia, ja pelottelee suomen kansaa sellaisilla asioilla, mitkä eivät perustu mihinkään faktoihin.

Hakkarainen toteaa seuraavaa:

Hallitus ei suostu myöntämään, että tuovat tänne paljon maahanmuuttajia,jotka ovat aivan liian suuri menoerä ja rasite meille.

Mitäh?! Eikö kansanedustaja ole lukenut tänä vuonna tullutta OECD:n raporttia, jossa todettiin, että maahanmuutto on kannattavaa Suomessa, ja tarpeen täyttämään tulevan työvoimapulan työaukot, mitä lähivuosille ennustetaan Suomeen? Eikö KE ole tietoinen, että
hänellä on puheenvuoro-oikeus siellä eduskunnassa, ja että siellä pitää tuoda esille faktoja, ja että voi tehdä aloitteita? Eikö kansanedustajan tehtävä ole yrittää vaikuttaa asioihin siellä, missä asioihin kuuluu vaikuttaa, eikä lähteä kiihottamaan kansanryhmää vastaan?

Hakkarainen viittaa TS kirjoitettuun uutiseen, jonka perusteella hän tuomitsee meidät täällä asuvat muslimit. Hänen mielestä olemme kaikki vaara Suomelle, ja että Suomen kansa ja etenkään isänmaalliset eivät voi hyväksyä nykymenoa!

Täytyy tässä todeta, että KE:n pitää päästä tutustumaan Suomen muslimeihin, ja ehkä kertoa mielipiteensä sen jälkeen. Täytyy sanoa, että Suomen kansalaisena ja uussuomalaisena minua hävettää KE:n puolesta. Kyseiselle kansanedustajalle on tarjottu monesti tutustumis-mahdollisuus islamiin ja suomen muslimeihin. Muistan kuinka KE Pekka Haavisto oli tarjonnut tutustuttaa KE Hakkaraisen muslimeihin ja somaleihin samassa tilaisuudessa. En ole kuulut, että kyseinen tapaaminen koskaan tapahtui, joten tulin siihen tulokseen, että joko KE Hakkaraista ei kiinnosta, tai hän oikeasti pelkää muslimeja.

En halua lähteä sen kummemmin kritisoimaan tai haukkumaan kansanedustajaamme, joten tarjoan sinulle uudestaan mahdollisuuden tutustua Suomen muslimeihin. Olen keskustapuolueen aktiivi ja minulla on monta perussuomalaista tuttavaa joiden kanssa voit tulla tutustumaan Suomen muslimien elämään. Tarjoan kaupan päälle somalikulttuuria.

Lopuksi, minusta oli mautonta haukkua toista kansaedustajaa joksikin mitä hän ei ole. Uutena tulijana sinun tulee kunnioittaa muita työkavereita, jotka eivät välttämättä ansaitse hyväksyntääsi, mutta mielestäni kyllä kunnioitusta. Meillä sanotaan että on aika tulla kotiin. Minä sanon sinulle että on aika tulla sieltä metsästä pois hyvä mies.

Jos olet eri mieltä kanssani, ole hyvä ja kohdista sinun kommenttisi minuun eikä koko kansaan, kuten minäkin olen tässä kritisoinut sinua eikä puoluettasi.

terveisin

Husu

Muslimi, somali ja ennen kaikkea, KEPULAINEN sellainen

http://www.oecd.org/els/mig/imo2013.htm

http://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/a1371505625246

Alkuperäisen blogikirjoituksen voi lukea tästä.

Tämä blogikirjoitus julkaistiin Migrant Talesissä luvalla.

Why does intolerance get so much attention in the media?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Why does racism, xenophobia and intolerance get so much space in the media and so little condemnation by politicians and society? Is it because racism strikes a chord inside of us or is it because we are taught from a very early age to leave if alone? 

We can make the following argument as well: Do we give too much attention in the media and blogs like Migrant Tales to politicians who make their racist views public? Would turning our backs on them make the problem go away?

It’s pretty clear that silence is a poor response to a social ill like racism. History has taught us that if you don’t openly challenge intolerance, it will grow and not only live another day but many.

There is another important question we should be asking: If we are taught that racism is bad, why do we have so few tools to challenge it?

Jennifer Harvey, an associate professor of religion at Drake University in the United States, offers us some insight.

You can read her blog entry, “For Whites (Like Me): On White Kids,” here.

