WTF? or Who are the True Finns?

I usually do not like to blog about politics especially because it is a hot button issue I know very little about and used to be uninvolved in not having the right to vote in the USA. Now that I live in Finland I can vote, recieved my letter telling me where to vote and when. I have hundreds of candidates to choose from here from a couple of dozen parties. I am just guessing here I have not actually counted or looked up the number and am not going to.

The big parties are Kokoomus and SDP. Currently Kokoomus is in control of the parliament. Other little parties are Vihreät (Greens), Työväen puolue (workingpeople's party) and my current favourite Vasemmisto liitto (the leftist unity). All translations are the best I can do and not necessarily the official translations. There is not polarised conservative liberal divide. There is no conservative at all by American standards, until now. There is a cluster of deformed, hateful, ignorant parties rising up around the monstrosity of the Perus Suomalaiset (my translation would be basic or stereotypical Finns but we will just call them the WTF party).

When ever a member of the WTF party is interviewed on television, they sound uneducated. They lack a proper grasp of the Finnish language. They sound hickish uneducated and aggressive. That is my opinion. Their platform is, get those damn dirty immigrants out, they are all freeloaders and do substandard work and are lazy. When you point out to them that there are plenty of hardworking well educated diligent immigrants they say: "Oh them, they are fine, we are just against those that freeload and wont assimilate." Never mind most immigrants into Finland are here to study, work or following their spouses that do. Finland takes in less refuges based on population than other Scandinavian countries. I spend a lot of time with immigrants and have met no one that fits the description that the WTF party has labeled as the vocal majority and the trouble. Where are they?

They released their statement of principles and there is one particularly troubling part. They state that foreigners are supposed to follow Finnish laws and customs. I thought the first was a given but what does the second part refer to? They do not qualify it further. Are they just referring to eating rye bread, saunaing, swimming in a frozen lake, speaking Finnish etc.? Perhaps they want them to conform to the seedier side of Finnish customs like binge drinking, depression, collecting unemployment while being depressed and binge drinking. Teens drinking alcohol in the backs of busses and cussing loudly at night. I am sure they mean the better side of Finnish custom but being so ambiguous is dangerous, for them, the immigrants and those Finns who care about them. Honestly, is a black man ever going to assimilate to their satisfaction? He can learn Finnish, get a job, pay taxes, become a citizen, vote but they still would not want him to marry one of their daughters unless he could wipe the black off his face.

They are against such high "kotiutumistuki" (settlement aid), what kotiutumistuki? You can't even get it unless you have lived here for like six months and take Finnish classes or go into mol (government employment agency) approved work training. Besides it is not higher than "työmarkkinatuki" that is given to unemployed Finns that have never held jobs to aid them with living expenses so they can find one. Immigrants need that money. They have a hard time finding jobs unless they are very highly trained. Othervise they need the extra time to learn Finnish and to get trained for a job that they have harder time getting because they maybe brown. Discrimination in hiring may be illegal but it does not mean it does not happen. The only difference between kotiutumistuki and työmarkkinatuki is that one is given to immigrants, the other to citizens and kotiutumistuki is given for longer giving the immigrants more of a chance to not only get job training but ALSO to learn Finnish.

I am not saying there are no problems with immigration in Finland. What I am saying is that the WTF party is blowing it way out of proportion. They have no idea what the challenges faced by immigrants are because all the experience they have with it is traveling to other countries, getting plastered for an entire week at a time, acting like an idiot and not remembering a thing about it. That too is another Finnish custom.

America and Finland

I love living in Finland. Compared to America it is the tops. I am not saying living in America sucks, but it does when you are poor. Being poor in America is a highly degrading hopeless experience. The possibilities are slim to none to succeed and you are blamed for not working hard and ceasing opportunities that are seen to sprout up like mushrooms after a perpetual rain. Now the environment is a little more understanding because the recession hit everyone. For once it was okay to be poor, people understood. The recession was everywhere and it was now the fault of the recession that you were poor, not the fault of your own laziness. I am here to tell you, these troubles did not come about because of the recession, the recession just brought to light the problems America's poor had been having for about a decade or so. The recession took a long time to reach the middle class the poor were screwed for years.

