What the future brings?

My (step)sister has a daughter. She is 15 months old and the light of our whole family's life. She's always smiling, hugging and playing. She never cries. she's a sweetheart. ♥

Her mother is a beautiful blue eyed Finnish blonde with a heartwarming smile. Her father is a handsome very dark skinned, black haired Nigerian. They both adore their daughter. Her hair has started to grow, it's dark brown and curly and soft as silk. Her eyes are almost black, they are so dark, she seems to notice everything. She's starting to speak, when she learns more, she's gonna be  multilingual. Her mother teaches her Finnish and English. Her father teaches her English and Igbo.

She's like an adorable mix of her mother and father. Her nose is her fathers, her mouth is her mothers, the tone of her skin is like milk chocolate. She is learning to walk.

♥

Last week my sister and her daughter were coming to see my stepmom and father for easter. They were coming by a bus to the Helsinki train station. My sister was pushing the stroller where her daughter was sitting. There was a group of 20-something drunk men on the way. They let her pass but stared after her.
One of them yelled: "Is that a niggerbaby with you?"

... She is 15 months old. And now it starts?

I am so scared for her. What she will have to go trough. Only because some people are so fucking stupid! She's the most beautiful, wonderful, gentle little creature you could imagine and she most probably has to listen to words like that for the rest of her life.

Last summer a Finnish actor, Chike Ohanwe who has a Nigerian parent, was attacked while he was at a beach, sunbathing. There are more and more news about attacks of racist nature in Finland. A few months ago a man shot an immigrant in his workplace, a restaurant. After the "true finns"-party won the parliamentary election a year ago, racism has shown a new and dangerous face to the public.

Suddenly it seems it's completely okay to bash people, to call them names, to threaten them, even their lives. Members of parliament have openly said racist comments, they belong to extreme right-wing groups. It's given a permission for those angry racists who have before stayed quiet, to come out and yell, offend and even hurt. The horrible thing is, that these people seem to get no punishments. It's a horrible example for those who seem to have waited for a rolemodel like that.
Then there's Anders Breivik. When is that going to happen again in another country? With people like the "basic finns" saying that it's okay to hate those different from "us"... us usually being white straight men? Some people actually dare to admire Breivik. Sick!

I hope the Northern Europe is not sliding into the hands of racists and extreme right-wing people. On the other hand over a million people (there are 6 million of us in all) voted in the Finnish presidential election this year for a gay president. So there is hope. ♥

But as long as a 15 month old baby can be called such names without anyone doing anything about it, without batting an eye, there is something terribly, horribly wrong with the people in this country.

Mister president and his husband ♥

So I'm breaking my own rule again and talking about politics (I kind of decided when I started this blog that I would try to avoid politics, but oh well)... this is a subject that some people don't find that interesting, but I find if important to write about this.

There is a presidential election going on in Finland. The candidates:
- Pekka Haavisto (liberal, green league-party, gay, living in civil union with his husband, diplomat)
- Timo Soini (very conservative, against immigration and gay rights, true finns-party (leader), married)
- Paavo Väyrynen (rather conservative, centre-party, married)
- Paavo Lipponen (liberal, social democratic party, married, former prime minister)
- Sauli Niinistö (national coalition party, married)
- Sari Essayah (very conservative, christian democrat party, married)
- Eva Biaudet (Swedish people's party(swedish is the second language of Finland), married)
- Paavo Arhinmäki (liberal, left alliance-party, just married (a few days ago)

Sauli Niinistö is probably going to win, because he's a known politician and he doesn't "piss people off", he's kind of neutral. I wish Pekka Haavisto would win, he would be a perfect president, but there are so many homophobes still in Finland who say that they "would vote for him if he weren't gay."
It has never bothered his work as a diplomat, even when visiting very conservative or religious countries, he does his work well and that's the main thing. ♥
I just actually wish that the candidate Timo Soini will not win, that would be freakishly scary! He's racist and homophobic, against abortion and very religious. His party, True Finns have wreaked havoc in Finland since they won the parliament election last year, the party members have said (as an exaple) that all black people would be better off dead, that Finland should turn all immigrants away, that all gays should move away from Finland and that the president should be shot.
And these people ruling the country? Oh hell no!!!

Many Finns are writing blogs and posting videos to support their candidates (and to get people to even vote!) and this is my contribution. My vote goes... well, went already, since I voted today, to Pekka Haavisto!

♥ Pekka Haavisto with his husband Nexar Antonio Flores. ♥

Äänestäkää Suomalaiset, vain sillä tavalla voitte vaikuttaa tulevaisuuteenne. ^__^