2011-12-08 Six Degrees -lehti ja Irma Askola

[Miniluv]

http://www.sixdegrees.fi/6d/index.php/wemet/37-wemet/379-keeping-the-faith

Have years of financial growth and prosperity here created harder attitudes towards those less fortunate, and also contributed to racism?

I think that if you have personally no experience whatsoever about what it means to be excluded or unwanted, or somehow needy or ashamed that you haven't 'made it'; if you have had such a safe life journey then sometimes it is difficult to understand how it really feels like when you're not doing well, and you don't have the tools and instruments to get out of that desperate situation. That's why it is so important that Church communities don't have exclusive clubs that just have rich people in them and marginalise poor people in the community.

In our Church statistics it is often really the poor who are giving their money away, with the elderly often making donations. On the other hand, recent statistics also show that people in Finland, such as some of the supporters of The Finns Party, are often people in our suburbs who are poor themselves, and who feel that life is very threatening. For them there is not too much promise for the future and they may become racist or very tough about anything that is different from themselves. There are a lot of fears behind hate speech.

Askola poikkeaa yleisestä lamavuodet aiheuttavat rasismia -linjasta sanomalla, että ne, jotka erivät ole itse tunteneet syrjään jäämistä, ovat suvaitsemattomampia.

How do you promote tolerance?

Whenever I have changed my mind concerning different things it has never occurred when I read statistics or some kind of sociological theory. It has happened when I met the person; when I first spoke with the very poor African person and when I first met people who later told me they were homosexual. You realise that most people are not stereotypes. You cannot put all homosexuals into one box, just as you cannot put all the Germans into another box. Human stories will change people's views, so stereotypes will fade and then the communities and interaction begins.

Another thing about hate speech or aggressive behaviour is that it is clearly racist; I think that all adult people should somehow react immediately when it happens in public, also for bad jokes that are racist.

Vihapuhe, huonot vitsit ja julkinen rasismi pääsevät Askolan tähtäimiin. Askola on myös tajunnut, että useimmat ihmiset eivät ole stereotyyppejä Joku muu voisi sanoa, että stereotyypit nimenomaan kuvaavat useimpia, eli yleistä käytöstä.

Do you have anything that you would like to say to these people who may have racist views concerning these newcomers to Finland?

I don't think that I would be very helpful if I would only preach to them, saying, 'oh you are wrong, you are condemned,' but I would really like to personally commit myself to a discussion and hear more. Tell me more. I'd like to make them think about what they are saying and ask if they really mean that what they are saying?

Also, if there were Christians I would say that I think that this type of speech is not Christian behaviour, it is against our Gospel.

Rasistiset näkökannat Suomeen tulevista ovat Askolan mukaan evankeliumin vastaisia. Hän ei toki sentään saarnaisi, että tällaisia näkökantoja omaavat ihmiset joutuvat kadotukseen.

Nykykirkossa on useampia mielipiteitä myös naispiispojen evankeliumin mukaisuudesta.

You have also said that you could see Muslims or people of other religions using the facilities of the Church. How does this work in practice?

I don't think that it would work that Muslims would use the places where we share sacraments. But I do see it happening in our diocese that parish halls and clubrooms are used by youngsters, and for mother's clubs and summer camps.

When Jesus said 'love your neighbour', that neighbour might also be a Muslim in your neighbourhood. The Christian attitude is about hospitality and creating space for people to get to know one another. One of my slogans is that we need to actively move from hostility to hospitality.

Askola ei olisi luovuttamassa sakramenteille varattuja tiloja muslimien käyttöön. Seurakuntasalit ja kerhotilat sopivat. Muslimi on tietenkin lähimmäinen, jota on rakastettava, ja tutustumiseen ja vieraanvaraisuuteen on Askolan mukaan aktiivisesti pyrittävä.