Someone Blames Finland’s Success On Being ‘All White’ And Colonialist, Gets Shut Down With A History Lesson
For a while now there has been a meme doing the rounds, extolling the virtues of the Finnish social model and asking: “Why Does Finland Have The Lowest Child Poverty In The World?” While some of the claims might be a little over-the-top (guaranteed jobs for under 25s, really?), and the upholding of Nordic countries as a kind of ‘utopia’ is a well-known political trope for certain people, there is a reason why Finland consistently scores at the very top of life quality indexes. And it’s not the weather!
When the meme appeared over on Tumblr, it ignited a heated but really interesting debate. Some Americans lamented the fact that even a minimum wage seems to be asking too much, and suggested that there is much to learn from countries like Finland, who look after the vulnerable in their society.
Someone else had a different take on things, however, and while the point about Finland being a monoculture holds some weight (some), others lacked historical knowledge and insight.
Enter a Finn, to come and correct a few erroneous points. Because while colonialism and oppression were tools of many European nations back in times past, a dark history that has helped to build much of the prosperity that they enjoy today, Finnish history is quite different.
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Share on FacebookCan someone explain to me why is it so okay and acceptable and even encouraged to be racist against white people? No racism is okay. It doesn't matter who is it against. Racism is not cool. Period.
Because according to - mainly Americans - you can't be racist towards white people. They immediately shut down any conversation with that simple statement and ignore the huge amount of racism against white people.
Load More Replies...Best reply! I didn't see it coming but never have I seen a better opportunity to say "fin(n)ish him"!
Load More Replies...I like how Americans are always yapping on about racism. Years ago I decided to try out for an american university and had to take a SAT test. Imagine my surprise when next to my name and the date I had to choose my race from white, Latin, African American and mixed. Never before for 12 years of school had a test asked me for my race. As on the topic of Russia's crimes against humanity- let's look at the Holodomor- in the '30s the communists stole Ukraine's grain directly leading to a famine that killed off millions of Ukrainians. Ukrainians who were predominantly white and had a similar culture.
@Oathbreaker so, 1) those questions are for population metrics only and are not actually part of the test, and 2) you're legally not required to fill them out, it won't have any affect on you whatsoever. What it does affect is government funding for wherever you live in the USA. 3) most US Americans think it's stupid too and want it gone.
Load More Replies...Ah yes, those dastardly colonial exploiters, the Finns. Of course, being a small country doesn't guarantee you won't become one *cough* Belgium *cough*, but it's clear racism in Europe has nothing to do with skin colour and everything to do with language, ethnicity, religion, etc. Let's not forget that some of the worst wars in Europe were over wherever you like the Pope or not, if yes which Pope (out of a possible of three at one point) and if not which version of non-pope you prefer... or is imposed on you from above, because, remember, whoevere's running the country at the moment has a right to impose a state religion, so you might go to bed a Catholic, wake up a Lutheran and then your neighbour who is suddenly a Calvinist runs you through with a sword for being the wrong thing.... Also, grudges keep forever. Oh, did your neighbour stole your cow that one time? Well your great-grandchildren and his will fight bitter wars over who did what to whom for hundreds of years...
Guaranteed job for everyone under 25? I am from Finland and I can confirm that this is a false information.
It's most likely a trial thing and not about actual jobs with paychecks, but more about getting people out everyday you know "sysselsättning" (there really isn't a good english word for that, but you understand it right?). We have something similar in Sweden but here it's called "sysselsättning".
Load More Replies...Finland is NOT Scandinavia. It's a nordic country, but finnish isn't a scandinavian language. And I "love" how people that haven't opened a book, think that everyone with similar skin tones are te same. The nordic countries have several differnt minorities like the sami, the romani etc.
For all it matters: Finland is geographically a part of Fennoscandia. And Finland was for 600 years a part of Sweden, not an occupied ditto.
Load More Replies...I know HAAAAALP USSSS! We are really tired of hearing how "Everything is racist" when it's really not.
Load More Replies...Another unfunny Withnail pun in a series of 10 billion.
Load More Replies...Reminds me th great colonial history of my country! We were first the colony of turks, than the habsburgs, than the russians....
So, you are from the Balkans? Sorry if I can't guess the exact country based on this information :)
Load More Replies...Finland is really admirable. You can’t rationalize that. Finland have no benefits that other western countries don’t have. I’m from Sweden and I think that Finland usually make important decisions wisely.
