Finnish TV show "MOT" recently did a documentary on the Jokela High School Shootings. Our staff member Eetu Rautio appeared as well and was interviewed about different topics related to Pekka-Eric Auvinen, ecofascism and the school shootings.

We have chosen to archive the TV show as well as provide an English translation of the original manuscript.

Videos

Part I
Part II
Part III

Manuscript

[Translator's note: the translation is not exactly true to the original
transcribed manuscript, because the replies have been shaped for better
readability.]

TV1 3.12.2007
Editor: Tero Koskinen
MOT: Jokelan syvä viilto [The deep slash of Jokela]

Clock 16:00 News broadcast 7.11
Matti Vanhanen in a press conference: "The events of Jokela left a deep
slash in the Finnish people's feeling of security."

MOT: The deep slash of Jokela

November 7th changed the Finnish people's experience of safety. Nobody
could prevent a high school boy shooting eight normal Finnish citizens
in cold blood in the middle of the day.

The long-term goal of Matti Vanhanen's government is to make Finland the
safest country in Europe. The current government has taken up a new aim
in their program, the prevention of extremist movements' rising.

There are often ideological and political aims behind suicide strikes.
The shooter of Jokela said he was a political terrorist. However, the
shooter, Pekka-Eric Auvinen, has not been connected with perpetrators of
political violence.

Ritva Viljanen, the chief of chancellery, the ministry of internal
affairs: "I don't think the situation is yet where you could say there
was a politically motivated movement behind it. The perpetrator was an
individual, the deed done by an individual mentally disturbed
adolescent."

But are the actions and motives of other clearly political suicide
terrorists more rational and societally better argumented than
Auvinen's? Did Auvinen have anything in common with political terror?
And is Finland safe from acts of violence by radicalized individuals or
groups?

MOT decided to search for answers; what thinks a researcher of
sociology, a former and current deep ecologist, or a young nihilist who
admires Auvinen.

Many explaining factors have been presented for the Jokela slaughter,
like school bullying, mental problems and side effects of medicines.
Suvi Ervamaa, a researcher of sociology, wouldn't bypass the political
dimension of the deed, however:
Suvi: "that exists as well, and might very well have been a central
explaining factor in this case."

Radical thinker can be a religious fundamentalist. Or thinking can be in
the extreme right or left.

Lets draw a line. We'll place a mental patient raging in psychosis to
one end and an Al-Qaeda suicide bomber to the other. According to
Ervamaa, Auvinen is positioned midst these extremes. Political acts of
terror are usually done by groups working in an organized manner, who
have clearly outlined objectives. Auvinen claimed to plan and realize
his act alone.

Suvi Ervamaa, sosiologist:
"Auvinen obviously wasn't exactly alone with his thoughts, because as
we now know, he had kept in contact with persons of alike mindset, who
have admired these US school shootings and has even directly
communicated with one American planning school shootings, Dillon Cossey,
who was arrested later on."

The Internet is filled with political and ideological communities. Many
a community of an extremist movement gathers only in the net.

Ritva Viljanen, the chief of chancellery, the ministry of internal
affairs:
"It is a new phenomenon, which has been... which is carefully surveyed
internationally. The so-called net-vacuum exists, meaning that a person
alienates, is left alone, and then finds his peer group from global
networks through the Internet. He is then vulnerable to so-called web
risks. And this is what we must watch, of course.

MOT: "What is... if we have such an extremist movement living in the
net, can we intervene or influence its actions?"

Viljanen: Well, it is often a matter of pretty small things, if we begin
with... f.ex. the radicalized one is usually a young person, who then
begins to seek peers and support for his way of thinking from the
Internet.

MOT: "These descriptions are rather close to the Auvinen case."

Viljanen: "Well, Auvinen had also sought for companions, reinforcement
to his thoughts from global networks. This is probably related to some
extent..."