What of the American dream? Well, it is just a dream and has been less and less to do with reality over the years. We had little to no hope for the American dream. For years we scraped by barely making ends meet, frequently relying on food banks and the kindness of friends. It was humiliating and we were judged. Why weren't we working for a better life? Why weren't we improving our lot through job advancement and education? Why weren't we saving money? We did not have enough money for an education, we were ineligible to student loans, there is no student aid from the government, FYI, just loans, think about it. We could not get better jobs because of lack of degrees and in my case lack of a legal status in America. We were not saving money because there was not enough. We went out to eat maybe once every two months, if that and I am talking about McDonalds, and we never went to the movies or anything. Having a computer with internet access was our only form of entertainment that cost money. It was all we could afford and it was the only way to have a social life having no car. There was simply nothing to cut to have more money with out making our lives absolutely bleak. Our only hope was a sudden stroke of luck of a better job or a promotion for my husband. Those things never seemed to materialize, it was like playing the lottery. We still did not have the decency to be miserable. We were able to find fun and entertainment and love each other despite all this and it made people angry who felt like poor people with no real hope should be unhappy.

Now we are in Finland and we are able to work toward the American dream. I do not care what some people say, Finland is a wonderful place to live. My husband is getting free Finnish education in a great school. He is also finally getting his numerous and potentially life threatening not to mention painful dental problems cared for. That would have been an impossibility in America. My son is getting free dental and health care just for being a child. He will have the opportunity to partake of the best education system in the entire word for absolutely free. I am going to be able to get trained for a job and actually work and earn money. Same goes for my husband but first he has to learn Finnish. We are on basic subsistence aid. When they say basic subsistence they mean subsistence, not barely scraping by and wondering what you are going to eat at the end of the month aid like in America. With it we have enough money to actually budget to get a saving account and put a little bit aside every month for surprise expenses and the like. We are no longer hopeless and scared, now we can eat real food and not have to improvise from food pantry discards. We know that if we work hard and cease opportunities we can move up. The American dream is alive in Finland. My vote counts. I can write to political parties and get prompt, non-form letter responses from people that care enough to respond to my actual inquiry and act as if my vote and opinion counts. This is so different than America. What ever people complain about Finland are spoiled and don't know how well they have it. Sure there are problems which is why I will vote and work to make society more like what I want it to be.

So Americans, it is not too late to move to a better country. Has America left you an empty hopeless shell waving the red white and blue sobbing quietly as you face homelessness, unemployment and the hungry hollow faces of your children? It is not to late too emigrate. Take your cold hungry unemployed butt to the library, find some info on a country you would like to live in more and sell what little you have and get a passport and get on out of there. Your family's future depends on it. On the other hand if you are doing well and you have made a profit from the recession investing wisely and buying a cheap house someone was evicted from, I salute you. Help a poor, unemployed neighbor move out of the country to make a new start somewhere else and stop being a drain on the country’s poor resources. Sure the recession is supposedly over but tell that to the poor, they feel no real difference. Soon it is back to being judged and not having the understanding of those around them blaming it on the depression and not their own laziness.

The First Week, Briefly

I have been pretty busy, well not literally just a lot of new stuff has happened in a short time.

Interesting aside, I am really sorry not to have a picture, it was just so shocking and happened so fast, we saw a Finn in black face. No, not a black Finn, we have a few black Finnish citizens but a white guy dressed like '70 black fella. "Play that funky music...white boy?"

It has been a proper cloudy damp fall here. Yesterday it was sunny and pretty but other than a walk to the store we were stuck inside cleaning. Cleanliness it a part of the contract to stay here, still they can't send anyone over to fix the fracking bathroom sink. This is an expensive residence.

