As you may not understand what our article in german deals about in detail, let us summarize the main points for you:
- We describe in short words what happened in Leppävirta according to the media coverage.
- But we focus more on the finnish mass media and the way how this dinky case got hyped to a national issue.
- In our opinion it is really ashaming, how the finnish newspapers, radio and TV stations reported about that case. We read headlines which contained terms like "arrogant invaders" or "squatters"
- We know most of the media we criticize could be descibed as yellow press, but also state-run YLE participated in this unworthly campaign.
- We know in Finland is summer slump time now, like in Germany. The media is on the hunt for some great story. No reason to stage a mess like they do now.
- Yes, the German tourists did some wrong and made a fault. But they didn't burn the house or something similar. Not at all! They just wanted to have a good time in Finland and spend their money there. This story is compatible for some local newspaper but not for nationwide coverage!
- We read a lot of the offending comments submitted by finnish people on different pages. Often they insult the Germans as "nazi pigs" etc. We know, that individuals belong to the lower educated ranks of the finnish society. They were incited by the finnish mass media.
- The way how this unspectacular story transformed into a nationwide affair is suitable to give strangers the impression that Finland is a retarded country.
- If you invite tourists to your country this will create some problems any time, anywhere. This is caused by different mentalities and bad behaviour. You experience this mainly with Russians, we think. It is a decision pro or contra tourism. If you want tourism in Finland, this reaction is kinda childish.
- We do not want to blame the Finns in general - we blame the profit-oriented mass media and the dumb ones who spread hate on the web, motivated by their frustration about whatever.
- This escalated "scandal" and the way how it is treated has serious potential to harm Finland's international reputation, which is quite good until now
- Most people who comment here, write about what the german tourists did. Everybody knows, that their behaviour was inpolite and unacceptable. Nobody denies that. We focus on the role, which mass media coverage played in this case. Two different things.
Thank you for your attention and have a nice fulfilling summer! :)
WHAT? You make a kriminal act. Someones headage is not excuse to invade like that or emercency (call 112). You did't leave when ask and demantet. You piss allaround. If you want trait this up, go to nearist police station. Dont plaim media or Finns. You make those actions. Would you like, if someone make camp your front yard in same excuse. Piss allover and refuce to leave when demandet. If you think thats ok, please send your address for everyone to see... In Finland most of Finns dont want to see tourist acting like this and many would have move you by force rightaway.
AntwortenLöschen@21:49: you missed our point - we focus on the poor and embarassing media coverage.
AntwortenLöschenyes these germans behaved in a wrong way but is it worth to create a national topic out of it? we believe not.
we live in bremen with a low-cost flight connection to tampere. more and more finns come here and visit us- some of them drink very much, as the alcohol is quite cheap here.
and some of them urinate in public or puke on the streets. thats not nice. but do we a incited media campaign against that? not at all, even not on local media level!
aren't there any other important topics in finland? if so, you seem to be happy nation!
@Gestapo: wow some impressive trollin'! try better, newfag!
AntwortenLöschenFinns are really quite strict about their summer cottages. They need privacy because they value it more than companionship sometimes (it's something that Martin Heidegger would understand I'm sure). Maybe it would have been prudent to find out a little bit more about Finnish culture in the matter before doing something like this.
AntwortenLöschen"They just wanted to have a good time in Finland and spend their money there."
To have a good time like this sounds a little too freewheeling and liberal to me. As such it doesn't apply to Finnish summer cottage culture. It has never worked so that a bunch of strangers suddenly occupy someone's private place without permission. Good time or not, the act is generally considered simply wrong and very intrusive. Indeed, Finland in my view is fairly sick and tired of welcoming money-spenders just because they spend money. Money-spending should not overrule proper and respectful behaviour.
The whole deal has gotten out of hand, you've got that right. Simply idiotic behaviour on the shoutbox, but give some people booze and half a reason to go apeshit on a Friday night - in any country - and see what happens. Please press ignore...
AntwortenLöschenThe situation got this far precisely because it was not handled in the local level. The owner of the summer house called the police - twice - and they refused to come all the way down there because of "lack of resources". Their boat was tied up elsewhere.
