Social Democratic Party Helsinki city councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussein tweeted that all the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and their supporters are racists. If you think of it, he has a point. The PS is not only an Islamophobic party, but it is also a far-right party as well.
A PS councilperson from Nurmijärvi, Maiju Tapiolinna, filed charges against Hussein. She writes in a blog post: “However, this has to be thoroughly investigated since recently in Finland there is strong opposition to racism. I believe this is a very good matter, but we need to eradicate racism against Finns.”
She continues: “I will follow the accusations against Hussein to the end. It is my duty to the party and to my constituents.
Two questions arise from Topiolinna’s blog post: (1) Are these charges for real? A white Finn who claims there is racism towards people of her group? (2) are the PS an ethnic group?
Read the original post here. 
Apart from the absurdity of Toppolinna’s charges against Hussein, they are a perfect example of what sociologist Robin Diangelo describes as white fragility.
Diangelo states in her best-selling book, “White Fragility,” that most white people “are absolutely not receptive to finding out their impact on other people.” She also mentions that the reaction caused by white fragility is nothing fragile but hostile.
The response to people like Hussein, who remind white Finns about their racism, is so hostile that many people of color prefer to remain quiet than get into a discussion about racism.
Tapiolinna’s plan to press charges against Hussein is, therefore, a good example of how white Finnish fragility reacts.
I commend Hussein for speaking out. If he wouldn’t speak out against the racism that has spread and been encouraged by the PS this decade, who would?
* The 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.
The wrong thing in Husu Hussein’s tweet was that he denigrated all PS’s supporters. PS is not an ethnic group, but Finnish law forbids discrimination based on opinion too. It should be interpreted as including political opinion too. However Husu Hussein didn’t do any discrimination, just denigrating, so I suppose there will not be any punishment for him. I don’t know is there any precedent for denigration against a group of people, which is not an ethnic group, but if this would have been said agaist an individual, according Finnish law, it would clearly fulfill the characteristics of illegal defamation.
“Racist” has strong negative meaning and that’s why no-one should use it agaist another person, wheather s/he is a racist or not. I am not a racist (I have been married with a foreigner, have foreign friends and have rented a flat for an non-ethnic Finn.) and I am however a member of PS. So I surely know there are non-racist persons in PS supporters. In fact the big majority of them are. You may understand, if someone calls you “a racist” or “idiot” or “pervert” or something like that, it feels very offending.
By the way, PS is not an Islamophobic party and neither a far-right party, but you probably have not enough patience to read to the end, if I would explain it more here. If you want to find out how the things are behind the propaganda (at PS party), you surely can find it.
What is wrong with that? The PS has been insulting Muslims and other people of color for years. It is the way they attract voters.
Hi Mika and thank you for your comment. If you read Hussein’s tweet carefully, he is responding to the discrimination and hostility that the PS has unleashed against Muslims, especially Somalis. The “denigration” you claim is the same “denigration” that Muslims, people of color and other minorities suffer every day in Finland. For me, the reaction of the PS and especially of Maiju Topolinna is a good example of “white fragility.” If you are consciously mean to minorities than you are a racist. However, since we live in a society where we swim in racism and profit from it, some of us are racist unconsciously. As Jane Elliott said: racism is learned so we can unlearn it.
I disagree with you: The PS is an Islamophobic far-right party. It is in the same league as many other ones in Europe like Lega Nord, ECRE, National Rally, FPÖ, and others. The PS is a member of Matteo Salvini’s EU Identity and Democracy coalition.
Here are a few examples of the PS Islamophobia:
ANNA HUKKUA LISTA (KAIKKI PERUSSUOMALAISIA EHDOKKAITA)
http://www.migranttales.net/migrant-talesin-suomen-eu-vaaliehdokkaiden-anna-hukkua-lista/
http://www.migranttales.net/lahes-40-prosenttia-suomalaisista-eurovaaliehdokkaista-on-sita-mielta-etta-maahanmuuttajien-pelastaminen-valimerella-on-toisarvoinen-kysymys/
RIIKKA PURRA + SIMO GRÖNROOS
Ainut oikeat suomalaisia ovat valkoisia ja kristityt
https://www.hs.fi/nyt/art-2000006163786.html
Halla-aho kirjoitti esimerkiksi julkisessa Facebook-päivityksessä keväällä 2018, että usein väestönvaihdoksesta puhumista pidetään foliohattuiluna tai liioitteluna, mutta Länsi-Euroopan osalta ”on kuitenkin epärehellistä sanoa, että se ei olisi käynnissä, että se ei olisi nopeaa, ja että se ei jatkuisi juuri niin kauan kuin sen annetaan jatkua”.
