The Relationship Between the Professor and Teemu Selänne

On the discussion forum of a Finnish newspaper Uusi Suomi, a Green municipal councilor referred to me by writing that "'Professor' is indeed a Selänne". The perspective was interesting in that I have not been very interested in the life of the former Finnish hockey star.

Then I noticed a small article about Teemu Selänne in Ilta-Sanomat. According to it, he has received US citizenship and has been active on social media. Through the newspaper's reporter, he conveyed a few interesting comments to us Finns.

In the first, he explained his view on Extinction Rebellion: "It's not about not accepting demonstrations. That's not true. The criticism was about how they are organized... In my opinion, demonstrations are a great thing, but breaking the law and making people's lives difficult is not acceptable."

In the second, he commented on the intellectual dishonesty of the green-left: "The whining is quite loud sometimes. It's funny that those who whine demand freedom of opinion and speech, but suddenly differing opinions are not okay."

In the third, he reminded us of the rules of societal debate: "If you have something to say about a matter, it needs to be said. But there's no point in coming to explain that I am an asshole or something about our children. That's not okay."

In the fourth, he addressed the presidential elections in his new home country, USA: "It's vague that in a country of 330 million people, there are no other candidates than two old men... It might be appropriate to head towards younger candidates and a bit of a new style."

In the fifth, he shared his view on society: "I still believe that the state should interfere in people's lives as minimally as possible. Individual power and personal decisions are the most important."

In the sixth, he commented on how the media chooses sides: "It's a bit like listening only to the prosecutor in court. You don't get the right picture. When I started following politics, I was told to watch both channels, CNN and Fox, equally. Those who only watch one side do not have a true picture of what is happening."

All in all, the article in Ilta-Sanomat conveyed Teemu Selänne's societal views in such a healthy way that any reasonably sensible person would easily agree with the thoughts he expressed. Therefore, I do not mind the characterization of myself recorded in the comments section of Uusi Suomi. Not even because that particular Green municipal politician later claimed in his comment that "the professor's thoughts" are not worth reading.

Instead, I suspect that this is precisely why an exceptionally large number of people reading the discussion clicked on the link to my writing - which in turn led me to find out why there had been an unusually high number of readers for that particular writing on Uusi Suomi.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Joe Biden Must Step Aside, But Can a Suitable Candidate Be Found?
Competence of the political left
Correct minister, ridiculous facts