Ní mór d’Éirinn bheith fainiciúil de fhaisisteachais
Panu Höglund
I rith na mblianta a chaith mé agus treallchogaithe idirlín na heite deise antoiscí ag iarraidh an ruaigh a chur orm as na meáin chumarsáide san Fhionlainn – rud a d’éirigh leo sa deireadh, tar éis roinnt blianta a chur díobh i mbun na hoibre seo – ba mhinic a bhí mé in éad le mo chuid cairde in Éirinn, ó nach raibh aon chineál nua-Fhaisistigh á n-ionsaí.
Is léir cén fáth nár fhréamhaigh an ciníochas nua in ithir na hÉireann go fóill: níor éirigh le lucht leanúna an Nua-Naitsíochas slógadh ceart a dhéanamh. Mar a dúirt an té a dúirt, tá a mbealaí féin ag muintir an oileáin cheana féin lena náisiúnachas a chur in iúl, ó ghluaiseacht na Gaeilge go gluaiseacht na Poblachta, agus mar sin níl gá ceart acu leis an gciníochas idirnáisiúnta a bhítear a reic i dtíortha an iarthair eile mar ‘náisiúnachas’.
Dealraíonn sé áfach go bhfuil cumha dothuigthe ar chuid d’iriseoirí na hÉireann i ndiaidh an chineál ‘alt-right’ atá ag cur dhaonlathas na dtíortha iartharacha ó mhaith i láthair na huaire. I dtús na bliana seo tháinig leota amaideach d’alt i gcló ar an Irish Times as a bhféadfá a thuiscint go raibh urraim áirithe ag an ‘alt-right’, toisc gur íolbhristeoirí a bhí iontu agus greann ropánta acu dá réir. Is cuimhin liom alt eile ar an bpáipéar céanna, tá cúpla bliain ó shin: san am sin bhí iriseoir eile ag áitiú, ós rud é go bhfuil páirtí cosúil leis na ‘Fíor-Fhionlannaigh’ ag obair san Fhionlainn, tír a raibh meas na forásachta uirthi, go bhféadfaí páirtí coimeádach reiligiúnach a chur ar bun in Éirinn, agus nach bhféadfaí a leithéid de pháirtí a fheiceáil mar chomhartha seanaimsearthachta.
Nuair a léigh mé an amaidí seo, ba dhóbair dom tachtadh le teann feirge. An dara halt acu nuair a tháinig sé i gcló bhí mé díreach tar éis mo jab féin mar cholúnaí a chailleadh, i ndiaidh an bhrú a chuir lucht leanúna an pháirtí sin orm agus ar m’fhoilsitheoir. Agus maidir leis na Fíor-Fhionlannaigh, ní raibh ‘páirtí coimeádach reiligiúnach’ iontu le fada, i gciall cheart an fhocail: is iad na ciníochaithe radacacha atá i seilbh an pháirtí, agus na ‘coimeádaigh reiligiúnacha’ fágtha in áit na leathphingine. Le fírinne níl mé cinnte ar mhothaigh siad iad féin fágtha in áit na leathphingine dáiríribh. Nuair a thosaigh alt right an pháirtí ag craobhscaoileadh ciníochais agus ag tabhairt ‘radacachas clé’ agus ‘cumannachas’ ar na cearta daonna agus ar bhunreacht na tíre, bhí na seanphobalóirí breá sásta an fonn céanna a chrochadh.
Pé scéal é, anois, agus na daoine seo tar éis ‘aercheannas’ a bhaint amach i gcomhrá poiblí na Fionlainne, mar a thugas siad féin ar an dóigh ar éirigh leo seilbh a ghlacadh air, níl ciall ar bith leis na suirbhéithe idirnáisiúnta a deir gurb í an Fhionlainn an tír is fearr sa domhan ó thaobh saoirse na meán de.
Nó tá na suirbhéithe sin bunaithe ar an smaoineamh gurb iad na rialtais agus na stáit an fhadhb, agus iad ag cur srianta le saoirse na nuachtán. Inniu áfach is í an ghramaisc linseála Idirlín an dainséar is mó a bhagraíos ar an tsaoirse sin. An dóigh a n-ionsaíonn an ghramaisc sin thú tá sé níos measa, ar bhealach, ná cinsireacht stáit. Bíonn rialacha de chineál éigin ag an gcinsire oifigiúil, agus is féidir leat na rialacha sin a fhoghlaim agus ábhar goilliúnach a sheachaint i do chuid scríbhinní. An ghramaisc áfach, ní thig le haon duine a áireamh roimh ré cé leis a nglacfaidh sí olc agus cén fáth.
Scríbhneoirí Gaeilge ón bhFionlainn é Panu Höglund.
Ireland must be wary of fascism
Panu Höglund
During the years when online extremist right-wing partisans were trying to get me out of Finnish media – a campaign that was, after several years, successful – I often envied my Irish friends, as they were not being attacked by neo-Nazis.
It is obvious why the new racism hasn’t actually established itself in Ireland yet: there is no neo-fascist mobilization. As somebody pointed out, Irish people have already their ways of expressing nationalist sentiment, from the Irish language movement to the Republican movement, and thus they have no need for the international racism that is being touted as ‘nationalism’ in other western country.
It seems, though, that some Irish journalists long for the kind of ‘alt-right’ that is making a mockery of democracy. At the start of this year, The Irish Times published a silly screed about the ‘alt-right’, them being idolators with a subversive sense of humour. I remember another article from the very same paper, a couple of years ago; back then a journalist would have readers believe that, as there was such a party as the True Finns in Finland, a country known to be progressive, that it would be a good idea to start a religious conservative party in Finland, and that this would in itself not be indicative of backwardness.
When I read this silliness, I was choking with rage. I had just lost my job as a columnist, under pressure from that particular party’s partisans. And speaking of the True Finns, they haven’t been really a ‘religious conservative party; for a long time, in any meaningful sense: racist radicals have taken control, and the ‘religious conservatives’ have been sidelined. Not that they feel so sidelined, however: when the ‘alt-right’ of the party started to proclaim their racist message, calling human rights and constitutionalism ‘left-wing radicalism’ and ‘communism’, old populists were quite happy to join the choir.
Anyway, now that those people have, as they have said themselves, ‘air supremacy’ in Finnish public discussion, the international surveys suggesting that Finland is the world’s leading country in freedom of expression have lost any sense or meaning.
Those surveys are based on the assumption that the problem lies with states and governments introducing limits on the freedom of expression, though today though it is more threatened by online lynch mobs. The way the mob attacks you is somehow even worse than state censorship. Official censorship has some sort of rules, and you can learn those rules and avoid them to write about sensitive topics. But with the mob, nobody knows in advance whom it will attack and why.
Panu Höglund is a Finn who writes in Irish