Finns, Germans, Swedes, Brits et al can make right asses out of themselves while travelling - as well as be the most charming new acquaintances and boy, have we seen it all.
But. As a Finn I can see why this is taken so hard. Picture the reaction of an Englishman if you park on his lawn that he has been mowing for half his life - or the German reaction if you find a growd of giggling foreigners at your "Stammtisch" and they tell you to take it up yours when you ask them to leave.
Territorial. About things that matter to you emotionally. The summer house is traditionally the peaceful nest, away from everything, the proof that you can still build, manage fire, water and earth, the last refuge. I was myself appalled watching the scene, unknown people marching over your place like it was a public shithouse. It was gross.
There are people who would have come back with "civil enforcement" and/or their shotguns if they met resistance after asking people to leave. What if the exchange turned ugly? Please do not disregard that possibility, especially in the sticks and backwaters. These people did not fight - they went to the media.
If it was my house and I was given the explanation, I would have agreed to let the people stay, if I wasn't staying myself, maybe use the sauna as well. At least water and fire have traditionally been extended to those in need. But in the north, as well as anywhere, please ask, do not tell. Come ashore with one boat first. Find people, negotiate. We are not (at least all) completely wild.
Having lived several years of my life outside Finland I have to agree that we are a happy nation in the sense that major bad things happen seldom. In fact we belong to a group of small happy nations that live in relative peace and prosperity. Part of it has to do with the strong tradition of rule of the law. There are strict legal and cultural limits to Egenmacht. Maybe this is what also threw people.
Plus - I agree - it's summer and the press needs buzz. But it cannot create it if the topic does not resonate emotionally at all.
Please do not be discouraged. Like you say, this is not the most important thing between us.
@22:32: we agree to what you stated. that these people did some wrong is clear. we wanted to emphasize, that the tourists didnt had any bad intentions without defending their behaviour. some issue like that should be managed on local level.
AntwortenLöschenwe mainly want to discuss the role which media plays in this case.
tourism always includes some experience of bad behaviour and conflict for the locals. this is not good, but inevitable.
we do have here in germany often problems with rude, drunk people from the northern countries where alcohol is quite expensive. or ask the estonians what they think about finnish tourists ;)
maybe finland depends now not on tourism regarding to the healthy economy, but possibly finlands econmy crashes down again sometimes...
we in germany need tourism, so also these bad people are welcome in general...but we have also rising protests for example in berlin against the drunken crowds flushed into the city by the low-cost airlines...
@22:48: thank you for your objective comment!
AntwortenLöscheni am half-finnish and spend nearly every summer my holidays over there. so i can completely agree what you wrote about the mökki-culture.
i'd be upset too, if some group would camp without asking for permission blandly near my house...
i think, these are social rules, some germans aren't able to take in, unfortunately..
apart from that, this kind of media coverage is still to blame; not excusable only with the silly season..
i hope there will be some reaction in the finnish media dealing about what happened in the newspapers and on TV.
Hoarding somebody's house yard is not even a social faux pas, it is downright illegal. Part of these problems is that Finns rarely realize that you have to tell things quite firmly to - let's say - non-Scandinavian people. Or don't even know how to so. Not in the upbringing. How to cause such loose face to anybody, "do they not realize the proper way themselves", like. You maybe recognize all this.
AntwortenLöschenWhen it comes to media coverage. Let's say this: I've been in this particular field for a considerable time, being an oldfag and all. News stories have a cycle. This will live for a few days and all the aspects - of others shitting Finland and us shitting other places and why are we even having this discussion and the yellow papers are quilty of everything including Kennedy murder and male pattern baldness - will be covered.
Then everybody will be sick of the whole thing and there is some animal or criminal story that will interest everybody. For you, this is annoying, I can see. Maybe you kinda take it a little personally because of your background or something? Please don't. Shit happens out of our control and most of it has nothing to do with nationality. My opinion? With these attitudes, these people would have run into trouble if they came from Mars and went to holiday on Jupiter. The people who spit asshole comments would do so at eskimos who fished through a wrong hole in the ice. Most people all over this planet realize this.
