#FuckCancer

A couple of months ago I wrote a post, #FuckCoke. This is not the same. This post fucks posts like that over, tears their soul out, throws it in a ditch, pours a spoonful of contempt over it and leaves it to rot. Warning given, continue at your own risk.

I have a colleague. I hope she won't mind me writing about her, but she keeps a blog (in Swedish) of her own where she writes about her struggles, so I'm going to assume she doesn't. She inspires me, which is why I want to share some of her story to remind us of a silly little thing called life.

Some time has passed since she found out she has leukemia. It is not the first time she gets these news. She has been sick before. I was at a happiness seminar at work when my boss tells me to come upstairs. Talk about life's irony. We learn she won't be coming back for a long time. Silence. Shock. Tears.

I know she's been writing her blog, but I can't bring myself to read it. I know that when I finally do, it won't be pretty and so I put it off like a coward. Like a scared little mouse I hide from the words that I know will snap around my neck like a mousetrap, suffocating me in despair. So I keep putting it off, pretending it's not there. Until yesterday.

Who Will Comfort Toffle? by Tove Jansson

I make the utter foolish mistake of reading her blog and it's like the light of day disappears, like the earth is emptied of life, leaving only anguish. I read her words that turn to a blurry smudge while tears fill my eyes. I feel guilty for my tears. How do I dare cry when she is the one in the hospital? I want to throw the computer out the window, scream to this cruel world that breeds sickness and hate and disease. Why are people who spread so much light beaten down time and time again? I curl up under my covers, feel helpless. It's so unfair.

It's so fucking unfair!

In one of her posts she talks about a story, Who Will Comfort Toffle. Toffle is piteous little creature alone in a dark and scary world. She says she feels like Toffle. Alone in her hospital bed at night she feels the heaviness of the dark, the weight of her fear. My heart twitches and wrenches while reading her words. I feel contempt toward the world, toward the entire universe. People are literally running through life and for what?

It is like we do not realize that life is right in front of us, in every heartbeat. In every moment. Do we only understand that when our heart is threatening no longer to beat? When the moment in front of us may be the very last. Is it the irony of life, the wickedness of our existence that we only learn to appreciate life once it threatens to leave us?

The world needs Jenni!

A couple of weeks ago I see my news feed on Facebook fill up with the same picture. I go to her timeline and I'm breathless. A sunflower with the words "Fuck Cancer" written on it, and over it "The world needs Jenni". I keep scrolling down but the pictures never seem to end, forming a virtual garden of sunflowers. Her friends, family and others that feel the need to show their appreciation of her, have taken pictures of themselves wearing a "Fuck Cancer" shirt. They have all changed their profile picture to this picture and tagged her in it to fill her profile with flowers.

Someone might say that this is the power of social media, but I disagree. This is the power of people who care. Of people who still give a shit about a silly little thing called life. Of people who stop to take time to give, not wanting anything in return. Except perhaps that God step down from heaven for a while to take one look at this beautiful person and stop this twisted game.

The Virtual Garden

I keep reading her blog. I can taste her sickness while my throat thickens. But then she does what she always does. She dazzles with her positive attitude, amazes with her spirit, puts us all to shame with her incredible fire. She answers her own question. Who will comfort Toffle? Everyone, she says.

Everyone. Always. All the time.

Whatever you were doing before you started reading this, whatever you were thinking, by now I'm guessing you're thinking one of two things. One, you think I'm an emotional wreck of a person and you can't believe you wasted all this time reading this sentimental crap. If this is the case I suggest you stop reading right now, I promise you it won't get any better. On the other hand, you might be thinking that your own struggles and problems are worthless crap compared to the struggles of a woman, fighting cancer for the third time. Fighting for her life. It's not. Everything that you feel is important in your life is. However, there are a few things to consider before closing the Internet and going back to glance at the newspaper while watching The Biggest Looser and tweeting about whatever is hot right now.

