In Finland, a bloody civil war took place in 1918, in which the political left attempted to seize power. They were unsuccessful, but as a result, the country experienced a period of violent far-right movement for a while, which subsided due to determined action by the political leadership.
Democracy doesn't seem to be very popular within the Finnish political left of today. This was evidenced earlier this year when the trade unions, closely associated with the Social Democratic Party (SDP), organized political strikes with a high cost to the economy.
Yesterday, we saw even more serious evidence of this when two men waving red flags approached Member of Parliament Sebastian Tynkkynen (Finn´s party) aggressively at a campaign event in Oulu, prompting police intervention.
Tynkkynen shared on his social media that this wasn't his first experience with violence. He mentioned, "Once, a leftist girl in Lahti targeted me with political violence, hitting me in the head with her fist and receiving a conviction for assault. Within the context of Extinction Rebellion, I've been attacked three times."
One would hope that leftist politicians condemn political violence in general and the events in Oulu in particular before the actions of their supporters escalate into irreversible harm.
Furthermore, it would be desirable for the left-wing of politics to refrain from using aggressive rhetoric, as was seen at the SDP's May Day event a week and a half ago. This is because many, with lesser understanding - of which there are plenty among left-wing supporters - may be incited to action after hearing such rhetoric.
Previous thoughts on the same topic: History of Finland XIII: The far-right's rebellion History of Finland XII: Bloody civil war Increase of violence by youngsters in Finnish towns
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