Have a nice holiday at your mökki. I am just renovating our old one, moving earth and building...
@23:33: thank your for your differentiated comment! i have never been in the media biz as you did but i tried to do some research about that.
AntwortenLöschenthe yellow press and sometimes the mass media in general is really a mess in most countries. spreading rumours or false information intentionally are standard techniques for these subjects who work there. kicking off a "scandal" like this is a part of this repertoir, too.
in germany we have confirmed suicides resulting from discrediting but false mass media coverage. thankfully we have a long tradition in fighting against the yellow press here, which is ruled mainly by the axel springer publishing company. you could check bildblog.de in this context.
if there is any web ressource like a blog, which deals about finnish mass media from a critical point of view..please let me know. maybe i can use my poor finnish skills to get into that topic ;)
so i do not take it personally at all, i think i am rather kinda privileged due the fact i am half finnish / half german. which enables me to understand both mentalities better than the average german / finn does. but of course, i am influenced more by german culture, spending most time here.
my motivation to post about the developments in finland caused by the 'leppävirta incident' is simply to transform into german language, as i found nothing here about on the web, in high contrast to the coverage you experience in finland.
have a nice summer, too & good luck with the renovation!
Do Germans ever wonder why people of any other nation doesn't like them. Germans seem not to have the idea of right and wrong when cooperating with non-Germans or visiting abroad. So, most likely unintentionally, Germans very often manage to anger people of other countries. Germans are, to say it bluntly, quite rude people in general with no respect of other people's personal space. When you scratch a German a bit, you find "Herrenvolk" right beneath the surface. For some reason Germans and Finns get along quite well, but one reason for it might be that we're not neighbours and Finns have always kept some distance to Germans.
AntwortenLöschenIn Finland, for decades Germans have failed to respect the private property of Finns and so the have made camps in the front yards, lit a campfire by using the chopped wood of the property owners, invaded the sauna shores and docks and pick the strawberries from the kitchen garden.
Holiday cottages are the holiest thing of all to most Finns. Very oftten the cottages are self made, built by sweat and tears so cottages and surrounding property are priceless for the owners. Thus the behaviour of the rowers from Berlin did was unforgivable and unforgettable. No matter if they claim to clean their mess and leave everything like it was, no one believes them; I really doubt they took their excrements with them. At best the group of 16 have filled the outhouse by their morning dumbs so that the owner has to empty it, and at worst they have dropped their smelly land mines all over the property. Not nice.
So, the rowers from Berlin, shame on you! Next time, please stay out of private property!
@03:04: i think it is not true that germans are obnoxious anymore..and many US based surveys tell the the same...
AntwortenLöschenwe all understand that something wrong happened over there, caused by the germans bad behaviour. but it is a single case, something like that does not happen every day. if it is such a national tragedy for people like you, you should argue for getting finland out of schengen zone! i really think there are topics which deserve the attention you spend on this issue..like the repeating rampages you experienced in finland...like we here as well.
finland is not the only country, where locals get annoyed by ignorant tourists. every summer the german motorways get raided by thousands of scandinavians and dutch people who cant handle the missing speed limit. but they want to drive really fast one time in their life which causes regularly horrifying crashes. innocent people get killed and injured seriously. thats another category than some messed up piece of land down there in the forests.
the drunken tourists in bigger citites were also mentioned before. i do not want to trivialize what happened in leppävirta but it is important not to loose the full scale.
and if some finns blame the bad behaviour of germans in general, you should judge your occurence (of the finns) in foreign countries with the same criteria. there are many reports that finns regard estonia as one big amusement park and behave like that there?! before criticizing somebody that way everbody should look in the mirror before if you understand what i mean!
Dear blogger,
AntwortenLöschenYou're not being objective with your comments. You can't help getting offended by these generalizing comments.