Many kinds of radicals can be found also amongst environmentalists. Deep
ecologists view the human species as equal to other creatures of the
Creation. Pentti Linkola is the leader figure of the movement. Timo
Hännikäinen is a poet professing to be a deep ecologist and to respect
Linkola's thinking.

Timo Hännikäinen, an author, deep ecologist:
"Well, Linkola did radicalize to this direction especially in his
writings from the 1970s, so there is actually straightforward talk that
these ecological thoughts of his should also be realized through direct
action, incorporating violence. I don't Pentti Linkola himself disagrees
with this."

Jussi K. Niemelä is a standard Green, separated from the deep
ecologists, who earlier wrote for the deep ecological cultural magazine
Elonkehä. The magazine is produced by an association, in which
management Pentti Linkola sits. Most of the people in Elonkehä consider
themselves pacifists.

Jussi K. Niemelä, a former deep ecologist:
"Linkola is the only one in favor of direct action or spurring it, he's
not doing anything himself either, because he is a "closet humanist."

MOT: "But is this Linkola's outlook accepted there?"

Niemelä: "They are bothered by it and many have considered ending the
subscription. For example, many did when Linkola published the "Deep
ecologist's ABC" in 2002, where he charged his own principles."

Auvinen said in the Internet he admired Pentti Linkola. He was also
personally acquainted with members of the deep ecological movement.

Immediately after the Jokela shooting, we asked the fisherman Pentti
Linkola for an interview. He promised to comment the shooter's manifest
to MOT. However, after reading it, he cancelled the interview. Linkola
didn't see anything pertaining to him in the manifest and wished that
there wouldn't be such shootings anymore. He said his own activity has
shrunken to small-scale, legal environmental work through a foundation.

A quote: Pentti Linkola 2002

Niemelä: "A direct call. "The crippling human cover over the living
layer of Earth has to be
forcibly lightened, breathing holes punctured in the blanket, the
ecological footprint of man amputated. Forms of boastful consumption
must be violently crushed, the natality of the species violently
controlled, the number of already born violently reduced - by any means
possible." So the ends justify the means, go ahead!"

Hännikäinen: "I don't think he has ever said, at least in this manner,
that go and carry out and act, in that way."

Also Theodore Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, was a paragon of
Auvinen. Before getting arrested, Kaczynski published a comprehensive
manifesto criticizing the industrial society and technology. His letter
bombs killed three people and wounded 29.
Hännikäinen writes in the introduction to the manifesto he translated
into Finnish that the opponents of the ecocatastrophe do not have real
channels of influence. Hännikäinen continues: "The few cautioning voices
are silenced to death, if they even manage to be heard. In these kind of
circumstances it is probable that a part of the critics radicalize and
step on the road of political violence."
Hännikäinen wished to promote deep ecological thinking through
translating the manifesto.

Hännikäinen: "Yes, yes, in the way that I wanted to bring about the
aspect Unabomber had to the discourse we've generally had about deep
ecology in this country."

MOT: "Was the violent activism of Unabomber acceptable?"

Hännikäinen: "I myself see it as a mistake, because first of all it had
the problem that some of those targets of his mail bombings were simply
normal people, like IT-enterpreneurs and so on, and I don't see much of
an effect in that kind of action."

Hännikäinen: "It just happened, like he was afraid, that he was branded
insane."

Later, the national security of the United States have encountered more
severe threats to safety than even the sender of letter bombs. The
WTC-strikes of the year 2001 were freshly discussed in the
Elonkehä-magazine. There Linkola compared the terrorists he called
freedom fighters to the veterans of Finland's Winter War. In 2002,
Linkola continued on the same subject:

Niemelä: "Notice! "We ourselves remember a fine example of the success
of a tiny minority's violence, the Finnish Winter War. And there's an
example a hundred times more brilliant than even that: a recent act of
war, where a handful of morally and intellectually superior people
managed to severely wound a mighty world power." Writes Pentti Linkola
in 2002. And of course this last reference is again praising these
Muslim fundamentalists, who flew onto the WTC-towers."