Really? You can't use rationale to determine that finland is admirable? They don't have more benefits than other countries? Is it not rational to point out the universal Healthcare or state mandated social insurance, or state statutory benefits? Clown shoes
Load More Replies...Yeah don't talk s**t about my neighbouring nation... Finland is excellent! 😘 Way cooler and better than Norway...
Nothing wrong with Norway. I love both my neighbouring nation. But I admire Finland more.
Load More Replies...As an American ( of Italian and Texan desent) , I think it's safe to say that Finland figured out what works, and ran with it. Racism is not just about color. Finland understood this. Instead of racking Finland, take a page from their book and make things better. I'm pretty sure they won't mind.
Free studies at university in Finland are probably more important than skin colour?
I found it quite disturbing how many people chose to throw the misfortune of one ethnic, racial or cultural group in the faces of everyone, expecting them to feel guilty about it, while choosing to ignore the historical facts that oppresion, slavery and genocide has been wooven into every country or nation’s past. I know, that what’s close to your heart has the biggest impact on our believes, but choosing to ignore the history and life experiences of every other group of people, doesn’t correct the wrong. It just simply reverses the roles. The one who has been ignored, dismised and neglected at one time are the one who are doing it now. Lets just stop ponting fingers, stating who’s done what and increasing the bitternes about things that are irreversible. Lets start learning the world history and consider what is happening around us nowadays, so we can figure out, what we can make better.
Americans equate racism with systemic oppression and marginalization of PoC because that is what it is here. Yeah, slavery was a worldwide phenomenon for a substantive portion of human history (and still exists today). But America did something new and horrendous by institutionalizing hereditary enslavement defined by skin color. American slavers bred enslaved people like livestock (except they also raped the women in order to impregnate them, which I doubt they did to sheep or pigs). Free PoC had to keep papers proving they were not enslaved, but were still in constant risk of being grabbed and enslaved by people who didn't care. After we fought a war to abolish enslavement, we spent another hundred years fine-tuning laws specific to PoC that assured enslavement in all but name. There are still states in the USA that permit enslavement, provided the enslaved person is a convicted felon. I could go on, but I think I am at my character limit.
that's why I always laugh at ppl in the US saying "oooooh white privilege" ya, if it's like mine that you can take it back.
You shouldn’t apply the politics of your country to USA. Didn’t you read the article?
Load More Replies...Fun Fact: Finland has over 400 different languages. Also, the only time Finland invaded another country was they took a small part of Russia in WWII, only having sided with Germany to try and keep themselves from Russian invasion, but they refused any Nazi ideology and refused to eradicate Finnish Jews and Jewish refugees.
Just a reminder: I wasn't given an option as to 1) where I was born 2) who my parents were and 3) what race I would be. I am a person. That's really all you need to know in order to show me respect and decency.
Isn't saying "you have it good because you're all white" incredibly racist in itself? It's like implying that only whites are capable of building a succesful society, and if there were bigger minority of blacks (or everyone was black to begin with), things would go downhill.
I'm from sister-country and usually when I talk with people (usually from USA) who knows nofting about European history - I don't even bother to talk about my country. All they see is benefits and rassism but they never will understand how much we have fought for our freedom and how not long ago our family's were teared apart because we had too strong enemy. It is so "fun" to research about your family history and all you can read out from their last names is which country ruled them and who's slave they were.. White privilege my a*s.
Bigotry against humanities faculties is just about as tiring as actual racism.
Load More Replies...I like the history of Russian invasion, cause most of the time Finns were on the side of Swedes and most of the attacks on Russia were from there. Finland just happened to be in the middle, so their land was taken over by both. And the slavery in Russia - when was it? Very interesting to know. Sorry, I f**** leaving to do my research...
Peter the great tried to eradicate slavery in Russia during the 1700s but it came back. A second attempt was made in 1861, but it still persisted in a reduced form for a few decades. Stalin briefly reintroduced it during the 20th century.
Load More Replies...Excuse me, what is the Swedish-Finnish timber and paper multinational Stora-Enso doing in the Amazons when you cannot see the ground from the trees in Finland? Are the CEOs brown?