Harvey writes:

So, if it’s your 4-year-old starting to notice darker skin (which happens when we raise our kids in predominantly white environments), the platitude “we’re all the same underneath” implies they’re noticing something they shouldn’t and insinuates there’s something wrong with darker skin we must need to overlook (meanwhile, your child hears remarks about beautiful blue eyes and blonde hair all the time). How about discussions about and images of the many different beautiful shades of dark skin instead?

And continues:

I know “everybody’s equal” means “we all deserve to be treated with fairness.” And when we tell kids we’re all the same underneath skin, gender, sexuality, physical abilities and other differences we’re trying to tell them we share human dignity and worth.

Obviously, I believe these things.

But, have you ever actually met a “generic” human? Someone without a race or a gender?

Well, guess what? Neither has your child.

In many respects, we do the same thing in Finland. We speak about the virtues of “social equality” but in fact we are taught at the same time to be colorblind and see everyone as “we’re all the same underneath.”

One way to put the issue in context is to replace the word “migrant” with “women.”

Would it be ok to make a case for sexism and claim that the only purpose of women in our society is to make children and serve their chauvinistic husbands?

Certainly not!

If you think of it, this is exactly the argument that anti-immigration groups are making: Migrants have no rights, you are second-class citizens, go back to where you came from.

We know such a statement is wrong because we are taught that “we’re all the same underneath.”

 

Mixed reactions to Hakkarainen’s racist blog entry that victimizes immigrants and Muslims

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Teuvo Hakkarainen’s recent blog entry, which attacked immigrants and Muslims, has been condemned by the vice president of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Eero Vainio, and by Muslims like Abdirahim Husu Hussein of the Center Party. 

Reaction to what Hakkarainen wrote is a positive sign that part of Finland’s political establishment considers Islamophobia, racism and intolerance in general unacceptable and out of tune with our values.

Kuvankaappaus 2013-8-21 kello 7.28.44

Read original blog entry here.

One reason why the Social Democrats have spoken out against Hakkarainen is because he named SDP Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja an “imam” and supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Vainio said that Hakkarainen’s opinions are a good example of how the PS diverts attention from the country’s real problems and shifts them to imaginary ones like immigration.

“The Perussuomalaiset have to get their act together and aim at offering solutions to real problems facing our society in the face of fear-mongering,” he was quoted as saying on Tampere-based daily Aamulehti.

Nasima Razmyar, an SDP Helsinki city councillor and Muslim, said on a blog that what Hakkarainen wrote made her blood boil but would not demand an apology from him.

One of the reasons why Razmyar fell short of asking for an apology is because she apparently believes that racism can be eradicated from the halls of parliament with odd empathy for the racist.

Swedish People’s Party chairman, Carl Haglund, considered what Hakkarainen wrote as “sheer racism.”

“Somebody has to say something,” he was quoted as saying on tabloid Iltalehti. “I’m surprised ho little attention has been given [to what Hakkarainen wrote]…”

Without condemning what Hakkarainen wrote, PS parliamentary leader Pirkko Ruohonen-Lerner was quoted as saying on Helsingin Sanomat that the MP’s views did not represent the party’s.

”Critical debate is accepted and welcome [in the PS],” she said, ”but I will not say where we draw the line [on debate].”

Hakkarainen claimed on his blog entry that immigrants who move to this country live off social welfare and are “increasingly guilty of crimes, which were previously rare, among others, like gang rape.”

He claimed that it is every “Muslim’s honor and responsibility to kill and annihilate every religion and Jews, according to the Koran,” and that, “the West is being flooded by millions of Muslims in a wooden Trojan horse…”

Citing a story on Turun Sanomat, the PS MP said that there are Muslim extremists concentrated in the city of Turku ready to declare jihad on Finland.

On an Uusi Suomi blog entry, Hussein offered Hakkarainen an invitation to meet and know more about Finland’s Muslim community. Such meetings have been arranged before for the PS MP, according to the Center Party politician.

”I haven’t heard that such a meeting has ever materilaized, thus I come to the conclusion that either MP Hakkarainen isn’t interested or he really fears Muslims,” he wrote.

Hussein cited on his blog entry a campaign phrase used by the Center Party in the 2012 municipal election to lure back voters that ditched the party and voted for the PS in the April 2011 election.

”We say that it’s time to come back home,” he writes. ”Good man, I want to tell you that it’s time for you to step into the light.”