To me if some finn gets drunk in Bremen, or even a plane loads of them come there to get drunk, it's not my problem. I don't see Finland getting a bad reputation in general as you can't judge everyone based on very narrow viewpoint. I believe it is generalizing to say that there even is this general reputation of some nationality. It is always so subjective in itself. (Personally if i don't drink and don't like beer at all, i don't usually see many drunk finns and that reality just doesn't exist for me. I simply don't care as there is nothing i could do in that case anyway) =)
It is not a competition of well-behaving nations, there are only individuals who get a bad name if they misbehave.
dear Germans:
AntwortenLöschenYou did something wrong - accept the blame, and stop trying to foolishly defend your despicable actions. In your own country, you would have been arrested for trespassing private property, and for resisting the owner's attempts in getting you out literally from his cottage porch! There is video evidence showing how you blatantly ignore him and unpack your stuff right on his cottage and sauna building porch.
In the past we have unfortunately seen many similar incidents with germans in Finland. You come here & think you can do anything, because we have much nature (unlike Germany where you have destroyed it). German tourists have shot cows, reindeer, chopped trees down etc etc. STAY AWAY PLEASE IF You cannot behave. And stop pretending.
Why the finnish outrage?
AntwortenLöschenFor one reason, a finns summer cottage is a holy place. It is absolutely sacred and holiest of the holy. You violate the summer cottage, it feels like a rape!
Quess who won, when finns recently voted their "national landscape?"
It wasn't the archipelago, lapland or koli. They voted their own cottage to be the most beautiful place in Finland. They love it that much.
Arrogant germans have absolutely no right to violate that holy place. Had they come to disturb my peace, I would deffinetly have used force and violence to get those disgusting, urinating nazis out of my property.
Lebensraum. Yes, you heard it, that's the correct word. A Finns most holy and private places are his home and summer cottage. We want to keep our peaceful space to ourselves.
AntwortenLöschenIf I would have got sick last time when I visited Germany, I would have called an ambulance. No excuses. The Berlin rowers f*cked up pretty bad landing on private beach and not left, when they were asked to. I think they were lucky, that they did not met a typical drunk Finn or Finns. The net result could have been ugly.
I agree that this matter has gone too far, especially in the papers. A formal apology from the rowers and making Finnish laws known to German turists would help.
Maassa maan tavalla, is a finnish saying. Behave in a country respecting it's manners, or something like that.
Happy summer for everyone!
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles! Nichts hat sich geändert, die Rolfs und Ralfs sind wie immer; Sie haben kein Respekt für andere Leute.
AntwortenLöschenhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrw9HX6mJHg
AntwortenLöschenhttp://static.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/14063260_uu.jpg
This is someone else Home you took over, and you got agressive when repeatedly asked to leave. SHAME. No more lies, does the word PRIVAT mean anything?? Can I come to your home & take it over with my friends when I want? I will have "emergency" needs & of course I pay you nothing. Jeez...The nerve of germans who travel & think they own the planet...SHAME.
You are right, this has gone out of hand long ago. Something wrong has obviously happened and the owner is not happy about it, but these things should be handled between the parties involved, not in the media. If not successful between the parties, a third party acting as a referee should be the police, not some newspaper looking for a story. I think this is a perfect example of the holiday season news.
AntwortenLöschenAs a curiosity, the same newspapers also published a story about wild lions living and seen in Finland some years ago. At summertime, everything seems to get published, because nothing is really happening.
AntwortenLöschen"1. On that day we had a long journey and the weather was rainy, cold and strong windy."
AntwortenLöschen1. Then why go out on a long rowing trip in the first place? Especially with heavy camping equipment.
2. The weather is clear and sunny in the photos taken on Wednesday, no signs of rain anywhere.
"2. One of our fellows had a terrible headache attack. He had to take very strong medicine, the blood presure became very low it was not possible to go on rowing. We looked for a usable landing place for a long time but the isle of Pukinsaari was the only chance for our boats an tents. The other places were very stony and rocky so it was impossible and very dangerous to spent the night there and go on land."
1. Funny that you just happened to have a sphygmomanometer with you and were able to measure that person's blood pressure on boat, even with that poor weather and all.
2. If there's an emergency, you don't look for sandy beaches, piers and nice yards. As you know, landing is only part of the process and you can set up camp in the forest.