Today we went to Jarvensivu, the part of town I grew up in. We had a good walk and felt shocked that the late '80 are alive and well. Teenagers are idiots.

Here are some things that are way better here than the US:

1. Everyone walks so the side walks are a single car lane wide and the crossing spots on the roads are ample and convenient.

2. Busses are frequent and easy to use. They are not only taken by the really poor but even by middle class working people and upper class teenagers. Even elementary schoolers take them unsupervised.

3. No one pities us for not having a car. Do you people realize how annoying that is? It is not a hardship not to have a car, you are just lazy. STFU, offer us a ride, thanks, but hold the side order of pity.

4. There is a lot more international food at the grocery store.

5. The food is a lot healthier, lower in salt, fat and sugar with out being much more expensive.

6. Getting Marcus's paper work to say here indefinitely done will take 120 euros, a few hours of our time to fill out the paperwork tomorrow a trip to the police station Monday, 7euro photo at the photo booth, turning it all in and a few months of waiting.

Things are already looking up. I will also get my unemployment application in Monday. I was not able to do it before because it takes a few days for my new residence to get to the central database and can't get Tampere benefits when I am not a Tampere resident.

Not very interesting, I know, but have been too preoccupied to think of a good blog to post. For something more interesting and comprehensive go to soremoose.blogspot.com. My husband has written a few good and interesting posts about his first impressions.

Decisions And Klingons at the End

The way I make decisions works for me. There is nothing wrong with the process really but I think it seems that way to other people because I announce my progress, instead of just my decisions. I think some people, including my husband see me a flighty, obsessive but unable to go through with anything. I usually think about something and start to think it is a good idea and start researching it. As I research it, super obsessively, it is all I can think about. It is all I talk about, praising its virtues and how it would be great for me, worrying about possible detriments, I even explain how I would attain it. I have after all thought of everything as I have researched it, well almost everything and will look those things up just as soon as I can. As I research, ponder and make plans I feel decided, but am not really. I am not implementing any concrete plans I am just gathering information and making said plans.

The problem in recent years has been that I have no opportunity to implement any plans. I have thought, researched, fantasized and talked until I get bored because I can not move past this and move on to some other obsession that lasts a day, week, month or more. You can see examples of this on this blog here. I announced I was going to join the U.S. Navy. I was 100% sure I would do it. You know, after I was able to. After I became legal and could. I would resign myself to become a U.S. citizen, not in a bad way but in the Biblical way that tells us to practice the good of what ever country we dwell in.

Then, circumstances happened. My husband was already out of work and we were trying to get me a green card. No work came my husband's way. Green card getting was its usual slow self. I was progressing and getting fairly close to getting it done. Still my ability to fulfill my plan, joining the U.S. Navy, was years away. The economy was getting worse, less and less job prospect for my husband on the horizon. Unemployment is nearing it's end and so is our lease as is my youth. So we made a new plan. Dump it in a pile with the old ones and say nothing will happen, I would not blame you, but it is not speculation. We are implementing it. We are taking steps we cannot untake.

We are moving back to Finland for a better life. Ah, Finland, the land of opportunity, flowing with education and health care. Majestic waves of recovering economy rippling across it, more job opportunities than Wichita Kansas. Best country in the world according to a Newsweek article http://www.newsweek.com/photo/2010/08/15/best-countries-in-the-world.html

More than that, it is home and will allow me to work with out a visa and will get my husband a work permit in about six months and a good health care to boot with fraction of the cost of the United States. It is not perfect but compared with the present state of the USA it seems darn near Utopian.

Well, that is where we are going. I haven't posted in a while due to the loss of the late nights I spent alone on the computer because I have to wake up earlier to get my son to school, well tomorrow he has no school so tonight I blog like a warrior, KAPLAH! Your comments would bring honor to my house.

