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Déjà -vu in 'little quiet' Finland by Asa Butcher 2008-09-24 10:06:40 |
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Once again Finland and the watching world are treated to a violent glimpse into the deeply disturbed social problems that are affecting the heart of its society, yet have been ignored for far too long. Another misguided Finn, the second in eleven months, has climbed out of the sewer and made a statement that used more innocent lives as horrific punctuation marks.
Finland and that same watching world naively cry out, "How can this happen to quiet little Finland?" and the answer is they actually believe Finland is little and quiet. They believe their own stereotype. They believe the self-made propaganda that Finland is this lottery prize when there are severe social issues that demand to be dealt with. Take a look at many of the youth of this country that revel in swastikas, fascist beliefs and display them proudly upon their body like medals.
Finland received its first warning last November when nine people, including the perpetrator, died in a school in Tuusula. In the aftermath, along with those similar cries, "How can this happen to quiet little Finland?", the Finnish government banged its fist on the table and declared that action would be taken and Finland would soon be little and quiet again… how naïve they were.
Yesterday's slaughter in Kauhajoki has left many in the government with blood on their hands. What action was taken following last November? The government leapt into action and commissioned an investigation that resulted in a 2,000-page police report released in April this year. The only use that paper now has is for the government to handwrite apologies to the families, friends and people of Kauhajoki because it is otherwise worthless.
Oh yes, the Finnish government have already declared, once again, that action will be taken and I'm sure we can hardly wait for the 3,000-page report to be released in February 2009. It was the unenviable role of Finland's Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen to pledge action, but unsurprisingly failed to list a single measure that the government would take. They have no idea at what to do because, hell, they are only a little quiet country.
Finland's Justice Minister Tuija Brax suggested that gun laws should come under review as soon as possible. Why wasn't that done last November, or December, or January, or any other month this year? Anyway, Finland may have the highest number of weapons per person in the world, but that doesn't mean the country is trigger happy. Many Finns own more than three guns that are used for hunting, so why focus on the wrong reasons just so you can feel good at having done something this time?
Forget the gun laws, focus on the reasons these kids are driven to squeezing the trigger. Finland's youth have some serious self-esteem problems, some don't see a future, some are disillusioned and some are inspired by a frightening sense of patriotism, chauvinism if you will. They need help and it won't come in the form of changing an idiotic gun law or compiling multi-thousand page reports, and it won't come in weeks.
If the Finnish government had been really serious about the events back in November, if they had really given a damn about the victims and solving the problem, then today when asked what they plan to do they would have listed a number of solutions, schemes, treatments, action plans and so on that are already in place following the results of the report into last year's tragedy, but they had nothing. They had done nothing. As I said, they have blood on their hands and it is going to take an inordinate amount of work to clean it off and I don't believe it should ever completely come off because it is never ever going to leave the hearts and minds of the people of Kauhajoki.
Kauhajoki high-school-shooting Finland |
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