Exit Strategies
@ 10:51 am The Finnish gun control debate got fuel from the recent school shootings that were placed a year apart. A lot of discussion was made about school bullying, alienated youth and the evils of the internet as well as the downsizing and lack of funds in youth mental care. Calls were made for the government to give more funding – of course this being a cosmetic fix as the whole mental health programme has slowly been cheesesliced silly.
Yesterday brought again some news showing that the welfare society isn’t faring that well. Two middle-aged couples were found dead in their homes. In Porvoo a policeman and his wife in their 40′s had both committed suicide by the man’s quite legal hunting weapons leaving a note. They police say both had been depressed also with physical ailments and there has been speculation that the suicide may have been triggered by the social welfare removing three foster children they had been caring for . Meanwhile in Helsinki two schoolage kids were orphaned when their parents were found dead in their home. The police have stated that the neighbours called the police after hearing a row and shots, the man apparently shot the women with an army service weapon and after that himself .
Only last week in Oulu a 43-year old man shot his 39 year old wife and children aged 11 and 9. Both parents were teachers at the local schools, and were living an outwardly happy life. Some financial troubles were looming ahead as they were building a new house just getting finishing touches but their old house they were selling was showing water damage, in what is called a “two home trap”.
So really, I am at loss to even guess as to where the politicians shall point the blame this time over, can’t be the evils of the internet nor school bullying and legal hunting weapons are commonplace not to mention people who professionally have access to firearms. Of course the weather’s been quite horrid and the world finances have toppled, but even as a trigger to melancholia that doesn’t explain what then makes adult, educated, professional people in their late 40′s do such drastic decisions? Financial troubles are usually in the background in a downward spiral but is it a cause or effect or both. The economists say the trends don’t follow a pattern necessarily.
And this isn’t restricted to only one age group. Last July an elderly 88 year old man killed his bedridden wife at the nursing home and shot himself after killing his two handicapped daughters in their 50′s leaving a message he couldn’t cope with it any more. So it isn’t just the one thing but a combination.
I think we are just now starting to reap the seeds of all this privatization and moving towards a competitive economy that was started in the 1990′s. There are services, but there is no outreach, and usually the people in most dire need cannot or won’t seek the help themselves. And even those who do need to take drastic measures – just in the summer a young man in Kerava stabbed an 14-year old girl just picking her random, as a motive he said “he wished treatment”. Nevermind all the county finances having been cheesesliced to the minimum already so what would you expect the health care, let alone mental healthcare at a bare minimum.
The orthodox chaplain Father Mitro said that it is evident that along with prosperity there has also been the flipside people have been closing their eyes from, and it should be the whole society to take a stand on what is going on. He said that instead of having floral agendas the government should inspire the people and reach out. The former chair of the Mental Health Association Pirkko Lahti says that she is afraid these events will not remain the only ones and fears they might lead to an epidemic as people will see this as a way out of their situation. She says that people should go ask for help and she feels especially sorry for the five orphaned children.
Of course as the international newsvultures haven’t landed to feed on the carrion the government has poked its head into the sand and discusses more relevant and current issues, like political correctness training to the new councils. Probably they’ll allocate funds to some nice brochures showing how happy and joyful place Finland is, after all its positive thinking and prozac that shall save the world. And then they still wonder why the people “voted wrong”.