First, life is so fucking precious. Every day you wake up is a victory. Everyday should be memorable. Second, why are we in such a hurry all the time? The more we hurry, the faster the end will come. Instead, slow down and enjoy the moment. Third, every single thought of hate or anger is one less thought of love or compassion, so concentrate on the good, not the bad. And last, your life is now. Every second you use on unimportant crap is one less second lived, so use every second wisely. Care. Feel. Hope. Give. Love. Dream. Laugh.

She inspires me with her words, with her positivism, with her life. Even in her struggles she inspires me. With every vibrating muscle, every inch of my body I hope for her recovery. There is nothing I can do, except hope and believe that she's gonna be OK, because the world needs people that fill it with good. That Care. That Feel. That Hope. That Gives. That Loves. That Dreams. That Laughs.

The world does need Jenni.

#FuckCancer

Olen Suomalainen?

There has been a video going around on the internet where a group of singers remake an old Finnish song called Olen Suomalainen (I am Finnish). It is a classic song known by pretty much everyone. No harm in that, right? Except the people in the video and the people singing the song are all Finnish citizens, but with roots all over the world. From Peru to India, Finnish citizens of differing colors, races and history are displayed. It is such a nice thought, much like the Coca Cola Super Bowl commercial America The Beautiful I commented on a few weeks back. In that post, my intention was not to bash out on Americans as, sadly, racisms is as evident in Finland as it is in the states. However, I now realise it is easier to point out the weakness of others than the weakness of oneself. It is not always easy to be proud of ones origin and descent.

You can have a look at the video below.

The sad part is, watching the video, as ever touching it was, I already knew what was waiting. Some people would love the concept for showing that Finland looks different today than 50 years ago. What was seen as Finnish half a century ago, may have changed. On the other hand, others would hate the video. When I read the comments about the Coca Cola commercial, I was filled with a rage and frustration so intense, I hardly got any sleep. This time, however, the story is quite different. I feel tired, exhausted even. I feel pity. I almost feel indifferent. Wow, that's when I realize something is wrong.

We must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men. - Boondock Saints

Edmund Burke said "all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing". So back to basics. The ever so brief feeling of indifference is trashed, thrown in the corner like an old rag.

I can honestly say I'm Finnish, no question about it. I was born in Finland, as were my parents and their parents before them and their parents before them. Proud to be I might add. Finland has had great publicity during the last year with headlines such as If you want the American dream, go to Finland or What Finland can teach America about education. Naturally, there is a down side to the story and not everything is wonderful in Finland, but I'd say it's a pretty great place to live (if you don't consider the 6 months of winter). Simple as that, I'm Finnish and proud of it. One comment to the video above was the following

Kuinka vaikea on ymmärtää, että kansallisuus ja kansalaisuus ovat eri asia? - Slumnigga

Translating into: How hard is it to understand that nationality and citizenship are two different things? I think about this for a while and realise I agree. I am going to use the Finnish definition of these words (based on legislation), as the English definition of citizenship and nationality may differ a little from country to country. Citizenship (kansalaisuus) means a member of a state with all the rights and duties it entails. For example, with a Finnish citizenship you have the right to work, vote and live in Finland. On the other hand, nationality (kansallisuus) refers to the national identity or ethnicity. So if I was to move to Germany, I might get a German citizenship but I would still be very much Finnish. This is quite clear and so I agree with Slumnigga.

When all is purple, there is no black or white. Holi festival in India. (photo by Callum Lynch)

Citizenship and nationality are two different things, fact, but does it mean that one rules out the other? I am a Swedish speaking Finn, however, I am also Finnish. My native language of Swedish does not make me any less Finnish. Can it be that people that move to Finland may actually identify themselves also as Finnish, even if perhaps not the same way that Slumnigga would like? Will immigrants not adopt some traditions? Will they not learn the language? Will they not identify with the people living here? Cultural diversity, is it really such a tragedy? Is our culture not strong enough to be able to take it if a few ethnically different individuals say that, they too, are Finnish?