Where the heck were these claims pulled out of?? First of all, parental leave for the mother is max. 105 "work days" (mon-sat, holidays excluded) of which 72 are paid leave. This starts 30 days before calculated delivery date. After the mother's leave she can apply for general parental leave, which is 158 work days. These two combined makes 44 weeks. Parental leave for the father is 54 work days. Secondly, we have no job guarantee for anyone! In fact, the number of young unemployed people is increasing and the government's efforts to "help" include forced unpaid internships that are made very easy for employers to abuse. Thirdly, the youth parliament is only for kids on 8th and 9th grade, aka 14-16 year old.
I'm Russian. I must confess Finland has become much better without Russia. We visit this beautiful country regularly and I show my children what a happy country should look like. Their attitude to nature must be adopted all over the world.
There never has been , or will ever be a positive reason for racism, there is a tremendous amount of suffering in the world, that's enough, no need for racism !!!
Racism is stupid. People who think skin color affects worth are stupid and shallow. That being said, Finland isn't America. We have different histories and experiences and people forget that. Educate yourself before you say anything like this. The Finnish deserve a lot of praise for what they've built for themselves after what they've endured. They have a lot to teach the rest of us.
All these things cost money in one way or another. We're already paying for an increasing number of illegal aliens, and large numbers of criminals in our jails and prisons. Where will we get the money for the nice things that kids have in Finland?
I mean, they practically erased Scotland in the clearances and nobody is claiming "cultural appropriation" when people over sexualize different tartans or wear the Royal Stewart tartan for fun so...
They erased the Highland clans, who were always a minority in Scotland. The whole clan tartan thing was started much later by savvy Scottish cloth makers trying to sell their patterns to English aristocrats. (Of course tartan patterns existed before commercial cloth mills, but specific patterns did not represent specific groups, the most you could tell was that a particular pattern belong to a particular island)
Load More Replies...*cough* *cough* What about the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade in which Swedes & Finns took part? Sweden sold tree material and tar from Finland which major powers used to build ships transporting slaves, Sweden had slave colonies in Caribbean Sea and Golden Coast of Africa, Swedish metals were used to build chattels and Finns were working in Swedish colonies. At least once there were even a Finnish governor ruling a Swedish slave colony in Caribbean sea. Finnish factories bought cotton, collected by slaves, from America and certain chocolate factory bought cocoa which for sure were collected by slaves too. And what about the treatment of Saami people who are indigenous people of Finland and Scandinavia? Saami people used to live everywhere on Finland, but they were forced to move north and they were forcibly sterilized in Finland from 1935 to 1970 because of eugenics. Finland also had kind of slavery for poor and homeless people which were dismantled as late as in 1940s.
1. Might lack the language skills to convey emotion in English which is not their native language. 2. Finns have fought hard and been discriminated, of course this makes some emotional; which will use the "low US trash language". See first point. 3. F-word overseas is not equal to the use in the US. This is obviously bait, but I hate seeing insults towards Finnish people.
Load More Replies...Can someone explain to me why is it so okay and acceptable and even encouraged to be racist against white people? No racism is okay. It doesn't matter who is it against. Racism is not cool. Period.
Because according to - mainly Americans - you can't be racist towards white people. They immediately shut down any conversation with that simple statement and ignore the huge amount of racism against white people.
Load More Replies...Best reply! I didn't see it coming but never have I seen a better opportunity to say "fin(n)ish him"!
Load More Replies...I like how Americans are always yapping on about racism. Years ago I decided to try out for an american university and had to take a SAT test. Imagine my surprise when next to my name and the date I had to choose my race from white, Latin, African American and mixed. Never before for 12 years of school had a test asked me for my race. As on the topic of Russia's crimes against humanity- let's look at the Holodomor- in the '30s the communists stole Ukraine's grain directly leading to a famine that killed off millions of Ukrainians. Ukrainians who were predominantly white and had a similar culture.
@Oathbreaker so, 1) those questions are for population metrics only and are not actually part of the test, and 2) you're legally not required to fill them out, it won't have any affect on you whatsoever. What it does affect is government funding for wherever you live in the USA. 3) most US Americans think it's stupid too and want it gone.
Load More Replies...Ah yes, those dastardly colonial exploiters, the Finns. Of course, being a small country doesn't guarantee you won't become one *cough* Belgium *cough*, but it's clear racism in Europe has nothing to do with skin colour and everything to do with language, ethnicity, religion, etc. Let's not forget that some of the worst wars in Europe were over wherever you like the Pope or not, if yes which Pope (out of a possible of three at one point) and if not which version of non-pope you prefer... or is imposed on you from above, because, remember, whoevere's running the country at the moment has a right to impose a state religion, so you might go to bed a Catholic, wake up a Lutheran and then your neighbour who is suddenly a Calvinist runs you through with a sword for being the wrong thing.... Also, grudges keep forever. Oh, did your neighbour stole your cow that one time? Well your great-grandchildren and his will fight bitter wars over who did what to whom for hundreds of years...
