Sunday, April 23, 2006

Sunnuntaina Suomessa Suomeksi

Since many of the visitors to the site are from a certain chilly place and are notoriously quiet, Weazl figured he would invite them to post in their own language, and perhaps we can see what we come up with. Any topics are invited.
Posted by at

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Moi. Mä en ole suomalainen, mutta asun ja opiskelen Suomessa ja kirjoitan milelläni Suomeksi ja ehkä voin myös kirjoittaa jotakin. Mä luulen että olisi hyvää kun weazl kirjoittaisi jotakin Isreal-Palestiina-Yhdysvallat yhteyksistä ja myös Norman Finkelsteinista (ja hänen kirjastaan ehkä), koska ei kovinkaan moni ihmisistä eivät tiedä hänestä. Menestysta, moi, moi, Jája

11:35 PM
Da Weaz said...

I'll keep it in mind. ;-)

1:57 AM
Anonymous said...

Suomessa suomeksi: Weazl, kirjoitat paljon kansalaisoikeuksista perustuslaissa. Minua kiinnostaa, mikä on mielipiteesi kansalaisoikeuksien sosiaalisesta ulottuvuudesta [social rights as a part of civil rights]. Mitä mieltä olet siitä, pitäisikö kansalaisoikeuksiin sisältyä USA:ssa myös osittain ilmaiset koulutus, terveydenhoito, sosiaaliturva ja huolenpito, jotka ovat esimerkiksi Pohjoismaissa oleellinen osa kansalaisoikeuksia? Epätasa-arvoiset mahdollisuudet aiheuttavat Ranskan mellakoiden kaltaisia tilanteita, luulisin.
-P-
PS: Did I make myself understood? ;)

8:29 PM
Da Weaz said...

Thanks, P, yes, you made yourself understood. I think the debate about whether social service rights are a function of civil rights has been debated and finished in the United States, and the answer is clearly no. Right now in the United States, we can see the dismembering of any type of social welfare system that includes the underfunding of public schools, the raising of public university tuitions to near private university tuition levels, and fewer and fewer people receiving government subsidized health care. I think that the Northern European model really contrasts with the US version, because of the feeling of a collective identity, such that helping others within the nation, actually promotes a common good. In the United States there is the common idea of rugged individualism, such that in the United States you are free to thrive or die on your own merit, and the government should not intervene to help those at risk. A rather eugenic argument actually. However, this mythology only works for so long, because the idea may be even fundamentally antidemocratic because once emergencies arise, and a majority of people feel displaced they can DEMAND for such policies to be enacted, as was the case following the Great Depression in the 1920's. Much of that system is being dismantled now, right on time before another great economic disaster in the United States is poised to hit. So weazl thinks that these types of discussions in the US are likely to ebb and flow according to the economic and political mobilizaiton of the bottom masses. In Northern Europe, still rather homogenous, such policies can be enacted without the vitriol of more hetergenous societies. And France, which is becoming much more heterogeneous will similarly have to see whether it can have the capability to apply more humane policies towards people who don't all look alike or believe in the same gods, or will succumb to the American model of disantling the social system. Obviously recently the French have been rioting over various aspects ranging from treatment of minorities such as African and North African immigrants, to protests against "at will" employment privileges for employers. In a sense these topics are not so distinct, but the primary movers and shakers of the discourse within elite circles, Dominique de Villepin and Nicolas Sarkozy, both seem to favor an attitude that will try to separate more and more the idea of social rights being a function of civil rights. But givent the tendency of youth movements and protest movements to see the important interrelationships among different issues, the ability of these movements to mobilize collectively is far greater than at earlier times, meaning that the powers that be have much harder battles to fight to stifle these movements stillborn.

In addition, French socialist Thanks, P, yes, you made yourself understood. I think the debate about whether social service rights are a function of civil rights has been debated and finished in the United States, and the answer is clearly no. Right now in the United States, we can see the dismembering of any type of social welfare system that includes the underfunding of public schools, the raising of public university tuitions to near private university tuition levels, and fewer and fewer people receiving government subsidized health care. I think that the Northern European model really contrasts with the US version, because of the feeling of a collective identity, such that helping others within the nation, actually promotes a common good. In the United States there is the common idea of rugged individualism, such that in the United States you are free to thrive or die on your own merit, and the government should not intervene to help those at risk. A rather eugenic argument actually. However, this mythology only works for so long, because the idea may be even fundamentally antidemocratic because once emergencies arise, and a majority of people feel displaced they can DEMAND for such policies to be enacted, as was the case following the Great Depression in the 1920's. Much of that system is being dismantled now, right on time before another great economic disaster in the United States is poised to hit. So weazl thinks that these types of discussions in the US are likely to ebb and flow according to the economic and political mobilizaiton of the bottom masses. In Northern Europe, still rather homogenous, such policies can be enacted without the vitriol of more hetergenous societies. And France, which is becoming much more heterogeneous will similarly have to see whether it can have the capability to apply more humane policies towards people who don't all look alike or believe in the same gods, or will succumb to the American model of disantling the social system. Obviously recently the French have been rioting over various aspects ranging from treatment of minorities such as African and North African immigrants, to protests against "at will" employment privileges for employers. In a sense these topics are not so distinct, but the primary movers and shakers of the discourse within elite circles, Dominique de Villepin and Nicolas Sarkozy, both seem to favor an attitude that will try to separate more and more the idea of social rights being a function of civil rights. But givent the tendency of youth movements and protest movements to see the important interrelationships among different issues, the ability of these movements to mobilize collectively is far greater than at earlier times, meaning that the powers that be have much harder battles to fight to stifle these movements stillborn.

In addition, French Socialist Segolène Royal may even have a chance to be elected Prime Minister, so basically the ebbs and flows of power and public opinion are not limited to the United States. It will be interested to see what happens in France as very many Right wingers in the United States hope that France really does poorly in many ways because of its refusal to join in the Iraq War, its welfare concerns, and its high Muslim population. If France actually can emerge from its current crisis by embracing "the Other", maintaining certain aspects of its welfare system and thrive, that will offer yet another example of a successful model to counter that of the American (and Nordic, but largely irrelevent in certain discussions because of the homogeneity of the people), just as Venezuela clearly has.

In short, as weazl predicted years ago, the biggest forces for social change in the United States will be through the efforts of people OUTSIDE of the nation. Unfortunately, we Americans have practically sleepwalked ourselves out of a democracy, much less all of the rights that you have mentioned. Around the world, however, not everyone has given up so easily withut a fight, whether on the level of citizen or of the level of government. Thankfully.

Sorry for the delay, mutta kirjoitat myös suomeksi. On mukava.

3:04 PM
Anonymous said...

Thanks for the answer which was really extensive and wise. Kirjoitat hyvin ja monimutkaisella englannilla. Minä en aina oikein ymmärrä. ;)

P

5:13 PM
Anonymous said...

Weazl, on mukava, että jaksat vastata mielipiteisiin. Ja on hienoa, että Jaja (anteeksi, en tiedä, mistä vokaaliviivan saa) kirjoittaa myös suomeksi: kirjoitat hyvin.

P

10:13 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)