The lyrics of the song also calls for controversy, as a guy called Kai so kindly points out. On täällä elämä raskasta työta, translating into "the life here is hard work" which obviously is funny as we all know NO immigrants do ANY work. The only thing they do is collect income support from social services. They (meaning these god damned immigrants) live like social bums, collecting tax money earned by hard working Finnish citizens. Bastards. They think they can just come here and do nothing? Get everything for free? Sure, some people do. That is the down side of a well-functioning social safety net. However, "some people" are not immigrants. They are as much Finns as they are other nationalities. Not only Somalians take advantage of the system, but also the earnest and honorable Finns do this.

My Indian friend Rathan. Bastard lives in Finland collecting all income support known to man.
OR then he is a smart guy that studied at a Finnish university, currently working on India related projects,
bringing Finland some of that much needed tax income.

It is very dangerous to identify a person through ethnicity. To put people in boxes depending on their skin color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or any other number of so called ethnic traits. Statements such as "I hate Russians" or "all Asians look alike" will not make you sound very smart. As Tommy Lee Jones put it

Ethnic stereotypes are boring and stressful and sometimes criminal. It's just not a good way to think. It's non-thinking. It's stupid and destructive. - Tommy Lee Jones

You can't hate Russians. There are 140 million of them, you cannot tell me that you hate them all, can you? I must say, I despise some of the things that are happening in Russia, but still, if I would actually say that I hate Russians, it would mean that my world would be 140 million poorer on people that could be my friends. That's a pretty hard cutdown. Not to mention all the people I would have to unfriend on Facebook, good lord. I can also not say that all Asians look alike. You know why? Because they don't. They look as alike as do whites. I can't say I hate muslims, for it is not religion that defines people, or people that define religion. The actions of some cannot be pinned to a religion, religion alone does not make decisions. People do.

I hate Russians. Especially this Russian guy called Maxim.
While I'm at it, I might also just hate the Norwegians. Like this girl called Jeanette.
That would be why my shirt says I <3 U ;)

They say Finns are honest and hardworking people, but I will let you in on a secret. It's not true. Not all Finns are hardworking, not all Finns are honest. Not all Finns stab their wife and drink vodka all day long. Not all Finns love the sauna. Not all Finns can stand winter. Not all Finns lack rhythm. Not all Finns own a Nokia and love to go fishing at their summer cottage. Sure, some people do, but not everyone. Ethnic stereotypes are boring and stressful and sometimes criminal. Do you really want to let stereotypes determine what you think of someone? Are you really ready to let go of all that control?

I guess what I'm trying to say are these two very simple things

#1 Don't be indifferent.
Being indifferent to evil is just as bad as being evil. We need to care about the people around us, also the people we do not know and have no obligations too, because it is all of our obligation to care and to not be indifferent.

Below a video of Johannes who is caught out in the cold without a jacket. Would you help him?

And how about the next one based on a true story. Eila is old and sick, wondering around town aimlessly. She is found dead. Frozen to death. Would you help Eila?

Indifference makes all the difference. Don't act. React.

#2 Prejudice is so 1997
Who would you be if you were only the sum of stereotypes? If you don't wish to be defined solely by ethnic stereotypes or by what music you listen to, think about that the next time you see a turban and think terrorist.

He look crazy to you? Well, he's crazy enough to figure out black holes. Stephen Hawking

I have noticed that even people who claim everything is predetermined and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road. - Stephen Hawking

And a bonus one, just because I can

#3 Love the haters
Love beats hate every time. Smiling will get you further than shouting. So smile, god dammit, just smile!

#FuckCoke

There are some things that I just can't wrap my head around, or actually I guess there are a lot of things I can't wrap my head around, but some things are particularly challenging. One of these particularly challenging things is hate. Hate is unbelievably unnecessary and frankly quite boring. Life is so much more fun when you're laughing.

Super Bowl was a few days ago and yet again the world kept its breath as the biggest companies spent a few million on a 30 second ad. Coca Cola decided to make a statement with a new version of the anthem America The Beautiful. If you haven't yet seen the commercial, go ahead and take a look below.