3. You had proper waterway maps and looked for a suitable landing place for a long time, and yet you couldn't find that nearby official landing place on Paimensaari?
4. The cottage and yard of this couple don't cover the entire island of Pukinsaari. Why not set up camp elsewhere on the island?
5. Good that you had some beer draughts with you to make the terrible situation a bit better.
"3. We talked to the owner in a friendly way and he agreed that we can stay the night there. We didn`t use any cottages. We just pitched our tents on the isle."
1. A neighbour asked you to leave, so did the owner's son and the owner. The son also took photos, called the police, and asked for names and such (who does this if everything is okay??). A language barrier cannot explain everything.
2. You used those cottages as coat hangers.
3. You set up camp in the yard, not further away from the premises.
"4. In the next early morning we packed our rowingboats and the owner came with his son. We left the island clean, tidy and without any rubbish. We paid the owner for our stay."
1. The smell of urine and the dumped leftovers say otherwise.
2. Why didn't you show your wallets on Wednesday when the neigbour came to ask you to leave, or when the owner's son came to sort things out? To me it sounds like the payment was grasping at straws, an attempt to save your hides and give an impression of mutual agreement.
"5. We are not criminal people. We didnt want to intrude the island. We respect privat proberty. But it was a hard emergency situation and we didnt have any other choices. We appologize for the harm we caused."
1. An offence has been reported to the local police, so the question is till open.
2. I'm sure you respect your own private property.
3. You had plenty of other choices.
On the subject of wanting to spend their money here: do you see those German beer kegs in one of the photos? :) I must say I'm a bit surprised that they had at least some Finnish products on their row of picnic tables...
AntwortenLöschenFurthermore, I work in customer service, and every day I see German tourists quickly glancing at products and muttering "teuer, teuer, alles teuer...".
Polish buy. Lithuanians buy. Italians buy. French buy. Americans buy. Germans bring their own shit and buy as little as possible.
Here are few comments from somebody using the cabin owners son's name. they are from the rowing club's shoutbox.
AntwortenLöschen"Juhani Immonen [URL] 16.7.2011 15.21
I'm a Finnish cottage owners son and Media Super Star!! I'm famous you know!!"
"Juhani Immonen [URL] 16.7.2011 15.23
I have a very low selfesteem, but I'm famous now bitches!"
"Juhani Immonen [URL] 16.7.2011 19.23
I have taken also my neighbours to court, so I know what I do:http://goo.gl/UbdJ3"
"Juhani Immonen [URL] 16.7.2011 20.02
I like all the media attention I get."
To this blog: You don't shoot messenger. The news covered a clear violation of the Finnish Constitution. The reason it spread was how much sentiment it has in most Finns, it was something that caused many buy the newspaper again and again. It was not just lame editorial stuffing without better news, but an actual offence and news to Finns that are right now at their summercottages.
AntwortenLöschenIn Finland a piece of land with a cottage beside the lake with the own rule is something most Finns dream of. It is also something many Finns would be paying more in mortgages than their homes if they have the capability. It is the main part of the sanctity of home.
That land someone owns is like sacred land to the "isäntä", you obey the rules of the one who owns it or don't go there. The owner is like the captain of a boat, if help is asked, help is given. You don't just assume you might have a purpose of staying, you do truly need the permission without any question. You don't tresspass to the area which is in "Kotirauha" - as it is in the constitution "The sactity of Home".
The reason it gets coverage is it is not just a violation of law. Finns have gone so far in the sanctity of privacy at home that it is written to the Constitution. In the first words of the 10th section of Finnish Constitution it states clearly: "Everyone's private life, honour and the sanctity of the home are guaranteed." This is enforced in law in many places and in this same section of the constitution there is stated: "Measures encroaching on the sanctity of the home, and which are necessary for the purpose of guaranteeing basic rights and liberties or for the investigation of crime, may be laid down by an Act."
If violating Constitution and Constitutional rights isn't something for the media, what is? Now it was a bunch of tourists, but on official level a violation of an other countries Constitution is seen as a offensive act of the state. This clearly is an issue for the media. The sanctity of home is something that is sung in many songs Finns have fought for and shed a lot of blood for.