Hännikäinen: "They could not have been very cowardly, because this kind
of strike requires a degree of courage."

MOT: "Well, is that enough of a reason to admire and to place them above
other people, because they acted bravely?"

Hännikäinen: "No, it isn't, certainly isn't."

Niemelä: "Notice! "Morally and intellectually superior suicide
terrorist." I'm offended by the topic."

MOT: The Jokela shooter has also gained fans. How should you react to
this admiration."

Viljanen: "It must be absolutely rejected and condemned. The thinking of
these fans begins from the thought that there are over- and undermen.
And these overmen have the right to destroy, to discriminate these
undermen. This kind of thinking cannot be accepted. In no case
whatsoever. And I hope that these admirers have sensible adults around
them, who will abort this thinking."

Eetu Rautio is a 22-year-old electrician and a father to a small child.
Instantly after the Jokela shooting, Rautio published the stance of the
Finnish Nihilist Underground Society in the Internet, according to which
Pekka-Eric Auvinen is a hero. Nihilists deny human value and morality.
According to the purely Internet-based organization, Auvinen did the
right thing by shaking up our view of the society, curdled into
simplicity.

Eetu Rautio, a nihilist: "It was good that this Pekka-Eric Auvinen
brought up, let us use a cliché, the society's sickness."

Rautio finds the schoolchildren a wrong target for the shooting.

Eetu Rautio, a nihilist: "Well, if we use Linkola's expression, it
wasn't very efficient. But what he managed there was that he committed a
school shooting in Finland, and that obviously increased the publicity
received by the incident."

MOT: "So, do you condemn or accept these shootings?"

Eetu Rautio: "I'd say I take the middle stance, because I do not support
school shootings themselves. As far as I can see, I don't know what I
would gain with that. In principle, it didn't achieve more than that it
is possible for school shootings to happen in Finland."

MOT: "In the Internet you named Auvinen a hero. Why?"

Eetu Rautio: "Here you would have to separate between the realization of
the act and then what caused the act, so in simple terms, heroism is a
kind of activism and he had a certain idea and wished to act for it, but
the implementation, on the other hand, was undeniably a human tragedy.
But then again, it led to the aforementioned."

When referring to Pentti Linkola, Eetu Rautio, member of the Finnish
Nihilist Underground Society and Suomen Sisu, knows what he is talking
about. At the nihilist's pages, Rautio has published a rough draft of
Linkola's newest book he translated into English. He told the
translation was made with Linkola's permission. Like Auvinen did,
nihilists have adopted Linkola's thesises to new use. The English
webpages about Linkola are product of an international nihilist
organization.

Eetu Rautio: "The rights of the individual, however, should never be
above the health of the whole."

MOT: "Well, in what case are they above in the actual world? Where do
the individual's rights go past the health of the whole? In what
important issue? In your opinion."

Eetu Rautio: "We can have a look at a very concrete example,
population explosion for instance. In this case it would be that when we
attempt to save as many human lives as possible, the planet necessarily
cannot bear so many anymore. And that results also in human suffering
and ecological catastrophes. Because we are trying to save every human
life that has even a chance of being rescued, and so respecting
individual's rights. The right to live."

MOT: "Should the amount of individuals be reduced for this reason, or
let them die and ignore the resulting suffering?"

Eetu: "You could say that if you let mankind flourish the way it does,
collective suffering would be greater."

Hännikäinen: "I don't think Linkola has any degree of responsibility in
this Jokela incident, and the actions aren't connected to his philosophy
or thinking, but they were purely nihilistic random violence, which is
how it should be treated."

Eetu Rautio: "Linkola says that we should be cruel while there's the
possibility. It doesn't mean that Linkola would necessarily like that
people ought to be killed without scruples, because he respects people
as a part of the biosphere, but people have actually pushed many species
aside and according to Linkola, diminished the richness of the
biosphere."

