Search Results for: Tapanila

What we should learn from the Tapanila sexual assault case

The Tapanila rape case is a good example of how the Finnish media permitted again its prejudices to get the better of itself. Those who committed the crime had everything against them: They were “Somalis,” or youths with “foreign backgrounds,” who committed “gang rape.” In today’s Finland, where xenophobia is thick in the air, those two words are sure to unlock your darkest prejudices.

Tärkeä kysymys vailla vastausta: Olivatko Tapanilan joukkoraiskauksesta epäillyt suomalaisia?

Tapanilan joukkoraiskaustapaus on järkyttänyt monet mutta samalla se on tuonut ilmi ikäviä yhteiskunnialisiä asioita kuten välipitämättömyys sekä rasismi. Keskustelu on jyrännyt eteenpäin valtamedian ja sosiaalimedian avulla. Ihmisten voimakas reaktio sosiaalimediassa ei ole yllättävä, koska yksi Tapanilan joukkoraikkaustapauksen tarkoitus on todennäköisesti ollut vahvistaa meidän ennakkoluuloja toisista ja vahvistaa “me” “heidän” kustannuksella. Erittäin tärkeä kysymys on uhrin

Tapanila sexual assault in Finland sends a disturbing signal about our society

Something terrible happened on Monday night after 9pm at the Tapanila train station of northern Helsinki. A group of 15-18-year-olds were reportedly harassing a young woman on a train, who was later sexually assaulted by the same suspects outside the station, according to Helsingin Sanomat.  No respectable news organization or police force with integrity should

Media Monitoring Group of Finland: Will the Perussuomalaiset’s xenophobic campaign help it win the election?

Finland’s parliamentary election is only 16 days away on April 2, and the question is if the radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party will capitalize on its Islamophobic campaign message. The assertion that the PS uses a migrant crime topic to attract voters before an election isn’t far-fetched. One of the most interesting discoveries of our first

A party that is out of touch with the times

A good editorial by Helsingin Sanomat about how the radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is the only party against bringing labor migrants to Finland and the threat such intransigency implies for the country. It writes: “When the PS refuses to accept [hard] facts, it no longer makes sense, even from a purely selfish point of view. And

Finland’s fictitious search for the ideal foreigner

Contrary to the last three parliamentary elections in  2011, 2015, and  2019, the upcoming parliamentary election on April 2 is different for several reasons: war rages in the Ukeraine, Finland has sought Nato membership, economic growth, and chronic labor shortages are just a few. Apart from labeling people from outside the EU as “harmful” migrants,

Media Monitoring Group of Finland [1]: Finland’s “youth gang problem” is Finland’s denied “racism problem”

The youth gang “problem” in Finland is a knee-jerk racist reaction. On and off, we have read about our youth gang “problem” with sensationalist headlines from newspapers that should know better. Remember back in 2014, when radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Tom Packalén created quite a stir when he claimed that a youth gang in East

Riikka Purra and the anti-EU PS may be too radical for Finland’s taste

Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson, Riikka Purra, stuck her mouth in her foot at a debate with National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) head Petteri Orpo, when she said that it is still the radical-right party’s long-range aim to leave the EU. “Finnish citizens are not in favor of leaving the EU,” she was quoted as saying in Helsingin

STATEMENT: Yle should stop picking on minority youths and stick to facts

It was in 2020 when Helsingin Sanomat published a big story about the dangers of youth gang violence in Helsinki. The story received a lot of criticism because it spread the misinformation that youth crime is rising in Helsinki and Greater Helsinki.  It isn’t surprising that the state-owned broadcaster, Yle, has spread the issue, especially

The PS’ and Kokoomus’ “concern” about Finland’s minority youth gangs is dishonest and a political stunt

Watching weekly Thursday’s question-and-answer session between the opposition and government can cause nausea. With parliamentary elections six months in April, expect opposition parties like the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) to increase their attacks against ALL migrants. The truth about the PS and Kokoomus, the biggest and second-biggest opposition party, respectively, is

Kuka levittää valeuutisia maahanmuuttajista?

