Societal polarization is increasing around the world. Unfortunately, the same trend can be seen in Finland.
One recent example of this was an act of vandalism targeting the office of a Finnish governing party, the Finns Party, in Finland's fifth-largest city, Turku. The party's local leader reported that "at around 1:30 AM, two individuals dressed in black with hoods over their heads threw rocks and pieces of concrete at the office window dozens of times."
The rocks pierced the newly installed triple-glazed window, but the perpetrators did not gain entry. However, they left a message on the window containing a grammatical error: "rasisti pellet" (racist clowns).
The same party office has been the target of vandalism before. According to the local leader, "almost every month we experience some kind of graffiti or written messages."
He also rightly stated that "all political parties should condemn such actions. This kind of behavior has no place in Finnish society or politics. Regardless of one’s opinion, it should be possible to engage in politics safely."
The Finns Party’s secretary, for his part, stated that "a police report will be filed regarding the incident. For now, we will let the police do their job and hope the perpetrators are caught." This is the third police report concerning acts of vandalism against this particular office in this decade.
I would also add that I personally expect our country's most prominent media outlets—Yleisradio (the Finnish Broadcasting Company) and Helsingin Sanomat—to clearly and unequivocally condemn this act in their editorials. These outlets have often written very negatively about the party now targeted by vandalism, which has likely not discouraged those inclined toward such actions. This is an excellent opportunity to correct that mistake.
Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Over a Hundred Child Abusers Caught, and the Far-Left's Paavo Arhinmäki Gains Followers in Finland
The demands of the vandals
Is the Finnish left-wing radicalizing?
Everyone should condemn political violence.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the leftist thinks that their violence is the better violence, so to speak.
I'm not holding my breath. if any there will be something small printed:"An accident happened to the windows."
ReplyDeleteLike it was an accident when migrants fatally stabbed a Polish border guard on the Polish-Belarus border.