I wouldn't do cart wheels over the commercial, but it's a decent one. Meanwhile, Coca Cola tweets, quote

The only thing more beautiful than this country are the people who live here

Nice thought, Coca Cola, I'll give you that. You may not be my favorite company in the world, well frankly, which multinational company is? But this commercial is nice. Might even make me go get a coke. Zero of course, I'm on a diet after all. Never ever in my mind could I have imagined the outrage this commercial could produce. Never ever in my mind could I have imagined the amount of hate it would awaken. A friend of mine shared this hideous article that made my eyes bleed and my heart stop. I know not even half of you will actually click the link, so I'll save you the trouble and shamelessly borrow some of the material in it. For example, Tristin here decided to offend about 20 % of the American population, if you believe CIA's statistics that 79.96 % of Americans are white. Minus of coarse the 1.7 % that is Jewish. Although, I do not know how many are terrorists, CIA did not list that group of people in their statistics.

Naturally, Mexicans are not American. They are Mexican. Also, I am not certain what "American" means. Is it the same thing as American? Anyone? Well if you thought Tristin's choice of words were a little over the top, you are going to love Beth. She seems to think that American is actually a language.

Way to go Beth. Really showed off your intelligence there. Especially as America does not have any official language. Also, one of the languages in the commercial was actually that of native Americans. Continuing, Robert here actually believes that America The Beautiful is the national anthem (even though it is the unofficial national anthem, last time I checked the national anthem was still the Star-Spangled Banner).

Oh, and Super Bowl didn't make that commercial honey. Coca Cola did.

So we have stupid, stupider and, lord have mercy, stupidest. I hope you realize that America is a blend of people that immigrated from various places. There are not many Native Americans. That is, as Coca Cola would put it, what makes America beautiful. After reading the list of offensive language and clear hatred toward anyone who isn't white and speak American, I started going through some more posts of people outraged by the commercial. I know I shouldn't, but it's like a drug. My hands start shaking of anger, my pulse races, I find myself cursing to the computer screen. Did I mention this is totally healthy and normal behavior? I found a ton of outrageous comments about Coca Cola promoting Islam (in what way is Islam bad) and the commercial being offensive (to whom may I ask) and other motivating stuff. I got so frustrated, I even hit the Like button. Because of you haters I now Like Coca Cola.

Even some politicians (republicans) thought the commercial was not appropriate and naturally tweeted about it. Todd Starnes, host of Fox News expressed his love for the commercial by tweeting

Todd "I only speak English" Starnes.

I only speak English

Well Todd Starnes, I speak Swedish. I speak Finnish. I speak English. I can get by in German. I even know a little bit of Khmer. How. Is. This. A. Bad. Thing. I can communicate in your language while you cannot communicate in mine. Well good for you, you do realize this does not improve my idea of you at all.

#ToddStarnesOnlySpeaksEnglish

As a Swedish speaking Finn (about 6 percent of Finns have Swedish as their native language and Swedish is one of two official languages in Finland) I have gotten my fair share of hateful comments, much like the ones about speaking English in America. It hurts. It also hurts when a Finn asks me if I cheer for Sweden in an ice hockey game (mind you, cheering for Sweden would be the most unpatriotic thing you could ever do). You show your ignorance asking that question. I am Finnish, after all. The hate towards Swedish speaking Finns is strange. It roots in misunderstandings, misinterpretations and lack of knowledge of Finnish history. We have a lot to thank Sweden for. We were a part of Sweden for over 600 years, there was no Finland then. Instead of accepting our past it seems some are trying to fight it. Instead of sharing a laugh with our neighbor, we hate them and make fun of them. Where is the hate coming from? And frankly, given the choice, I still think most Finns would choose being a part of Sweden over being a part of Russia any day.