Ylikomisario Jari Taponen sai aikamoinen myrskyn aikaan kun hän twittasi seuraavasti: Tässä on yksi ihmeellisimpiä lehtikirjoituksia jonka olen nähnyt. Tehdään juttu rikoksesta jota ei ole tapahtunut. Kuka levittää valeuutisia maahanmuuttajista ja turvapaikanhakijoista? Olennainen kysymys on miksi he levittävät valetietoa? Jos katsotaan tietyt ryhmät kuten Perussuomalaiset, valetieto ja pelonlietsonta houkuttelevat äänestäjät. Kaikki eduskuntavaaleissa jossa Perussuomalaiset ovat

Perussuomalaiset support heads south

There was good news if you are against us-and-them rhetoric, Islamophobia, and support for US President Donald Trump’s policies and persona. A poll published Thursday by Yle showed that the southward direction of the Perussuomalaiaset (PS)* party continued to head south. Compared with a similar poll on December 9, 2019-January 8, 2020, support for the

Pressiklubi gives simplistic, apologetic view on how the Finnish media is “more balanced” today when writing about non-white Finns

It is surprising to hear how some politicians and journalists continue to have simplistic and apologetic views of racism and bigotry in this country. If YLE’s Päivi Happonen and Atte Kaleva’s words are to be believed on Pressiklubi, the Finnish media has finally woken up and writes more balanced stories about migrants and minorities that live in Finland. 

Who determines who we are?

Here’s a simple question: By law, a person is a Finn if he or she is a Finnish citizen. Why, then, are some of these Finnish citizens spoken of and near-constantly reminded by society that they are so-called “people with foreign backgrounds?”

Savon Sanomat: Kuka määrää, keitä me olemme?

Tässä on yksinkertainen kysymys: virallisesti ihminen määritellään suomalaiseksi, jos hän on Suomen kansalainen. Jos hänellä on kansallisuus, miksi jatkuvasti muistutetaan, että hän on ”ulkomaalaistaustainen”?

Finland’s bigoted and perilous path

Finland has become in a short time a country that has lost its way. The police service, public officials like politicians and even ministers, who should know better, don’t. The most shameful matter that exposes these wretched times is that we’ve allowed xenophobia and nationalist populism to not only enter through the back door but through the main and wide one as well.

Every suspected rape in Finland brings out the bigot from within

Every suspected rape committed by a foreigner is a threat to the migrant and visible minority community because it gives a boost to bigots and racists in Finland. It is also a perfect example of how a social media lynching takes place in Finland and how it boosts parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, which base their popularity on anti-cultural diversity rhetoric.

Naisen alistaminen tapahtuu eri kulttuureissa eri tavoin

Tässä ei ole mediaseksikästä otsikkoa eikä nokkelaa sanailua, vaan asiaa, joka koskettaa jokaista naista tavalla tai toisella jossain vaiheessa naisen elämää. Media on hehkutellut koko kevään Tapanilan maahanmuuttaja – raiskauksilla ja nyt viimeisimpänä kunniaväkivallan pöytään nostamalla. Naisiin kohdistuva väkivalta on vedetty islamofobiseen ja maahanmuuttajavastaisen väliseen kamppailuun. Kiivaimmin naisen alistamiseen ovat puuttumassa suomiuroot, joita en sitten

Reija Härkönen: Suomen pojat, muistakaa!

Suomen isät ja äidit, koittakaa nyt pitää tarkka huoli murrosikäisistä pojistanne ja heidän kasvustaan miehiksi. Kansanedustajien nettikeskusteluista päätellen toilailut tyttöjen kanssa, tyttöjen joukkohäirintä ja seksuaalinen ahdistelu eivät tästedes kenties johda pelkästään ehdottomaan vankeusrangaistukseen, vaan myös maastakarkoitukseen tai kansantuomioistuimen teloitukseen.

Two important questions I’d ask incoming PS minister of justice and employment

It should be clear by know through countless examples that the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* intentionally make outrageous statements in order to get media attention for the party and themselves. The new PS justice and employment minister, Jari Lindström, stated a while back that he’d be in favor of reinstating the death penalty in “some circumstances,” according to YLE in English. On Tuesday we learned about PS subsitute councilman Olli Sademies’ opinions about forced sterilization of African refugees.

Systemic racism in Finland

A video clip below by Jay Smooth published by Race Forward gives us simple good examples of how systemic or institutional racism occurs in the United States. Is systemic racism a problem in Finland? If so, how and where does it occur?

