So if you haven't been following the news outside of Finland - you probably didn't know that Finland is in the process of electing their newest President. A President can hold their spot for 6 years and only be re-elected once (total of 2 terms).
I typically do not write about politics (or religion for that matter) because it causes a lot of controversy, debate and sometimes some very nasty comments.
But this is something interesting.......
I found out that there is a Presidential candidate that is gay through Facebook (don't we all find out the juiciest stuff there?) and my friend had posted it from Perez Hilton's site.
Of course, Perez is a huge LGBT supporter and honestly - I support the their choice as well. I think it shouldn't matter who you prefer - as long as you treat them nicely and honestly. That's what you'd expect from a heterosexual partner - right?
Anyway, I continue...
I went to a knitting group last night - and we haven't met in ages! There were some new faces there - and it turned out the hostess had recently had a birthday and they were there with lots of lavish cakes and it was a mini celebration too.
There was a heavy discussion of Afghanistan because one of the guests has worked there for 27/30 years! Holy impressive!
And then they got talking politics (mostly in Finnish). I heard the word "homo" and while my ears perked a little out of curiosity - I remained quiet because frankly, political conversation is not my cup of tea.
THEN they turned to me and said, "Dominique, did you know that there is a Presidential candidate, Pekka Haavisto, he is a homo!"
"Yes, I am aware there is someone gay - I actually found out about it on an American website." - me
"What do you think of this homo running to be our President?" was the next hardball thrown at me.
I sipped my tea and weighed my words carefully...or as best as I could...
"Well, Finland has already made major headlines with having a woman as a President, Tarja Halonen....and it's clearly opening people's eyes to be more accepting of women and men as being equals...I mean, look at the US - they're finally getting around to accepting a black man as a President and Hilary Clinton could have been President...and she's a woman. I think that says a lot."
They all cheered and clapped at men and women being equal.
Then I threw the bomb.
"Now, when it comes to a gay man being President of any country - I think it's fine. I mean - who cares? He's a person just like anyone else."
And that's when the silence hit me like a tonne of bricks.
The lady firmly stated, "No, the homo will not make a good President."
That was it - my dismissal - no further discussion.
My friend and neighbour whispered, "She just means as a President he would not be a good choice"...(What - because of his sexual preference?!)
This lady then clarifies: "If we have a homo President - he'll never go anywhere. If you are in Afghanistan - and you are gay - you are killed!"
Okay, well why Finland's politicians are being sent over to Afghanistan - I don't know...and after some discussion with my husband that night - he said that foreign dignitaries' sexual preferences are not considered in a foreign country. Nobody would say, "Sorry President of the ____________ country - you're not allowed because you prefer ________ over ________."
And I would think that if you KNOW the country you're going to has some culturally strict beliefs - you would respect that country and not put on a huge display against their beliefs...it'd be a little rude to do so - especially if you're the President and representing your country. (Not just homosexuality but for examples: showing affection in public, if you're a woman - wearing t-shirts or shorts..you know what I mean.)
Anyways, I was clearly labelled a "Gay Lover" silently and from that point on, that lady had absolutely nothing to say to me and made sure to ignore me in every way possible...which was fine because I had some knitting to do.
And then to make the knitting night slightly MORE awkward.... the two ladies that were friends of the hostess decided to whip out the Bible and read passages from it in Finnish. I don't know what was being said and if it was their way of sticking it to the gay man or what....but my friend advised me later that they were saying, "If you feel like this you should read this one! If you're in doubt of that read this........"
Not that there's ANYTHING wrong with reading the Bible - but I was curious if it was in response to my acceptance of a gay Presidential candidate.
I guess I'll never know and I don't really care too much as I cannot vote anyhow.
With that all said and done, here's an article in English about the Presidential candidates and all the best to both of them.
(Finland also has a Prime Minister too! Try to get your head around that one!!)
