I am a Socialist.

Should come as no shock to anyone reading this site.

I grew up in a very leftist town. Probably had to do with the influx of Finns from the 1800's through mid 1950'. Finns are a bit leftist, or so you might think if you watch Fox News. In fact, if you watch that station, you might think that people like me, hard working folks who believe that Government has a responsibility to its citizens, that no one should go hungry, the mentally ill should be cared for, that children should have access to good schools and we all should have health care, etc... Well, if you watched that station, you just might think I'm the boogyman or some such thing.

Take the Ed Show. They looked at the use of the word Socialist (and it's derivations) and made it the Psycho of the day, and I have to agree.

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You see. I'm of the mind that I live in the United States of America and that guarantees me certain freedoms, including the freedom of speech or in this case, thought.

I have the right to actually THINK about what I want from government and then, I also have the opportunity to push for those things that I want. Like how I want my daughter to be able to go to college and get a Master's Degree. In Finland, she could do that.

How can a small, affluent country such as Finland maintain a high-wage, high-skill economy? It can't compete with the low-cost economies of Asia, so it must, as a matter of economic survival, invest heavily in education and training.

"In Finland, we believe we have to invest in education, in research and in higher education.

"Education can pioneer new areas for jobs. We always need new skills for the labour force - so it means that we have to keep investing."

I know it's a boogeyman to distract from the real conversation that needs to happen about education or health care. Fear mongering has worked for Republicans in the past by labeling opponents as "liberal" but that's lost all it's negative meaning now. So, they find themselves looking for a new name to use to deride. They've come to Socialist. Wonder if they'll do the same concern trolling that Nixon did in the 60's when he claimed that an opponent was pink (as in Socialist Pink and Commie Red) down to her panties. BTW, I do wear pink panties and sometimes, leopard print, too. I know, I'm dangerous, thoughts are you know, dangerous.

So, here's my suggestion to all the Psycho talkers claiming that moderates are Socialists. I respectfully suggest that we take the money from our missiles and put it toward health care and education.

And now for a musical interlude:



Oh, and Congresswoman Bachmann,TV entertainment personality Beck, and all the others, um, HELLO! If you're so scared of folks like me, perhaps you might benefit from a trip to Finland. They're Socialist and according to you two, we should be very very scared. Me, not so much. I'm hoping to take my daughter next year to see family that still lives there. Hey all you Paananens from Viitasaari, you got a cousin right here!! Hauska tutustua!

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My family hails from Finland. Viitasaari to be more precise. My great grandfather came over to the US and then settled the family. We think my grandfather may have been born here, but aren't certain. With no birth records and no reference in the census until 1930, we still have way more questions than answers.

A few years back, I took a few classes in Finnish language and got more in touch with my Finnish roots. The Finish I knew at that point is the kind of stuff kids know and that wasn't enough for me. I wanted to be able to tell someone my name, Minun nimi on kirsten. I wanted to be able to ask if they speak Finnish, Puhutko suomea? and I really wanted to greet someone in Finnish, Hauska tutustua, hyva paiva. Not so sure how my spelling still is, but I learned a lot and could get around if push came to shove.

I have a very stong affinity and pull towards all things Finnish, so when I saw this a few minutes ago, it brought tears to my eyes:

HELSINKI, Finland - A gunman opened fire Tuesday on students at a vocational school for adults in western Finland and then shot himself, police said. Finnish media reported that several people were killed.

...

Within a short space of time I heard several dozen rounds of shots, in other words it was an automatic pistol," school janitor Jukka Forsberg told broadcaster YLE. "I saw some female students who were wailing and moaning, and one managed to escape out of the back door."

Finnish broadcaster YLE, citing police at the school, reported that several people were killed. The Finnish news agency STT said the school building was on fire and the gunman reportedly had explosives on him.

About a year ago, another Finn opened fire on his classmates at school (from the same article).

Last year, Pekka-Eric Auvinen, described by police as a bullied 18-year-old outcast, opened fire at his high school in southern Finland on Nov. 7. He killed six students, a school nurse and the principal before ending his own life with a gunshot to the head.

Finnish investigators have said Auvinen left a suicide note for his family and foreshadowed his attack in YouTube postings.

After Auvinen's rampage, the government said it would raise the minimum age for buying guns from 15 to 18, but insisted there was no need for sweeping changes to Finland's gun laws.

I grew up thinking that everyone's family was like mine, immigrant. I believed that everyone ate nisua, knew that coffee can be drunk at midnight and that you sweeten coffee with polisuccettia (damn my spelling) and sometimes, with a bite of suklotta. Everyone ate fish, and all towns had open family saunas (at one time there was a sauna on almost every corner of town, or so I thought) and that sauna is pronounced SOUW'na.

It was a pretty simple view of the world, I know. But it's this view today that I think of as I think of all the families now suffereing, hoping that their brothers and sisters made it out, their sons and duaghters, their wives and husbands. And I can't help but wonder, what the fuck is going on?

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