#WhereIsTheHateComingFrom

Well, back to Coca Cola. Did I already mention that besides Mexicans, terrorists, Jews and niggers, the commercial also showed a gay couple ice skating with their daughter. It was the first gay couple to be seen in a Super Bowl commercial I might add. What an outrage, just offensive really, considering the woman who wrote the anthem was most likely gay herself. Oh the irony. However, Coca Cola is not the only company to take a stand. I read an article on much the same topic in the Daily Finance that tells the story of some of these companies. For example, The Gap made a beautiful ad with a Sikh man. Unfortunately, people thought it would be a good idea to write hurtful comments on the ad.

Picture Robert Gerhadt

Obviously, comments such as Make Bombs and Bin Laden are utterly ridiculous and only shows you know nothing about Sikhs. I have not yet met a single Sikh who made bombs, and I've met a few. Also, I believe Bin Laden was a Muslim, not a Sikh (no offense toward Muslims intended). Now because of the outrage and the comments, The Gap chose to change their Twitter cover to the ad. Cheerios made a commercial with a family of three. A black man. A white woman. Outrage. YouTube had to disable the commentaries for the video as it got so many spiteful comments. You can watch the commercial below. Can't say I blame them, this commercial is ridiculously offensive!

#MakeAStatement

I realize my Liking Coca Cola also has a dark side to it, for Coca Cola is the number one sponsor of the Sochi Winter Olympics.

Fuck

No matter what direction I turn, there is hate. For some reason Russia has decided to hate homosexuals. The public is asking Coca Cola to take a stand with the Winter Olympics, to tell the Russians to get their shit together. Well I agree, only Coca Cola just made a stand and look were it landed them. I won't even get in to the Olympics, that's a whole new post in itself. I even saw a picture of Putin without a shirt that, allegedly, was in a hotel room. I must not smile, but that really is hilarious.

Google takes a stand. The Rainbow Olympics.

I will not bash companies or people any more than I already have, but a serious question remains: Where does the hate come from? I cannot wrap my head around why people hate Muslims, Jews, Christians, Non-believers, blacks, whites, Hispanics, homosexuals or any other "type" of people. Do you not see that we are all the same? We all breath with our lungs, speak with our mouth, see with our eyes, touch with our hands, feel with our senses, love with our hearts. We all have a religion, may it be to believe in a god with a monkey head or to believe in no god at all. We all have a home, may it be the dirt under our feet or a gold castle. We all have our origins, may they be growing up and living in the same small town or traveling from one place to the other. We all have dreams, may they be to climb the highest mountain or to build a home for a family. We are all the same. Look past the shell and you will see it.

We are all just people trying to get by our daily life. Getting up in the morning, going to work, going to school, working on the street to make enough for food. Show each other respect. Learn tolerance. If you dislike something, fine. But don't bash out about it. Why hate when you can love. Why cry when you can laugh. Why not just live and let live. Give others the benefit of a doubt. Give them the respect that they deserve as human beings. Don't be afraid, but learn. Don't talk behind a back, but talk to a face. Don't be a jerk.

Oh, I almost forgot. Thank You America for your prayers. Thankfully she is no longer the president. Oh, and she is married. To a man. If it makes you feel any better.

#Tolerance

10 Things I Hate About You

I deeply apologize for what I’m about to write and I also apologize to all the people I might offend by this post. Don’t take it personally, it’s just a grumpy old Finn expressing her deepest frustrations. :)

One of my friends asked me when I returned from a trip “how was you trip, and don’t say it was fantastic, cause everything in India can’t be wonderful”. So here we go, here is my top 10 of things that makes me shiver with frustration. Enjoy!

10. Time.

The countdown starts with time. As some of you dear readers might be aware of, I’m usually late. In India, however, I’m never late! :) Nonetheless, some things just take sooo much time here. You get a form to fill out the first day, only to find out the next day you have another form to fill out. Seriously, couldn’t you just give me all the 4 forms at once? Finnish crave for efficiency, take a step back, you are not needed here! Oh, one more thing; please, just once. Just one lecture. Once. On time. Is that really too much to ask?