Viljanen: "Well, I have the idea that Linkola doesn't have a terribly
wide base of support in Finland. And on the other hand, we must remember
that there is a freedom of speech in a democratic society as long as you
act according to the law."

Viljanen: "If it's a question of agitation towards crime, a question of
inciting to action against the society, the limit defined in the
criminal law is clearly surpassed. And then the society must intervene."

Niemelä: "I think the foremost responsibility is always on the doer,
obviously, the one who acts. I have read the same texts, too, but I
haven't killed people, began to act. I don't wish to blame Pentti
Linkola for these atrocities at all, but then again, I would like if he
disclaimed these incitements."

Suvi Ervamaa: "I would view it important that different, perhaps even
radical opinions could be freely presented in public, so you shouldn't
try sweeping them under the rug. Maybe it would be pivotal to attempt
to process these societal conflicts emerging from the marginal in some
constructive manner. But I'd rather that these violent forms didn't rise
in Finland."

Student of Jokela highschool, Pekka-Eric Auvinen, sought publicity with
his actions. He also succeeded in this. Giving media visibility to
assailants such as Auvinen or Unabomber is always problematic. The same
applies to nihilists like Eetu Rautio. Notwithstanding, MOT interviewed
Rautio. If we truly want to learn something from what happened in
Jokela, youngsters who search the ingredients of their worldview like
Eetu Rautio, cannot be overlooked. Rautio, an active in the nihilist
movement, has never met another nihilist face to face.

MOT: "Do you accept political violence?"

Eetu Rautio: "Violence is a tool, and you could say that violence is one
method of political activism, and like violence in the form of war, it is a kind of a political act. That is then used... some country can
apply it for advancing its own political interests."

MOT: "But for that isn't there the democratic system in Finland, through
which we influence matters and with which we have also gotten pretty
good results?"

Eetu: "Good results in what way? Because in this democratic system you
would have to appeal to the majority, and the majority doesn't
necessarily agree with you."

It is not believed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs that there would
be widespread desire for anti-democratic motions.

Viljanen: "We do have this welfare society and that we are socially whole, that we take care of people, mental health services and that
people would not be left out of the common table, so I don't see this
kind of political extremist movement entering Finland very easily,
because we have clear mutual understanding of democracy, we wish Finland
to be a democratic country."

Earlier on, Eetu Rautio planned on translating the Unabomber manifesto
into Finnish. However, Timo Hännikäinen got there first.

MOT: "What do you think of democracy?"

Hännikäinen: "Well, I'd say that when referring to the big picture like
these difficult environmental problems, which we have now, it is
well-founded to say that we are living in a severe crisis in Finland and
the whole world. And democracy is rather feeble in a situation like
that."

"There have been comments in actual scientist circles because of these
climate matters, for instance, that we should enact an emergency
government with exceptional authority in Finland for example, and I
absolutely agree."

Viljanen: "It is important that we follow the rules agreed on through
democracy. In both individual- and state levels. I don't see there being
any other option."

For the first time, Matti Vanhanen's government listed prevention of the
rise of extremist movements in the government program this year. A group
of ministers is pondering at the time if the program of internal
security, which will be complete until the end of March, should be
re-evaluated due to the Jokela incident. The bearers of political
responsibility who are preparing the program won't comment on the
unfinished program at the moment. What does suppressing the emerging of
extremist movements then mean in practice?

In the time of president Kekkonen, the extreme left was tamed in
Finland by admitting the radicals into societal discussion. Critics
perceive that Finland's stance has changed over the last government
term.

Suvi Ervamaa: "I'd see that this Smash Asem, or the way the police
reacted to it, didn't go along the so-called Kekkonen policy anymore,
but the methods of the police might have been needlessly harsh. In the
future, strict measures like them could just provocate more of this
antagonistic arrangement between activists and the police, or
between activists and the state authority, and foment an anti-system
and -society spirit."

