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"How are you?" "I 'm fine, thanks." Finns used to interact like this when they met each other in the street. They wanted to protect the reputation of the family. But nowadays it's common to talk about ones own problems, to complain.
At school you often hear for example " I fuckin' slept three hours last night." or " I'm short of money again." Complaining is so ordinary that you don't even notice it. It's a good way to boast. You can emphasize yourself, but you don't give the impression of being selfish.
But why is it so great to complain? We might need the attention or admiration. Maybe it's just a habit and we haven't thought about the reasons for it. But the fact is that it sounds really stupid when we think about the worldwide problems such as wars, pollution and famine.
So is
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there anyone who has a right to complain? One of them is assuredly Kullervo , who by the way has his nameday today. Kullervo is one of the characters of "Kalevala", the national epic of Finland.
Kullervo's childhood is terrible. He believes that his parents are dead. And when he finally finds his family there isn't a change for better. His relationships are miserable. All members of the family die and at last Kullervo commits suicide.
Kullervo is a real loser. So should he be the new hero of the Finns? We could all just complain and wear a Kullervo-t-shirt...
And in the end a fragment of the Kalevala:
"Wherefore have I been created,
Who has made me, and has doomed me,
Thus 'neath moon and sun to wander
'Neath the open sky for ever?"
( Kalevala, J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1951)
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