9. Wi-Fi.

Moving on to number nine, and I know I probably sound like a bit of a nerd right now, but I like my connections quick. Now trust me, I would be heart broken if I had no Wi-Fi at all at school, so really I shouldn’t be complaining, but as this is a post of all the things that bother me, I’ll let this one slide.

8. Being sick.

I know I can’t really blame India, because let's face it, it’s not really India’s fault that my delicate European stomach can’t take, well, whatever it is that it can’t take. So I’m sorry India for blaming you, but yet again, I’ll let this one slide.

7. Trash.

Now we’re getting more serious, number seven on my list is dedicated to trash. I keep walking with trash in my hand or in my bag because I don’t want to through it on the side of the road like most of the population does. The worst is when you see trash were it really doesn’t belong, like in the garden of a palace or in a national park. It really hurts my eyes when I see people throwing rubbish everywhere, and I’m not even all that environmentally conscious!

6. Traffic.

I know I’ve told you a lot about the traffic, but as much as it’s an aspect I love about India, it can also make my teeth grind. Especially the honking… Please, just stop. The car in front of you can’t move because there is a bus sideways on the street. You can see the bus, I can see the bus, we can all see the bus. So why do you honk? Do you think the bus will magically disappear? Mostly it’s entertaining to see how crazy things can get, but when you’re stuck in traffic, tired and in a hurry, you just wish it could be a little smoother and that everybody would leave the goddamn horn alone.

5. Scheduling.

Or the lack of it. Classes change time, date and place pretty much every day. It’s impossible to plan anything long-term, as you never know what will happen the next week or even the next day. To be frank, you can't be sure what will happen the same day or even the next hour. Back home I would have two months of classes planned out a month in advance and if one or two classes would shift, I’d feel like it’s impossible to plan when things keep changing all the time. Imagine how I feel here. :) On the other hand, I’m not trying to fit in three jobs in between classes, so the damage done is limited. But still, I’m almost surprised when I walk in to a class and I’m actually in the right place at the right time. Usually I’m just utterly lost.

4. Cheating.

And no, I’m not talking about cheating on your better half, but cheating in school. Naturally, everyone doesn’t do it and really, why should it even bother me?  I guess it’s the Finnish moral in me that’s acting out and it actually bothers me a lot. I might also just be a bit strange…

Well strange or not, moving on to the top three!

3. Stares.

Imagine you’re a bunny. You know, one of those furry cute white ones. Then imagine you’re put in a cage with tigers. You’ll feel that you’re the odd one out, like everyone is looking at you. Most probably it will make you feel somewhat uncomfortable. Well, that’s how I feel every time I step outside the door. It’s not like I feel like the people on the streets of Delhi are gonna eat me for supper, but I feel I’m the odd one out. When you walk past a crowd and all of a sudden the whole crowd goes quite you kind of sense why and feel the stares burning. Very uncomfortable. Or when people ask if they can have their picture taken with me. Can you guess what it makes me feel? Yes, 10 points for you, dear reader, you are the lucky winner today. Uncomfortable is the correct answer! It also makes me wonder why the world anyone would want to have a picture of me…

2. Standing in line.

This is a close call, but yes, standing in line only makes number two today. I believe Indians must be the worst in the world at queuing. Or then Finns are just the best. There isn’t really even a line. Anywhere you’d expect one, there is none. Just people randomly pushing their way to the counter or wherever you’re trying to get. It totally goes against all that my mother has taught me but, yes, I have learned to randomly push my way through. I’m not very god at it though. Yet. Give me one more month and I’ll be a pro!

But now, can I have your undivided attention. We have reached the lucky number one…

1. Pollution.

Yes, the simplest of things. Clean, breathable pine smelling air. Ok, that pine smelling is a bit over the top, but you get the point. Two days in Delhi and I promise you’ll feel like someone put bag of dust in your chest. This is the only thing on this list that can’t make me smile even once. It is simply just annoying. So congratulations Pollution, you are the all time champion!

And that's it. 10 things. So thank you for tuning in with me today and have a great day, as I'm sure you will. After all, this is the day we have all been waiting for; I'm finally going to Mumbai! :)