"but it is a single case, something like that does not happen every day. if it is such a national tragedy for people like you, you should argue for getting finland out of schengen zone!"
AntwortenLöschenIt is good it is a single case, however as such it is also the reason for media coverage. With the media coverage, anyone instructing German tourists will remember that Finns value their home. Media is doing its work, here the Germans behaved in an unacceptable manner, which might be up to absent minded tourists. Arrogance isn't the right way to understand the process, but mutual respect. If someone is on Finnish soil, they have to learn how they MUST behave there. Just as a woman doesn't jump around in string bikinis in a Mosque a German doesn't come and tell someone he will take over a Finns land. Russians were made to understand that, for Swedes the respect appears to be the similar and no problems have occurred. If this news coverage helps Germans understand what it's about, the news has done its duty.
Finland as well as others belong to the Schengen zone. If you think German law or understanding might by some means overrule in this case, you might read again the Treaty on European Union. "1. The Union shall respect the national identities of its Member States, whose systems of government are founded on the principles of democracy."
There is no EU law allowing you to show disrespect to the Finnish constitution. Finnish constitution has to be met before any EU law or agreement can be approved.
Now the police are "investigating" this incident, while in helsinki theres been Romanian gypsies camping all around and leaving more than just urine smell, and taking a lot of other stuff than their garbage, and there is nothing done. I'd rather have rude German tourists camping in town.
AntwortenLöschenWhich educational stratum does the writer him/herself belong to? Namely, the plural of stratum is strata, not stratums.
AntwortenLöschenLuckily, you were not in the US. There, trespassers could be shot by the landowner without fears for legal actions.
And, yes, thanks for reminding us that you gladly did not burn anything. Unlike in 1944 in Lapland.
And in 1970s, the German mass tourists traveling around Finland in rotels (Rollende Hotel, a bus with a sleeping unit) did exactly the same: emptied private gardens from fruit, stole everything from streetside restaurant buffet tables etc. A familiar behavior.
Almost every comment deals about the behaviour of the german tourists. we are not associated with the german rower club in any way.
AntwortenLöschenWe feel ashamed about what on the media level happened, as many finns do.
agitational and impertinent mass media coverage gives many reasons for sceptical discussion in most countries, unfortunately. same with finland. that's we wanted to talk about!
have a nice sunday!
When in Rome do as the Romans. It is not a question of media coverage. It is a question of doing something extremely inappropriate and trying to make it look ok afterwards. It was not ok. Blaming media is just making it worse. Just apologize, like you did, and be quiet after that. That´s all you can do. It is childish to draw the media card.
AntwortenLöschenAnd please note that your post here in this blog does not make it any better. It does not matter whether you "talked" to the owner or whether it was an emergency or whatever. In emergency you could have stayed 2 hours, but not the whole night.
A summer house is a very private place for the Finns and you should understand that you have broken a cultural tabu when you went there without permission. This goes for outside the house too. Don´t be surprised to get a lot of emotions here.
If those Germans would have made an effort to understand (read up on) what the "Everyman's Right" encompasses, they knew what they did is illegal.
AntwortenLöschenThe yellow press had an article on their website. Maybe YLE reported about it. So what? It helps to hopefully educate other Germans (and other foreigners) from committing a similar act. Good!
And please first have a look at what your BILD Zeitung is doing, every fricking day. Best of all, the incompetent Mrs. Merkel is supporting the BILD just to stay in power. I think that is infinitely worse than what the two yellow press newspaper might have reported.
@ solutionsolved: There are good comments about the media. You would get discussion on media commenting on them, but instead you yourself disregard those.
AntwortenLöschenIn Finnish media most likely all papers, atleast including some quality papers have written of it again today. It is told in Helsingin Sanomat, Kaleva, Keskipohjanmaa and many others. Today the news has been that police is studying the case and they have not reached the rowers.
