06-03-2020, 10:35 AMteztify Wrote:

06-03-2020, 10:20 AMjRuutu Wrote: And that is what happened, I shared and commented with the information I have. I know for a fact that at least over here in Finland black people are not oppressed, they have the same opportunities as everybody else, but just like everyone else, not everybody goes on to do great things despite having all the same opportunities. We are not all doctors and politicians over here. Just because there is opportunities, that does not mean anything if you don´t use those opportunities. Of course its wrong to not offer the opportunities in the first place. The picture I have about America, the land of the free, is that you are your own boss - you control your own destiny. That is clearly wrong or is wrong nowadays.

I see the riots and people looting, I think what in the fuck is wrong with you people, that business offered jobs to who knows how many, you bought your items there - now you just step and take everything for free and destroy the property.  I think to myself why don´t you vote and take interest in your local politics instead. In this thread I learned that voting process is not perfect over there, in Finland only way to make a difference is by voting. The system works, if you don´t vote - you don´t have the right to complain. I thought its the same in the greatest country of the world, but its not the case. That is terrible.

And I am glad that you heard Baelor and were able to take something away from it. But dismissing problems in our own backyards is just as unhelpful to the cause that so many are fighting for right now as denying the problem in America is.

As a Canadian, I'm well aware of the many failures this country is responsible for when it comes to the treatment of the Black, Indigenous, and other communities.

I don't proclaim to know all there is to know about Finland, the Nordic countries, or the EU. I do, actually, have anecdotes from a professor of mine about the racism he experienced earning his PhD in Finland, but those aren't mine to share. I would encourage you to check out this report, "BEING BLACK IN THE EU", by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, which found that Finland reports the highest rates of harassment and violence motivated by racism in the EU. You can't vote to end collective racism in the community - that's not a law that can be passed. It's a change we all need to do something to promote.

And that's not an attempt to single out Finland. I come from a province - and a country, frankly - where black people are multitudes more likely to be stopped by police (in any community, not just "bad neighbourhoods"), for example. My point is that this isn't an American problem, and we can't brush it aside or give anyone a pass because they say "oh yeah, maybe America *is* fucked" - because it doesn't solve the problems that invariably exist everywhere.

All I´m hearing is America, racism and police brutality. I have heard very little about rest of the world being a point of interest. There is no denying that racism is a real thing in the world, but so bad that you need to riot and loot over here - I don´t believe it. The increase in racism in EU has a lot to do with immigrants from some part of the world coming here to have better chance in life. Nothing against that, but the transition has not gone well, and in that situation the other half has ownership on it. Starting from pretending to be a minor when entering, and commiting crimes. (more on racism in general)