William Blake says it all about who we are

William Blake (1757-1827) was probably one of the greatest poets to come out of England. He was also a master painter and printmaker. There is one quote I always remember by him: Expect poison from standing water. Like anything in our society(ies), if we allow things to stand still too long they turn to poison. Attitudes and stereotypes could be the poison in the standing water.

One of Blake’s greatest prints is the following, which exposes our senseless greed. This is very newsworthy today taking into account the turmoil global economies are facing.

Am I a racist in Finland?

One of the matters that has surprised me about a social malice such as racism is how such people attempt to hide their real political colors by stating that they are NOT in the nationalistic extreme right but “moderate middle of the roaders” only defending their culture from extinction.

Attempting to give a human face to racism shows, in my opinion, that even those that hold racist ideas know deep inside that it is wrong.

By far the most popular post of Migrant Tales is none other than Are you a target of racism is Finland? In order not to exclude the Finns or any other groups that  find strength and identity through racism, here is a short Migrant Tales “racist meter” that can help you know if you are a racist in Finland:

1) People (especially foreigners/outsiders) who are out of work are lazy
2) I live in an advanced society because we are genetically superior to other groups
3) Foreigners who just work and don´t complain are the only ones that should be allowed to live in Finland
4) Kick out and forbid those cultures that I consider “incompatible” with my values (Muslims, blacks, Russians etc.) from immigrating to Finland
5) Since I am such a superior being, foreigners have to adapt to my values
6) Foreigners are in the same horrid boat as feminists
7) It is ok to exploit a member of another group since he/she is our “guest”
8 Monoculture is a virtue – multiculturalism is a threat
9) If a foreigner is held by the police, it is because he/she is guilty before proven innocent
10) Eila Kännö was right

If you answered YES to any two, the chances are that you are a racist in Finland. If you answered YES to three or more, you are definitely a racist in Finland.