On Freedom, Debate, and the Murder of Charlie Kirk

As my esteemed reader surely knows, on Wednesday in the United States, Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot. The identity of the shooter is not yet known for sure, although one suspect, Tyler Robinson, has been named and arrested. Based on images released to the public, he appears to be a young white man.

The weapon used in the murder has apparently been found, but the shooter’s identity has not been established—or at least it has not been disclosed. Instead, engravings were found on the bullets in the gun, expressing transsexual and antifascist ideology.

On this basis, it has been suspected that the shooter’s motive was left-liberal or at least ideological in nature. Nevertheless—or perhaps precisely for that reason—President Donald Trump has urged his famously right-wing conservative supporters to respond peacefully.

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For my part, I see that although the violent ending of a human life is already in itself an extremely serious crime, the saddest long-term consequence of the murder is its effect on freedom of speech, and through that, on the future of American society. This is because Charlie Kirk was known as someone who was willing to engage in public debate with people whose worldview differed radically from his own.

Thus, despite belonging to the most conservative end of the political spectrum, he maintained cross-party debate in a country where the lines of polarization between people have tightened considerably in recent years. And as a result of this activity, he was killed—instead of rising to become a nationwide political figure.

The risk in this situation is that, as a consequence of the murder, other people who bravely voice their views—that is, those who take part in societal discussion—will also fall silent out of fear, thereby narrowing the dialogue between extremes even further. At the same time, the polarization of American society will deepen, and in the worst case we may end up in a situation where the political movement in power at the time—or at least its supporters—are left without the healthy societal criticism they need.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Unintended Consequences of Modern Value Shifts
Freedom of Speech in Danger
Finland Will Thrive with Any US President, Trump Survived the Assassination Attempt

The Left Wants to Grill a Swedish Minister Over His Son’s Past – What’s Really Behind It?

Swedish society is famously in disarray as a result of its immigration policies. Sweden has climbed to the top of the Western world in areas such as sexual crimes, shootings, and explosions. As a result, the Swedish police have warned their Finnish colleagues to prevent a similar development in Finland.

In this context, it was interesting to note the recent controversy in Sweden involving the Minister for Migration. It emerged that the minister's son has participated in activities of the far-right martial arts group "Active Club" and has also had connections with other far-right groups. Consequently, the political left in the country has demanded the minister’s resignation.

The minister himself has stated that he has no intention of resigning and that his son is no longer involved with far-right circles. However, the minister had previously emphasized the responsibility of parents for criminal and violent youth—something that appears to be unforgivable in the eyes of the political left, as it can easily be interpreted as criticism of the parents of violent immigrant youths.

As the Swedish parliament's summer session ends, the entire political left in Sweden is seeking to summon the minister for a hearing on the matter. This seems to be an attempt to gain public visibility and local support among the immigrant-origin population.

The latter motive would be logical, as although immigrants from developing countries have traditionally voted for left-wing parties, an increasing number of them have turned to support the party Nyans—that is, an Islamic party that now threatens the left’s dominant position among so-called "new Swedes".

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
EU Commission Should Take Migration and Related Crime Seriously 
Police to Finnish Graduates: Leave Fireworks, Blades, and Booze at Home
Why Integration Policy Must Confront Cultural Conflicts

Could Mohammed Sinwar’s Death Mark a Turning Point Toward Peace

Israel has come under increasingly critical scrutiny in Western media due to its ongoing fight aimed at destroying the terrorist organization Hamas, a fight in which it has used questionable tactics such as blocking aid shipments and relocating populations from one place to another, even abroad. So far, however, Western criticism has not appeared to influence the actions of the Israeli military.

It is, of course, extremely unlikely that Israel will succeed in completely destroying Hamas. Nevertheless, it is quite possible that the organization’s ability to continue operating will be significantly diminished.

In this context, the reported discovery of the body of Hamas's military wing leader, Mohammed Sinwar, in a tunnel located in the grounds of a hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, is excellent news for Israelis and for all people around the world who oppose terrorism.

So far, however, the discovery has not been confirmed by either Hamas or the Israeli military, so it is still wise to hold off on major celebrations in Jerusalem or anywhere else. And to hope that Hamas will finally understand that it must release the remaining hostages and lay down its arms, so that the rebuilding of a future for the Palestinian people can, once again, begin.

In addition, all Palestinians should consider whether it might finally be time to acknowledge the facts and seek to build their future by recognizing the existence of the State of Israel and striving to establish cooperation with its Jewish residents. And to hope that such a path is still possible after nearly 80 years of ongoing hostility.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Why Hamas Is Unwilling to Give Up Its Weapons
Understanding of Facts is Increasing in the Middle East
Western Countries Have Neither a Reason Nor a Need to Accept Asylum Seekers from Syria or Gaza

A Fair Game or Unfair Judgment?