*I sincerely hope I did not offend anybody as that was not my intention but merely to advise you of the current hot topic in Finland. I rarely discuss politics or religion and with that said - this post has been re-read several times and edited several times to show you simply my experience.*
I typically do not write about politics (or religion for that matter) because it causes a lot of controversy, debate and sometimes some very nasty comments.
But this is something interesting.......
I found out that there is a Presidential candidate that is gay through Facebook (don't we all find out the juiciest stuff there?) and my friend had posted it from Perez Hilton's site.
Of course, Perez is a huge LGBT supporter and honestly - I support the their choice as well. I think it shouldn't matter who you prefer - as long as you treat them nicely and honestly. That's what you'd expect from a heterosexual partner - right?
Anyway, I continue...
I went to a knitting group last night - and we haven't met in ages! There were some new faces there - and it turned out the hostess had recently had a birthday and they were there with lots of lavish cakes and it was a mini celebration too.
There was a heavy discussion of Afghanistan because one of the guests has worked there for 27/30 years! Holy impressive!
And then they got talking politics (mostly in Finnish). I heard the word "homo" and while my ears perked a little out of curiosity - I remained quiet because frankly, political conversation is not my cup of tea.
THEN they turned to me and said, "Dominique, did you know that there is a Presidential candidate, Pekka Haavisto, he is a homo!"
"Yes, I am aware there is someone gay - I actually found out about it on an American website." - me
"What do you think of this homo running to be our President?" was the next hardball thrown at me.
I sipped my tea and weighed my words carefully...or as best as I could...
"Well, Finland has already made major headlines with having a woman as a President, Tarja Halonen....and it's clearly opening people's eyes to be more accepting of women and men as being equals...I mean, look at the US - they're finally getting around to accepting a black man as a President and Hilary Clinton could have been President...and she's a woman. I think that says a lot."
They all cheered and clapped at men and women being equal.
Then I threw the bomb.
"Now, when it comes to a gay man being President of any country - I think it's fine. I mean - who cares? He's a person just like anyone else."
And that's when the silence hit me like a tonne of bricks.
The lady firmly stated, "No, the homo will not make a good President."
That was it - my dismissal - no further discussion.
My friend and neighbour whispered, "She just means as a President he would not be a good choice"...(What - because of his sexual preference?!)
This lady then clarifies: "If we have a homo President - he'll never go anywhere. If you are in Afghanistan - and you are gay - you are killed!"
Okay, well why Finland's politicians are being sent over to Afghanistan - I don't know...and after some discussion with my husband that night - he said that foreign dignitaries' sexual preferences are not considered in a foreign country. Nobody would say, "Sorry President of the ____________ country - you're not allowed because you prefer ________ over ________."
And I would think that if you KNOW the country you're going to has some culturally strict beliefs - you would respect that country and not put on a huge display against their beliefs...it'd be a little rude to do so - especially if you're the President and representing your country. (Not just homosexuality but for examples: showing affection in public, if you're a woman - wearing t-shirts or shorts..you know what I mean.)
Anyways, I was clearly labelled a "Gay Lover" silently and from that point on, that lady had absolutely nothing to say to me and made sure to ignore me in every way possible...which was fine because I had some knitting to do.
And then to make the knitting night slightly MORE awkward.... the two ladies that were friends of the hostess decided to whip out the Bible and read passages from it in Finnish. I don't know what was being said and if it was their way of sticking it to the gay man or what....but my friend advised me later that they were saying, "If you feel like this you should read this one! If you're in doubt of that read this........"
Not that there's ANYTHING wrong with reading the Bible - but I was curious if it was in response to my acceptance of a gay Presidential candidate.
I guess I'll never know and I don't really care too much as I cannot vote anyhow.
With that all said and done, here's an article in English about the Presidential candidates and all the best to both of them.
(Finland also has a Prime Minister too! Try to get your head around that one!!)
*I sincerely hope I did not offend anybody as that was not my intention but merely to advise you of the current hot topic in Finland. I rarely discuss politics or religion and with that said - this post has been re-read several times and edited several times to show you simply my experience.*
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