The case gets media coverage as long as the rowers themselves don't contact the authority. The so called apology isn't an apology when blaming the one who to apologise, instead trying to get him understood wrong and stating he is wrong. It just increases media interest just as avoiding the authorities.
When there is a violation of the law the only right thing is go to the authorities. Instead the rowing party seems to enjoy lives just as if nothing happened. If any group would just go and row in the wilderness anywhere with police waiting for them it would be of media interest. When going to the media, why even ask what is the media interested of?
The whole case seems a comedy. Unfortunately on Finnish taxpayers money. What would be better media coverage than a group of ignorant German tourists not understanding they violated the law and just not understanding media writing about it?
If it would have happened in normal order, there wouldn't be much for the media to write about. Now it is too much a comedy, actually a satire. Just think of the ignorant German bunch that Finnish police are waiting for and instead of doing that officially they go to give statements allover the press and internet. The press couldn't be happier they are honoured with the priviladge before the authorities.
Liebe Ruderfreunde,Wie geht est? Ich bin Doctor Josef Mengele, Todesengel.Ich Liebe Auwitz-Birkenau.Libst Sie auch? Willkommen in der Babi Jar und Buchenwald, meine fräulein.
AntwortenLöschenGute abend,
Hauptsturmführer
http://www.ksml.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/saksalaiset-tunkeutuneet-toisten-mökille-aiemminkin/687533
once again, the case itself and the media coverage about it are different, separated things.
AntwortenLöschenimagine, a rapist is caught by police. newspaper X comes up with the headline: "cops trapped the sick pig". even we have a very offensive case, coverage like this is not acceptable. most people will agree to this.
i believe the way mass media treated this case is a good example fo populism, channeling people's attention to something trivial and distracting from serious issues. and there are topics which more deserve attention in finland, as well as in germany.
you wrote very much about churlish germans. i have often seen germans on finnjet who even take their toilet paper with them. so this category of people exist, but i think there are only maybe 15% of german tourists behaving like this.
which leads to another point you made repeatedly - germans would not accept finnish rules or behave respectless. i think some germans get misled by the experience of freedom and endless forests in finland. they heard something about "everybody's rights" which causes such behaviour. these subjects who mistreat the freedom they have finland represent a minority between german tourists as well. and believe me, they are here in germany not liked too, because they act here in the same way ;)
@Hendrik Morkel: it's kinda cheap argument to point at german mass media as a reaction of criticizing finnish yellow press. you know, it's the same like this: A: temps in germany suffer from bad labor conditions. B: ahh..in china it's even more worse. // got the point?
this is senseless! and if you may have read my comments you noticed that i already mentioned the bad influences of axel springer press has here in germany. as you seem to be german according to your profile you may know bildblog.de where bad yellow press coverage is discussed daily.
but this article is about finnish yellow press and populism in particular. and the leppävirta case is a quite good example for this mechanisms. and yes we experience this kind of coverage almost everywhere in europe. but that's not the point!
nothing against reporting this case but it should be done factually.
The Leppävirta case is news. Ofcourse you can argue it, but as a fact the Finns wait for information what has happened and does the house owner get justice. It initially was reported to TV-news.
AntwortenLöschenNot even immediately after in the yellow press, but since it had brought up public worry and interest it came up. Having it in the news and them not sorting it out fugitives are serious news.
This is a subject that has a comic side to it, but that doesn't reduce its value as news. We have plenty, Assange case came out as the Murdoch cases. Italy and other banking problems in the news. Assange case actually could be said as a similar one, Swedish joke. In both a seemingly minor thing is turned to a major issue. With Assange a moment of possible non content gets to courts everywhere, seems Swedes are really serious with their consent issues. Well in Finland that would be the opposite, but home is something you don't invade. Here the offender Germans keep rowing even the police are after them.
Beside all serious business even it is also serious, it is humorous since the Germans misunderstanding to give them selves in. They are allover the internet, but a proper stereotype of arrogant Germans that are somewhere in the lakes. For police there is no sence of trying to arrange a enormous search party. The German party just doesn't understand to give in and an expensive search might aswell have to be done if they don't.
http://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/2011071814073896_uu.shtml