In a primary school located in a medium-sized coastal town in western Finland, seven-year-old girls and boys were tasked with competing to see which group behaved better in class and kept their surroundings tidier. In other words, they were judged on adherence to behavioral norms that were taken for granted in the schools of my childhood.

The girls won the competition and were rewarded with a toy day. This, however, upset the boys’ mothers, whose little darlings couldn’t manage to be tidy or behave properly.

As a result, one mother contacted a national broadcasting company Yle, claiming that “the competitive setup and the criteria seemed unfair, and the group division went against the National Agency for Education's policies on segregation.” She also lamented, “Nobody does things like this anymore these days. Are boys wild and disobedient just because they’re energetic?”

Instead of having boys and girls compete in behavior and tidiness, she suggested rewarding the boys for, say, running a certain distance in the schoolyard as defined by a teacher. This, she argued, would allow them to please the teacher in a different way. Personally, I couldn’t see how this would promote children’s education or learning — unlike the competition at hand.

According to the principal of the criticized school, “The teachers certainly did not intend to act against the curriculum. This was a human error from which we will learn. We are all human and make mistakes.”

Undoubtedly, this was an effort to save face — and perhaps it succeeded. Time will tell.

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To me, however, there was nothing odd or unfair about the competition. Calm and orderly behavior is something that promotes learning in schools. As such, it is an excellent — and learning-relevant — basis for competition, regardless of gender. Moreover, it is an event that especially helps wild boys improve their self-control.

Admittedly, the groups could have been divided without regard to gender, which would have prevented the boys’ mothers from blaming their children’s loss on their gender. But I believe that a competition between genders is the most motivating setup for seven-year-olds — especially for boys.

For this reason, I suspect that the mother who took her complaint to the national media should take a good look in the mirror. After all, the school competition reflected the general perception that mothers have long demanded better behavior and tidiness from their daughters than from their sons. The girls’ victory, therefore, was no great surprise — but hopefully, it offered a valuable lesson not only to the boys in the class but also to their mothers.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Safe Spaces or Freedom of Knowledge?
How to Increase Fertility Rates: A Finnish Solution
The Difference Between Left-Wing and Right-Wing Envy

A National Rally election victory does not mean that France will become like Finland under the Finns Party

The result of the first round of the French elections met expectations. This indicates that the residents' frustration with the current immigration policy and its consequences is now becoming a reality.

An example of these consequences was seen when an attack occurred at a wedding of Turkish background individuals in Thionville, France, where a group armed with assault rifles killed one and injured several people. The incident is reportedly linked to gang conflicts involved in drug trafficking.

If and when such events – and similar ones – occur repeatedly, it is understandable that people accustomed to European order are dissatisfied and thus desire the change offered by the National Rally.

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A Finnish journalist outlined four consequences of the election results. The first, according to her, is the reduction of France's support for Ukraine. This would mean a small victory for Vladimir Putin's Russia and is starkly opposed to the strongly pro-Ukraine stance of Finland's immigration-critical Finns Party.

The second issue the journalist mentioned that can be expected to change in France is the populist economic policy of the National Rally, which threatens to drive the country into an even deeper debt crisis. This is also a significant difference from the Finns Party, which has pushed for strict economic policies in government, causing the political left in opposition to resort to populist outcries.

The third potential change highlighted by the Finnish journalist was France's refusal to pay its membership fee to the EU. This would obviously have a massive impact on the entire Union, potentially pushing it back towards being a pure trade alliance. This would fit well with Finns Party's immigration-critical and EU-critical stance.

Finally, the journalist mentioned that the EU would become more value-conservative. This would mean not only stricter immigration policies but also a more conservative approach to sexual deviations and abortions.

In this respect, the relationship between the immigration-critical parties in France and Finland is not straightforward. In Finland, practically everyone supports the right to abortion, but many immigration-critical individuals view the hype around sexual deviations negatively.

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As my esteemed reader noticed, the message of this blog post is that although the immigration policies practiced across Europe have led to the emergence of large immigration-critical parties in both Finland and France – and many other countries – this does not mean that European politics is changing in all other respects.

This is particularly evident in these parties' relations with Russia and economic thinking, but also in many other aspects. Therefore, no hasty conclusions should be drawn from the first round of the French elections.

Additionally, it must be remembered that an unholy alliance is forming in France between Macron supporters and the left, which, if successful, could prevent the rise of the National Rally to power and thereby block the rise of the immigration-critical Gauls for another term.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
The future of all Europe is at stake
Swedish-Somali Offspring, Penalties, and Our Country's Attractiveness Factors
Mass immigration is the greatest concern for EU youth