Discrimination

[suomynona.yllatot]

Cory, what happened during the hospitalisation? Did they not ask questions? How did the school respond? What about the students that brought this on?

[Karhunkoski]

There is something rotten in the state of Finland.

Not intended as a total solution but the justice system seems to fail as a deterrent.

[AldenG]

Cory, what happened during the hospitalisation? Did they not ask questions? How did the school respond? What about the students that brought this on?

Wasn't during school time. Police were involved. Because the 3 attackers were under 15, they got a slap on the hands. A video of the attack was posted on YouTube shortly after the attack and because the attackers didn't know how to remove it (they never anticipated we'd have the police involved?), it was solid evidence. Even with this, due to the ages of the boys, nothing really happened to them.

Here's a story in the US news right now:

Interview with sheriff in bullying case

Parents of bully give their 'side'

Sheriff's press conference

Amazingly there are at least four stories on bullying in the national news right now and there have been more than a dozen so far this year.

[suomynona.yllatot]

Thanks Cory for the info! Hope your son moved on!

In response to AldenG video, I just think some people who biologically reproduce... are the ones who shouldn't. Call me old-fashioned, there were slighty better times when the society felt responsible to bring up children. Nowadays!!!

Tell me, am I missing something: why is it that children although under 18, are let off? Why are the schools not teaching? Why are teachers not teaching? Why are parents not teaching. Am I missing something here?

[AldenG]

Why are the schools not teaching? Why are teachers not teaching? Why are parents not teaching. Am I missing something here?

Hell if I know. In the case I linked, the school(s) actually did a lot and the final stages seem to fall mostly at the feet of the bullies' parents.

But in most other cases there seems to be shocking and willful blindness on the part of teachers and administrators.

[Bavarian]

But in most other cases there seems to be shocking and willful blindness on the part of teachers and administrators.

Or, as is often the case in the US, the schools themselves are the bullies. Zero tolerance has been terrible for our schools, and also teaches children that you can use the power of the State to bully people you don't like.

Or if you want something on a less controversial subject: High school student idolizes college athlete, and stupidly gets a haircut such that his hair has an image of said athlete. The school tries to punish him for it.

[enkeligod]

You do not know how it feels when you are living in a society you find yourself unequal, discriminated or racially discriminated. It really hurts and sucks to the bone marrow, I as a victim and having experienced it before knows how psychologically and mentally it has affected my self esteem,the fear of the future of me and my child living in the same society as a mixed afro-finn child. I do love my Finnish wife alot, but the worries and fears of the upbringing of our child in the society is making me not to plan for a second child with her.A lot has changed in our societies from abolition of slave trade, women equality,apartheid up till countries destroying chemical weapons to safeguard humanity, but what has not still changed is the mentality that humans are humans and they equal irrespective of color or race and as such should be treated with atleast acceptance.

It is more worrying when countries around the world who preaches and spend resources to eradicate inequality in the world, are being caught up in this happenings in their countries it results to negative message around the ones its been preached to.

Ignoring the truth and facts that inequality, discrimination and racially discriminated occurrence in our society does exists and is becoming a cankerworm and requires re-orientation about the issue in our society.
Finland is known for equity and fairness, but the reality should not be different as the country serves as a role model for other developing and developed countries around the globe.

[browndude]

You do not know how it feels when you are living in a society you find yourself unequal, discriminated or racially discriminated. It really hurts and sucks to the bone marrow, I as a victim and having experienced it before knows how psychologically and mentally it has affected my self esteem,the fear of the future of me and my child living in the same society as a mixed afro-finn child. I do love my Finnish wife alot, but the worries and fears of the upbringing of our child in the society is making me not to plan for a second child with her.A lot has changed in our societies from abolition of slave trade, women equality,apartheid up till countries destroying chemical weapons to safeguard humanity, but what has not still changed is the mentality that humans are humans and they equal irrespective of color or race and as such should be treated with atleast acceptance.

It is more worrying when countries around the world who preaches and spend resources to eradicate inequality in the world, are being caught up in this happenings in their countries it results to negative message around the ones its been preached to.

Ignoring the truth and facts that inequality, discrimination and racially discriminated occurrence in our society does exists and is becoming a cankerworm and requires re-orientation about the issue in our society.
Finland is known for equity and fairness, but the reality should not be different as the country serves as a role model for other developing and developed countries around the globe.

Can you please give some specific examples of racism that you have experienced? I have once seen this. Ususally, it is drunk people who shout nasty things. However, this is not an excuse as that which comes out of their mouth is in their hearts!!

[Oho]

Finland is known for equity and fairness, but the reality should not be different as the country serves as a role model for other developing and developed countries around the globe.

It does? That's the first, in the really real life circa 90% of the worlds population have hardly heard of Finland and could not care less.

It seems there is one thing immigrants have done hell of a job picking up from the Finns, they are overly concerned with what the rest of the world thinks about Finland when in reality rest of the world does not.

