The 2016 Miss Finland takes a stance on the racism scandal that has raged in recent days on Instagram.
Shirly Karvinen says the lack of empathy and lack of reflection is sad for her. Pasi Liesimaa
Sarah Dzafce lost her Miss Finland crown earlier this week when a photo of her went viral. In the picture, Dzafce stretched his eyes crookedly with his fingers. The text “eating with the Chinese” was written on the picture.
The 2016 Miss Finland Shirly Karvinen now comments on the racism debate that has arisen from the matter on Instagram. Karvinen’s mother is Chinese.
Karvinen says that the matter didn’t arouse big reactions in him at first, until he realized that similar throws have been normal for him all his life. Keeping quiet and avoiding the issue is a learned defense mechanism.
Karvinen writes about how he has also been looked at mockingly and how he has been humiliated and barked at because of his Chinese background.
– During my school days, I have heard the nastiest Chinese names. After the Miss Finland competition, there was an uproar about being Chinese, and I often received face-to-face comments about how a real Miss should be Finnish. Even today, racist insults can be found regularly in the dm box, Karvinen writes.
The DM box is Instagram’s private message box.
Karvinen says that he was very ashamed of being Asian until his skin hardened and he got used to things.
Karvinen says it’s heartbreaking that young people with a foreign background have to cope with racism by hardening their skin and getting used to being called names.
Karvinen writes that everyone makes mistakes, and now it could have been thoughtlessness or ignorance that offended another group of people. He regrets that there was no good dialogue on the matter.
“Unfortunately, the whole thing has turned into a circus and a joke between people, where grown people, including MPs, normalize stretching of the eyes, for example, without understanding the deeper meaning of the matter or even without wanting to learn it.
Karvinen thanks those who have intervened in the grievances, even if the matter did not hit them directly.