How I became Infected

When I was little I did not really know what racism was. It was around, it always is but you don't really get it until you see it yourself. As a child I heard all the jokes about the Gypsies being lazy thieves but yet really good singers and dancers. The Saami were claimed to be drunks. It was not really real to me because I had never knowingly met a member of either Finnish minority. That is because in reality no one looks like the exaggerated caricatures shown on TV.

Then I moved out of my sheltered life and into the United States. I moved from a country practically oblivious of the implications and evils of their racist attitudes to one very conscious of them. I was taught about the civil rights movement and became not only an admirer of Martin Luther King and of Rosa Parks but of the underground rail road and all the people who had stood up for that was right even at the cost of their own lives. I became emotionally involved with history of the civil rights movement and became emotional when confronted by injustices of any kind. I felt that to stand by and let something like that happen was wrong. I bristled when ever my parents or anyone said anything negative about someone based on looks, race or nation of origin.

I also became friends with people of varied back grounds. I was in ESL so I became closer and could identify better with other immigrant children than the people at large regardless of actual ethnic origin. The thought of hate groups like the KKK wanting to hurt my friends was horrifying to me.

I was happy when I went after my first year of school to ESL summer school. It was like school with all the bad boring parts removed. I expected everyone to be nice. There was only one other white person in my class besides me but he was a boy and so I wanted nothing to do with him. The definite majority was the Vietnamese girls. There was about four of them but they seemed like more because they spoke Vietnamese together separating themselves, loud, boisterous and confident in their numbers. They played a game I did not understand and was not invited to join, not that it occurred to me, they seemed so insulated. There seemed to be a leader and her second, little kid gangs always have leaders and a hierarchy, like chickens. The leader had long hair and her second had very short hair. They seemed very tall and pretty to me, but I do not know if that was reality or an image borne from their confidence, self assurance and popularity.

I got along with other girls in the class and other classes just fine. The Somalese girls I took the bus with were nice and so was the Korean girl who was both in my class and on my bus, she was quiet but nice.

Then one day in class I changed my seat. Our seats were not assigned. I just wanted a change. One seat was differently made than mine and I wanted to sit in it so I moved. Unfortunately that seat was in the second to back seat of the Vietnamese row. I sat down behind the short haired girl and right in front of another girl from a different country. After a while of enjoying this novel seat the short haired girl turned around.
"You can't sit here you are not Asian." she said. I felt shocked and confused.
"But she is not Vietnamese." I said indicating the girl behind me.
"But she is Asian." she replied. I felt confused I did not understand. I mean I did, I had been bullied all my life. I could not deny I was not Asian. I felt heat on my face and my brain was not working so I moved back to my old seat. I was upset, humiliated and did not understand for a long time that I had been a victim of racism. I did not know it could happen to me. I did not really get it until years later that it did not matter who was really the majority what mattered was who was the majority at the moment. Being discriminated does not make someone a more understanding person and less likely to repeat it, it makes you more likely to repeat it.

Racism is an infection that is passed from person to person. Not only from discriminating father to discriminating son by example but from racist to victim. Making the victim scared and hateful. It was years after this my heart rate stopped going up when I was alone in a room with Asian girls and if I found out a girl was Vietnamese it got even worse. I became nervous and panicky and wanted to escape before I was attacked. I felt awful about this but could not control my feelings.

All over that minor little childhood incident. I am pretty thin skinned I guess. Not like anything truly bad happened but it is the principle of it. I admired Rosa Parks so much and I was not able to emulate her. If you cannot live by your convictions what are you? I have been wondering that myself. What am I if I cannot do the right thing when it matters so much to me.

Undocumented Aliens Like Me

I have been feeling exceptionally unaccomplished this week. I usually feel unaccomplished but this week has been worse. The only reason I really have to get up in the morning is to make sure my son does not get bored and destroy something and I guess I should feed him and all. The problem is that I really can do nothing. I cannot get a job. I cannot go to school. I can not pursue my dreams. Now with my husband having no job I can no longer pursue my hobby of martial arts. The only thing that makes me feel accomplished is working out. I run and try to beat the number of push ups I can do. I am up to seven regular push ups now, I can do 25 wuss ups. I can only work out in the evening because we cannot use the AC, not enough money.