JUSSI HALLA-AHO
“Ohikulkijoiden ryöstely ja verovaroilla loisiminen on somalien kansallinen, ehkä suorastaan geneettinen erityispiirre.” (30.6.2008 Scriptassa. Lause oli Halla-ahon mukaan parodia ja mukaelma lehtijutusta, jossa humalassa tappamisen arveltiin olevan ”suomalaisten kansallinen, ehkä suorastaan geneettinen erityispiirre”.)[87][88]
Lisää sitaatteja:
https://fi.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jussi_Halla-aho
TEUVO HAKKARAINEN
– Laitetaan homot, lesbot ja somalit sinne keskenään asumaan ja katsellaan, millainen malliyhteiskunta siitä sitten rakentuu. RKP syyttää meitä perussuomalaisia aina siitä, että me emme ota vähemmistöjä huomioon. Tällä ratkaisulla saataisiin selville se, miten se malliyhteiskunta syntyy ja muotoutuu, mies suunnittelee Ilta-Sanomien nettisivuilla
https://www.savonsanomat.fi/kotimaa/Teuvo-Hakkarainen-ISssa-Laitetaan-homot-lesbot-ja-somalit-Ahvenanmaalle/560456
What makes the PS a far-right Islamophobic party that is a threat to this country?
• It supports ethnonationalism;
• Even if it the party’s leadership claims that it does not support ethnonationalism, it does nothing to ban it from the party;
• PS party secretary Grönroos is an ethnonationalism;
• The PS supports the social exclusion of Muslims;
• It requires groups like Muslims to give up their culture and identity;
• It copies and pastes far-right Islamophobic and xenophobic rhetoric used by such parties in Europe,
• It openly aims to make naturalization laws stricter for migrants thus retarding their participation as equal members of societyIt supports one-way adaption (assimilation) not two-way integration of migrants;
• Cultural and ethnic diversity are four-letter words for the PS;
• It fears that white Finns will become a minority in their own country and makes a big deal about this;
• Without reading European history, it believes that Europe is only white and Christian and should stay that way;
• It aligns itself in the EU parliament with similar far-right parties like Italy’s Lega and National Rally of France that are pro-Moscow;
• It is a member of the far-right EU parliament Identity and Democracy political group;
• It supports policies that make and keep migrants and minorities as second- or third-class members of society;
• All of its EU candidates didn’t mind if asylum seekers drown in the Mediterranean;
• It is a homophobic party that supports neo-liberal economic policies.
LAURA HUHTASAARI
http://www.migranttales.net/the-trumpization-of-finnish-politics/
Thanks, i leave criminal charge against you too.
Do it and make my day!
I already did. Calling someone racist is illegal. Regards court.
Hannu, if you send me the proof that you went to the police, I promise to publish the news in Migrant Tales.
It seems that Enrique Tessieri does not respect the anonymity of the commentators of this blog. (Because he is calling them by name, which he has digged out somewhere, and do not use the pseudonym of writers) However I’m happy that he left my comment into this site and didn’t erased it immediately.
I my opinion all denigration is wrong. It doesn’t matter if it has done as respons for an denigration of that person or for muslims or people of color or other minorities. So whether Husu Hussein’s tweet was or wasn’t a respons to someone else’s (like members of PS) denigration or insulting, it however was wrong. If someone insults you, you have still not right to insult him/her back. It’s so simple!
Another simple thing: If someone is against some phenomenon or an idealism, it doesn’t means s/he is absolutely an “phobic”. So, if someone is against (i.e. doesn’t support) islam, it doesn’t make her/him an Islamophobic. Instead it means just that Islam is in the conflict with her/his values and that’s why s/he wish no-one would belief in it. (Because believing it causes those non-wishful values.)
(…and values affects peoples behaviour.)
In my view “a far-right party” can not and should not be determinated only by the fact it opposes mass migration. That’s why I don’t regard PS as a far-right party.
Good bye. This all I want to say. I hope you understand.
Sorry, one more thing: I agree with you what Jane Elliott has said: “racism is learned so we can unlearn it.” Let’s do it!
I dont hate anyone because of whatever they are born with, my hatred has to be earned. And case of kunnianloukkaus ill tell you when police replies. You know who i am and your comment was directly to me. I am not anymous to you.
So you are persisting with filing charges against me. Please send me the request you made to the police and I will gladly publish them. Remember what you did back in 2008? I was about the quite and then you incited all these people from Scripta to attack me like a lynch mob. Thanks to that I did not quit. Thank you for that. If you request ever happens, it will be take two of 2008.
“incited all these people from Scripta to attack me like a lynch mob. ”
That was not me and thats how internet works, post something and get readers. Do you think all readers share your worldview?
You cry attack when there was more than 10 of your readers and most didnt like your bullshit.
Nah, it didn’t work that way at all. Thanks to you, I got a taste of what it is to be lynched on social media.
Thank you!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slashdot_effect educate yourself