Guaranteed job for everyone under 25? I am from Finland and I can confirm that this is a false information.
It's most likely a trial thing and not about actual jobs with paychecks, but more about getting people out everyday you know "sysselsättning" (there really isn't a good english word for that, but you understand it right?). We have something similar in Sweden but here it's called "sysselsättning".
Load More Replies...Finland is NOT Scandinavia. It's a nordic country, but finnish isn't a scandinavian language. And I "love" how people that haven't opened a book, think that everyone with similar skin tones are te same. The nordic countries have several differnt minorities like the sami, the romani etc.
For all it matters: Finland is geographically a part of Fennoscandia. And Finland was for 600 years a part of Sweden, not an occupied ditto.
Load More Replies...I know HAAAAALP USSSS! We are really tired of hearing how "Everything is racist" when it's really not.
Load More Replies...Another unfunny Withnail pun in a series of 10 billion.
Load More Replies...Reminds me th great colonial history of my country! We were first the colony of turks, than the habsburgs, than the russians....
So, you are from the Balkans? Sorry if I can't guess the exact country based on this information :)
Load More Replies...Finland is really admirable. You can’t rationalize that. Finland have no benefits that other western countries don’t have. I’m from Sweden and I think that Finland usually make important decisions wisely.
Really? You can't use rationale to determine that finland is admirable? They don't have more benefits than other countries? Is it not rational to point out the universal Healthcare or state mandated social insurance, or state statutory benefits? Clown shoes
Load More Replies...Yeah don't talk s**t about my neighbouring nation... Finland is excellent! 😘 Way cooler and better than Norway...
Nothing wrong with Norway. I love both my neighbouring nation. But I admire Finland more.
Load More Replies...As an American ( of Italian and Texan desent) , I think it's safe to say that Finland figured out what works, and ran with it. Racism is not just about color. Finland understood this. Instead of racking Finland, take a page from their book and make things better. I'm pretty sure they won't mind.
Free studies at university in Finland are probably more important than skin colour?
I found it quite disturbing how many people chose to throw the misfortune of one ethnic, racial or cultural group in the faces of everyone, expecting them to feel guilty about it, while choosing to ignore the historical facts that oppresion, slavery and genocide has been wooven into every country or nation’s past. I know, that what’s close to your heart has the biggest impact on our believes, but choosing to ignore the history and life experiences of every other group of people, doesn’t correct the wrong. It just simply reverses the roles. The one who has been ignored, dismised and neglected at one time are the one who are doing it now. Lets just stop ponting fingers, stating who’s done what and increasing the bitternes about things that are irreversible. Lets start learning the world history and consider what is happening around us nowadays, so we can figure out, what we can make better.
Americans equate racism with systemic oppression and marginalization of PoC because that is what it is here. Yeah, slavery was a worldwide phenomenon for a substantive portion of human history (and still exists today). But America did something new and horrendous by institutionalizing hereditary enslavement defined by skin color. American slavers bred enslaved people like livestock (except they also raped the women in order to impregnate them, which I doubt they did to sheep or pigs). Free PoC had to keep papers proving they were not enslaved, but were still in constant risk of being grabbed and enslaved by people who didn't care. After we fought a war to abolish enslavement, we spent another hundred years fine-tuning laws specific to PoC that assured enslavement in all but name. There are still states in the USA that permit enslavement, provided the enslaved person is a convicted felon. I could go on, but I think I am at my character limit.
that's why I always laugh at ppl in the US saying "oooooh white privilege" ya, if it's like mine that you can take it back.
You shouldn’t apply the politics of your country to USA. Didn’t you read the article?
Load More Replies...Fun Fact: Finland has over 400 different languages. Also, the only time Finland invaded another country was they took a small part of Russia in WWII, only having sided with Germany to try and keep themselves from Russian invasion, but they refused any Nazi ideology and refused to eradicate Finnish Jews and Jewish refugees.
Just a reminder: I wasn't given an option as to 1) where I was born 2) who my parents were and 3) what race I would be. I am a person. That's really all you need to know in order to show me respect and decency.