Straight A students in racism and the rise of xenophobia in Finland

You may be wondering why xenophobia has raised its head big time in Finland these past years and why candidates from parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* get elected on such a platform. The Facebook post below that sources a false story about migrants called MV, Mitä v****a! or What the f**k!, offers an answer. The

Reija Härkönen: Nyt saa loppua persujen paijaus!

Reija Härkönen Enpä olisi uskonut tätä päivää näkeväni: varteenotettavat suomalaiset puolueet miettivät tosissaan, millä tavalla tekisivät hallitusyhteistyötä rasistipuolueen kanssa. Jos hallitukseen nousee rasistista, ihmisten yhtäläisen arvon kieltävää ohjelmaa ajava puolue, koko hallitus on silloin mukana edesauttamassa tuon puolueen agendaa, riippumatta siitä, millainen varsinainen hallitusohjelma on. Ruotsissa pidetään perussuomalaisten mahdollista hallitukseen ottoa historiallisena virheenä. Suomen media

UPDATE (Apr. 22): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism

Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link. Apr. 22 Tapanilan joukkoraiskauksesta syytteet viidelle (YLE) What’s wrong with this story? The news story by YLE on sentencing five youths with so-called “foreign backgrounds” is an

Finland elections send a worrisome message of petty provincialism, anti-immigration, anti-Islam and anti-Other

Of the top 12 anti-immigration candidates below, only one didn’t get reelected: National Coalition Party’s Pia Kauma (UPDATED) and James Hirvisaari of Muutos 2011. While this is a small consolation in the face of the success of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party on Sunday, the big question is if this populist anti-immigration party will form part of the

Finland’s scapegoating culture and climate

A good example of Finland’s xenophobic climate is a citizens’ initiative that would hasten the deportation of sentenced foreigners, according to YLE in English. The minimum number of signatures required for such initiatives to be debated and voted on in parliament is 50,000. On Wednesday morning the citizens’ initiative had 52,037 signatures.

Defining white Finnish privilege #21: Who can be a Finn?

A Finn is anyone with Finnish citizenship, right?  Citizenship can be obtained through birth (jus sanguinis) or naturalization. Even if this should be clear as day, certain public services like the police continue to group Finns according to their so-called “foreign” or “immigrant” backgrounds. I don’t have any problems with my foreign background even if

Defining white Finnish privilege #19: My rape statistics about your group

Migrant Tales has followed migrant rape statistic stories for some time. You should always treat them with tweezers when two matters appear:  The news story only cites percentages, not numbers The percentages are used to label all migrants, especially some groups. Most of the stories written about migrant rape cases in Finland fit these two characteristics

What’s the difference between a migrant rapist and a white Finnish rapist?

Any sensible person condemns what happened on Monday, when a woman was gang raped by a group of teenagers in the northern Helsinki neighborhood of Tapanila. Some voices, notably the most anti-immigration voices, are demanding an apology from the Somali community. One Somali woman, Ujuni Ahmed, apologized on behalf of the whole community on Helsingin Sanomat

Using the term “immigrant background” in a bigoted country

In a country like Finland, where even politicians can make political careers with their bigotry, what impact does the label “immigrant background” have in reinforcing intolerance and prejudices?  This question is an important one because, like racism, the label rarely if ever affects white Finns. The tragic rape of a woman this week by a group

UPDATE (Mar. 13): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism

Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link. Mar. 13 Raiskauksia paljastuu aiempaa enemmän – joka kolmas tuomittu ulkomaalaistaustainen or Raiskauksia paljastuu aiempaa enemmän – Tapanilan joukkoraiskauksesta epäilyt vangittiin  (Helsingin Sanomat) What’s wrong with the

UPDATE (Mar. 11): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism

Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link. Mar. 11 Tapanilan raiskaus ja HS:n uutisointi – Mitä kertoa, kun epäillyt ovat jo kiini? (Helsingin Sanomat) Some bad and some good journalism. The police said

UPDATE (December 5): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism

How does the Finnish media give politicians that spread xenophobia and racism inflated respectability and importance? How can they  spread their prejudices and lies about immigrants and minorities without the help of the media? Migrant Tales will begin to collect stories from January 7 written by careless journalists that have been taken for a ride by such