I so hope the state of Finland made a realistic marketing video featuring few months of sleet blowing horizontally at your face being dark outside when you leave for work and dark when you leave from work with most of the people not giving a toss about what a blessing your presence is (both considered forms of racism in Finland, the weather and the indifference). Top that with soaring unemployment figures and national economy plummeting into sewer with good chances of never recovering. At least the you'd know what you are getting into, which is not a single family house in the Helsinki metropolitan area with an S Class Mercedes and a nice high salaried job to boot.

People want jobs, yeah right, they want money, for most people job tends to be the necessary evil.

[AldenG]

I so hope the state of Finland made a realistic marketing video featuring few months of sleet blowing horizontally at your face being dark outside when you leave for work and dark when you leave from work with most of the people not giving a toss about what a blessing your presence is (both considered forms of racism in Finland, the weather and the indifference). Top that with soaring unemployment figures and national economy plummeting into sewer with good chances of never recovering. At least the you'd know what you are getting into, which is not a single family house in the Helsinki metropolitan area with an S Class Mercedes and a nice high salaried job to boot.

Every dog deserves his day in the sun.

After centuries of oppression or at least domination by neighboring powers and decades of getting no respect for successfully walking the tightrope of living next to the USSR without becoming an SSR (while covertly helping Western intelligence services more than it will ever receive public credit for), it's about time Finland got a brief taste of the adulation and hype that Sweden and some western European countries and the US have enjoyed until they've come to lap it up as only natural and proper recognition of their magnificence -- after all, who would NOT have the ultimate dream of moving there.

So now a few Americans and maybe more than a few others now think Finland is the cat's whiskers and will do almost anything to move to the world's foremost educational paradise. Sure it must seem strange, but how is it worse than the unrealistic dreams people have always had about other places? For the most part, at least Finland still has some humility about these things.

[raskarhu]

You mean that when a significant subset of Finns make crude remarks and unfounded assumptions about people who are different, and cheat them and deny them proper services, it's not surprising that people apply labels like 'racist' and 'provincial' and such to the whole group -- that it's a shame but also natural and only to be expected that the entire population of Finns will be judged by the behavior of the worst ones, especially if the rest of Finns excuse such behavior instead of strongly repudiating it.

So right.

Problem is that it is difficult to really understand what racism is and especially how it feels when you have neber experienced it yourself.

[onkko]

A lot has changed in our societies from abolition of slave trade, women equality

Slavery was abolished in finland 1335 and women equality, if we talk about voting, was given in 1906 (3rd in world and 1st in europe) and in same year world first womans were elected in parliament.
I have to admit that society had changed a lot in 678 or 107 years....

[llewellyn]

A lot has changed in our societies from abolition of slave trade, women equality

Slavery was abolished in finland 1335 and women equality, if we talk about voting, was given in 1906 (3rd in world and 1st in europe) and in same year world first womans were elected in parliament.
I have to admit that society had changed a lot in 678 or 107 years....

I suppose the point was that we can make improvements, and we can. No society ever will be perfect but all societies can be made less imperfect. And many or most, or probably all, of the things even pers-suomalaiset take for granted as basic rights these days were initially only strived for by few idealists no doubt labeled as the silly and unrealistic tree huggers of their time.

[Sander15]

I think I understand your point now.

You mean that when a significant subset of Finns make crude remarks and unfounded assumptions about people who are different, and cheat them and deny them proper services, it's not surprising that people apply labels like 'racist' and 'provincial' and such to the whole group -- that it's a shame but also natural and only to be expected that the entire population of Finns will be judged by the behavior of the worst ones, especially if the rest of Finns excuse such behavior instead of strongly repudiating it.

Now that you put it that way, it makes a lot of sense.

Spot on Alden! What is worrying is the pervasive universal ethnic Finnish racim that exists in heavy portions from Helsinki all the way up to lapland. Unlike in western europe where racism/discrimination against immigrants and ethnics is more hush hush and subtle, here it is more blatant, open and virulent. I would even venture to say that Finnish racism has more of a Russian or Asian feeling to it then Western. The collective 'kansa' is under a 'siege' from the hord of nee****t that are 'invading' their shores.

Blatant, discriminatory practices that were documented in the program happened in western countries a generation ago, but are now extremely rare because the people have the sense to know (in the case of the doorman) that the police may be called, and paying customers are paying customers, regardless of their background.

Non-european continuous immigration only began in finland at the fall of the soviet union, so in some ways you can make excuses for the sickening and degenerative behaviour of ethnic finnish racism, but in 2013, with the net and cheap to travel to almost everywhere, such virulent racism should be repudiated and put away.

[cors187]

Dont over complicate the discriminatory analysis.
Its human nature to cra*p on stuff thats different if the stuff is not foreseen as complementary.

Why would anyone think Finns as a whole should do anything about something unforeseen.

If there has not been a study, countless meetings, an accepted statistic, then by definition it is an unforeseeable phenomenon.No acceptable action can be qualified without the Social Accepted game plan being published.
Its every Finns right to act on or to ignore phenomenon.