This blog is not really about how depressed I am feeling lately and how I have drank three nights this past week, when usually when I drink two nights in a week I feel absolutely alcoholic. What this is really about is undocumented immigrants in the united states. I happen to be one, and every time I mention it I am worried I will piss someone off later and have them use it to hurt me or it gets read by a minute man. It is not something I really hide but it is not something I usually broadcast. When asked by strangers I usually just say I do not have a work permit or a green card yet. Usually it is not a problem because I am white and married to an American citizen. People just assume that if I am not a citizen that I am at least a permanent resident. After all you automatically become a citizen if you marry a citizen or it is free.

I started to think about this about a week two ago (time has lost all meaning to me). I went to a gathering of the yearly meeting that my monthly meeting belongs to (that is Quakerese for I went to the weekend conference of the governing body that my church belongs to and they discussed church business and had workshops and classes). I had a great time. I got to go with out paying and met lots of great people and learned new things. My pastor taught a workshop on a hot button issue in Quaker past and that issue was slavery. Everyone remembers quakers as great crusaders against the institution even risking their lives and property participating in the underground railroad. That is true, but just part of the truth. Meetings at large were very slow to accept the social activism of freedom and many activists were ejected from their meetings for their beliefs. Now all Quakers see them as great heroes. We have many hot button issues today and this workshop was followed by a discussion on one of those. It was on undocumented immigrants. There were quests from Iglesia de los Amigos, I believe their name was. Children who went to the meeting but had no fathers because they had been deported but they remained because they were citizens. Women who had lost their husbands to deportation. It was heartbreaking.

Many people ask me what I think of all these other illegals, after finding out I am undocumented, leaching on the country. I tell them while the United States has the right to control their borders human beings have the right to try to make a better life for themselves and their families. They do not leach off the country they pay taxes and are usually law abiding, other than being undocumented, and do not want to be here undocumented. They all want to have visas, they wanted to get visas before coming here and wanted to enter legally through a check point in a car seat like a human being instead of in the back of a van packed in tighter than the slaves on their way here from Africa crushing people beneath them to death and being crushed by those above them. We are human beings forced into this. Some people may say that we chose to come here. I did not, my parents chose for me. They did not poverty and the cries of their hungry children did. It was death or pay a crooked uncaring human trafficker to take them over the border because they could never have afforded a visa making $12 a week. This is awful. The United Stated is over run by people that often get taken advantage of by crooked people. They get hired, work hard and never get paid and they have no one to turn to. Women get raped and are to afraid to go to the police because they are scared of getting deported. I have actually heard men say, "If you are going to rape a woman make sure she is an illegal alien, they wont go to the police." America's immigration laws are an absolute failure like the war on drugs. They don't work and they will never work no matter how high of a wall they build on the border, how many border guards they hire or how many states adopt Arizona's policy.

I am a law abiding person and I hate being trapped the way I am. I have no life other than being a wife and a mother. Not that those two things are not good and honorable. I just have no choice. I cannot even choose to return to Finland because I do not want to go to jail. My husband and son speak no Finnish and I have not lived there for almost 20 years. I would have hard time fitting in. I want to be a police officer and I love the policies and methods of the Finnish police force but I would have no chance of passing the written portion of the test to get into the school because of my poor Finnish. In the mean time I am trapped here because I love my family, don't want to go to jail or live off the Finnish government because of my low education level. By the time I get a green card I will be in my thirties and if I want to be a police officer I have to be a citizen and I wont be there probably until I am 40, that may be way too late to start in my chosen field. I live with a lot of frustration and a lack of accomplishment. I find I cannot self motivate to do much of anything right now. I hope I will feel better soon.