Why wasn’t a member of a high-ranking government party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* sacked after she said on Facebook that she didn’t have condoms to give Muslim children tricker-or-treating?
The PS politician, Terhi Kiemunki, who is the chairperson of the party in Tampere, apologized for what she said.
PS party secretary, Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, didn’t ask for Kiemunki’s resignation even if what the PS politician said was unacceptable.
All of the above is fine but here’s the million-euro question: Why wasn’t Kiemunki sacked?
Read full story here.
The fact that the PS politician didn’t get ejected from the party reveals what is wrong with Finland today concerning racism and hate speech. Too many politicians, the media, and public officials don’t take racism and hate speech seriously enough. That’s why Kiemunki wasn’t ousted from the party.
By not challenging social ills like racism and hate speech not only puts in question our society’s values but destroys their credibility in the eyes of migrants and minorities.
* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party adopted by the PS, like True Finns or Finns Party, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and xenophobia. We, therefore, prefer to use the Finnish name of the party on our postings.