Annoying or peaceful? Turks question why Finns don’t bump bumper cars

ISTANBUL

File photo by Jeff Gilbert, Alamy

One of the most popular debates on social media in Turkey this week is about footage showing Finnish people driving their bumper cars in total peace and harmony at a theme park.

“This scene is from Finland and I get pissed off,” a Twitter user named Linoge said while sharing the video, which was viewed more than 740,000 times and retweeted or liked by nearly 40,000 people as of Aug. 8.

finlandiya'dan bir manzara, sinirlerim bozuldu pic.twitter.com/feGSZG92kg — Linoge (@linoge83) 4 Ağustos 2018

The post started a heated debate, drawing hundreds of comments in which Turks discussed whether it is normal to drive bumper cars without bumping others.

“I worked at the İzmir Expo [in western Turkey] for two years and I have seen at least 20 incidents in which people started physical fights for being bumped too harshly by others,” a Twitter user named Berk tweeted.

While some Turks claimed the video shows that Finns “are better educated and more intelligent,” others opposed this view, insisting that bumper cars are for bumping others for entertainment.

A number of Twitter users defended that the Finns in the video only wanted to protect their children who were also in the cars, but some others said “bumper cars should bump even with children inside” to have fun.

In Turkey, the second option is apparently more prevalent. “Once I was driving a bumper car with my little nephew. I initially didn’t let him drive because he was too short to reach the pedals. But a father in another car, whose son was driving, reprimanded me because of it. So, I let my nephew take the wheels, which prompted the man to tell his son ‘hit your little brother now,’” Twitter user Güneş Küçükaydın gave an example.

Unlike in Finland, the hits from driving bumper cars in Turkey can be painful. “Once I was hit by someone in Turkey who hurt my back and injured my leg,” a female user named Melike said, while another one cited a spinal injury.

“Finland, what a boring country,” another user named “sadnessandhope” concluded.