Viljanen, who is taking part in the preparations of the program of
internal security, doesn't see that the Finnish government has changed
its policy.

Viljanen: "Crime must be warded off in a democratic society, systems
swaying the legitimity of the society have to be fended with democratic
means. Of course we must not step in the trap these movements propose."

MOT: "How essential is it to be in the headlines?"

Eetu: "You possibly get the point across that way. If not directly, then
indirectly like in this case."

MOT: "Many have thought about Auvinen's point, it hasn't really dawned
on anybody."

Eetu: "Yes. Apparently a kind of a political point..."

MOT: "Yes..."

Eetu Rautio: "If he had one."

MOT: "Well, he claimed to be a political terrorist."

Eetu Rautio: "Yes."

MOT: "But nobody understands what he was striving for."

Eetu: "Yes."

MOT: "But in what manner does he now get a point of his across?"

Eetu: "Well..."

MOT: "Because it seems there is no point."

Eetu: "Yes. You couldn't find any clear ideology there. For example,
there was no banner of a certain ideology on his body, 'so this is the
ideology he was shooting for.' It is more like that he increased
societal insecurity with his actions, and that is precisely the key if
we want to seek societal change, you have to point out that this society
does not do its job well enough."

MOT: "You are aware that this viewpoint you present creates resentment,
anger and foul mood in people. Why did you accept this interview?"

Eetu: "Well, I wanted bring about my own opinion. Not because of
annoying and angering people, of course that isn't why."

MOT: "What is it, in a few words, what is your opinion?"

Eetu: "About this school shooting itself, or..?"

MOT: "Or the opinion you wished to bring about, what is it?"

Eetu: "In brief it is that this shooting was a societal consequence:"

(long silence)

Hännikäinen: "I am now referring to deep ecologists in the broadest way,
or people who think more radically and in more extensive terms that, for
example, the Green League, they don't have political ways of influence
at the moment."

MOT: "So you see a seed for potential violent political activism here?"

Hännikäinen: "Yes, yes, that is possible."

Niemelä: "Linkola's production, too, has very much positive in it like
environmental protection, which I still endorse. You cannot hold
even Linkola as a mere preacher of violence, that he has the, should I
say, human side. Like I mentioned, he is a "closet humanist" and he
himself is not aggressive. I would wager that he is less aggressive than
the average man, a very friendly, polite and civilized man."

Even though many share elements of Auvinen's values, Ervamaa does not
find new massacres like in Jokela probable.

Suvi Ervamaa: "If you have only adopted a nihilist ideology, it's
obviously not enough of an impulse in itself for deeds like this. There
have to be many other dimensions to it, then, perhaps like individual
psychological dimensions, mental or social problems, school bullying and
such for something this extreme to happen."

MOT: "What are the utmost values that cannot be questioned?"

Viljanen: "Human rights. Basic rights. Individual, mmh, people's right
to privacy of their lives. To me it is also crucial that racism is not
tolerated in Finland. Nor intolerance. We also cannot accept intolerance."

MOT: "Well, how should we act with supporters of said ideas? How to
discuss these matters, if we cannot plead to these utmost values?"

Viljanen: "To me, well, the Finnish society has to be the kind where
people are taken care of. We have to be able to discuss, and I think we
are well able to. It is also possible to present shocking opinions here,
as long as you stay within the limits of criminal law. The law shouldn't
be broken. But you can have dialogue within these terms. We have a good
freedom of speech."

The end

The ending:

Tero Koskinen: "How would you answer the criticism that Smash Asem has
received?"
(The lights suddenly go out)
Ritva Viljanen: "Oops!"
Tero Koskinen: "Oh! The lights went out

YLE-symbol

Information

The TV interview was part of the campaign High School Shootings: Our Society Fails Bright Kids that CORRUPT launched shortly after the Jokela High School Shootings.

Eetu is editor of the Finnish nihilist portal Suomen Nihilistinen Järjestö, a division of the American Nihilist Underground Society.