Isn't saying "you have it good because you're all white" incredibly racist in itself? It's like implying that only whites are capable of building a succesful society, and if there were bigger minority of blacks (or everyone was black to begin with), things would go downhill.
I'm from sister-country and usually when I talk with people (usually from USA) who knows nofting about European history - I don't even bother to talk about my country. All they see is benefits and rassism but they never will understand how much we have fought for our freedom and how not long ago our family's were teared apart because we had too strong enemy. It is so "fun" to research about your family history and all you can read out from their last names is which country ruled them and who's slave they were.. White privilege my a*s.
Bigotry against humanities faculties is just about as tiring as actual racism.
Load More Replies...I like the history of Russian invasion, cause most of the time Finns were on the side of Swedes and most of the attacks on Russia were from there. Finland just happened to be in the middle, so their land was taken over by both. And the slavery in Russia - when was it? Very interesting to know. Sorry, I f**** leaving to do my research...
Peter the great tried to eradicate slavery in Russia during the 1700s but it came back. A second attempt was made in 1861, but it still persisted in a reduced form for a few decades. Stalin briefly reintroduced it during the 20th century.
Load More Replies...Excuse me, what is the Swedish-Finnish timber and paper multinational Stora-Enso doing in the Amazons when you cannot see the ground from the trees in Finland? Are the CEOs brown?
Where the heck were these claims pulled out of?? First of all, parental leave for the mother is max. 105 "work days" (mon-sat, holidays excluded) of which 72 are paid leave. This starts 30 days before calculated delivery date. After the mother's leave she can apply for general parental leave, which is 158 work days. These two combined makes 44 weeks. Parental leave for the father is 54 work days. Secondly, we have no job guarantee for anyone! In fact, the number of young unemployed people is increasing and the government's efforts to "help" include forced unpaid internships that are made very easy for employers to abuse. Thirdly, the youth parliament is only for kids on 8th and 9th grade, aka 14-16 year old.
I'm Russian. I must confess Finland has become much better without Russia. We visit this beautiful country regularly and I show my children what a happy country should look like. Their attitude to nature must be adopted all over the world.
There never has been , or will ever be a positive reason for racism, there is a tremendous amount of suffering in the world, that's enough, no need for racism !!!
Racism is stupid. People who think skin color affects worth are stupid and shallow. That being said, Finland isn't America. We have different histories and experiences and people forget that. Educate yourself before you say anything like this. The Finnish deserve a lot of praise for what they've built for themselves after what they've endured. They have a lot to teach the rest of us.
All these things cost money in one way or another. We're already paying for an increasing number of illegal aliens, and large numbers of criminals in our jails and prisons. Where will we get the money for the nice things that kids have in Finland?
I mean, they practically erased Scotland in the clearances and nobody is claiming "cultural appropriation" when people over sexualize different tartans or wear the Royal Stewart tartan for fun so...
They erased the Highland clans, who were always a minority in Scotland. The whole clan tartan thing was started much later by savvy Scottish cloth makers trying to sell their patterns to English aristocrats. (Of course tartan patterns existed before commercial cloth mills, but specific patterns did not represent specific groups, the most you could tell was that a particular pattern belong to a particular island)
Load More Replies...*cough* *cough* What about the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade in which Swedes & Finns took part? Sweden sold tree material and tar from Finland which major powers used to build ships transporting slaves, Sweden had slave colonies in Caribbean Sea and Golden Coast of Africa, Swedish metals were used to build chattels and Finns were working in Swedish colonies. At least once there were even a Finnish governor ruling a Swedish slave colony in Caribbean sea. Finnish factories bought cotton, collected by slaves, from America and certain chocolate factory bought cocoa which for sure were collected by slaves too. And what about the treatment of Saami people who are indigenous people of Finland and Scandinavia? Saami people used to live everywhere on Finland, but they were forced to move north and they were forcibly sterilized in Finland from 1935 to 1970 because of eugenics. Finland also had kind of slavery for poor and homeless people which were dismantled as late as in 1940s.
1. Might lack the language skills to convey emotion in English which is not their native language. 2. Finns have fought hard and been discriminated, of course this makes some emotional; which will use the "low US trash language". See first point. 3. F-word overseas is not equal to the use in the US. This is obviously bait, but I hate seeing insults towards Finnish people.
Load More Replies...
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