Comment by Moru

1 day ago

People do it out of spite. We have similar problems with the white population hating the Sami similar to what USA has had with Indians. There were cases just outside of Umeå close to the winter rally where some raindeers were killed. [0]

The drivers feel that the Sami puts the reindeer on the road to be in the way and cash in on the money they get for the killed raindeers. (Secret tip: It's not enough to be worth it to watch your domestic animals die in your hands or be forced to finnish them off yourself because the owner are forced to take care of the dead animals.)

[0] https://swedenherald.com/article/three-reindeer-killed-linke...

> We have similar problems with the white population hating the Sami

What does "white" mean to you?

It seems pretty clear that the Sami are white:

https://www.ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/12813432...

https://www.ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/39091306...

https://atmos.earth/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sami-people-E...

https://atmos.earth/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sami-people-0...

  • The indigenous Sami does have white skin, but they have a different ancestry compared to "regular"/other Scandinavians. They were for a long time legally forbidden from expressing their culture and religion, and are still harassed by individuals and groups.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_S%C3%A1mi

    • No. Swedish Sami are almost all whitehaired Scandinavians. Famously depicted longnoses like Peter Stormare in the movies.

      In 1800 Sweden and Norway made it impossible to follow herds around in Nomadic Style so they all escaped to Finland and Russia.

      The "Sami" you see today are Swedes who adopted the lifestyle when certain restriction were lifted and Reindeer-herding become monopoly of Sami. Declaring Samines was just a formality.

      All nordic "Sami" oppose DNA-testing, as they clearly are very different from real Sami living in Russia.

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