It's Finnished!
By p1kef1sh
@p1kef1sh (45681)
April 2, 2010 5:19am CST
Imagine that in future your private mail, those love letters, or bank statements; letters from friends and family will no longer come through the door or be left in your mailbox. Instead your local friendly post office will open them, scan them into a computer and send them electronically to you to be read at your leisure. Hang on...... isn't your post just that - YOURS! In Finland apparently, in a bid to reduce costs they intend to cut postal deliveries and send your mail to you electronically. Isn't that an invasion of privacy? Not in a world where money counts more than people apparently. So do you fancy going "Finnish"?
9 people like this
42 responses
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
2 Apr 10
No definitely not! Although I give and receive most of my mail by email. I still would not like the government to open any mail addressed to me.
2 people like this
@palonghorn (5479)
• United States
2 Apr 10
Well, not only would it be an invasion of privacy, but at least right now, it's a federal offense to open someone else's mail. Of course I'm sure they could find away around that. If I wanted my bills, cards, etc sent electronically, I can opt for that from each company. And a few I do opt for my bill to be sent to my email. But, I don't think the the greeting card industry is going to allow for that, along with the generation that didn't grow up with computers and therefore don't really use them. And of course, they just keep going up on postage, and talked about cutting out either Saturday or Monday delivery. Monday delivery cut would be okay, think about it, everyone hates Mondays and there would be no bills delivered to your mail that day! lol
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (45487)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
2 Apr 10
You still have Saturday mail delivery?
1 person likes this
@palonghorn (5479)
• United States
2 Apr 10
Yes Bar we still have Saturday delivery, at least for now.
@AnnieOakley1 (5596)
• Canada
21 Apr 10
This just isn't right, not at all. Privacy laws should NEVER allow this. What the heck is going on over there, hon? 
2 people like this
@cream97 (29087)
• United States
2 Apr 10
Hi, p. No way! I don't want anyone sending me anything electronically! I want to see my mail from the contents that it was sent in to me. For someone to open my mail that is personal. And private to me. I am so glad that I don't live in Finland!
They need to remove this law because they will have many angry postal customers at their sleeves!
They need to remove this law because they will have many angry postal customers at their sleeves!1 person likes this
@mysticmaggie (2498)
• United States
4 Apr 10
No, I wouldn't want to go Finnish, but expect it to happen here in the United States in the near future. Within the last year and a half, I have seen the government take over automobile companies, healthcare, financial institutions, and within the healthcare they have taken over student loans. They are now deciding what people OUTSIDE the government should be paid and are looking to make all illegal aliens citizens so they can vote.
They have also decided within the states that while applying for a driver's license a person can become a voter, who has to do nothing more than show his driver's license at the voting booths. Many illegal aliens have driver's licenses. If nothing else it checked, they can already vote.
Once upon a time, in the United States, politicians made a pretense of listening to the people. Now, they don't even do that. Instead, if anyone says anything against them, they are called vile names, made fun of by our president, and tossed aside as though their voices no longer matter.
We are rapidly losing all our freedoms, so it will not surprise me when the 'Finnish' method of posting our letters becomes a reality. The government is totally in control and we no longer have a say in how they govern.
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
5 Apr 10
What the Government has done is inject public money into those industries to save them from going bust. Whether that's appropriate or not is not for me to judge. However, governments are altogether too free these days to decide what is good for us. Invading our privacy by opening our mail in the name of "efficiency" is just too much.
1 person likes this
@mysticmaggie (2498)
• United States
5 Apr 10
No, what they have done is put money into the automobile and financial industries and even our president says the government now owns a large portion of both and now has the right to tell executives what they can earn. That has been the job of the stock owners previously.
They are also telling the automobile industries what cars they can make. Since the takeover, the ONLY automobile company to show real profit is the one that refused government intervention.
It is not up to the United States government to decide what is good for the citizens; that is the citizens' job. It is not up to the government to tell me I have to buy something - it is against our constitution to do so. Not only will they fine us if we do not want to buy insurance, they will jail us if we continue to say we do not want to buy it.
Even with car insurance, if we decide not to buy it, we may suffer the consequences of having to pay medical, automobile repair and other expenses if we do not have it, but we are not watched by the IRS to see if we have it. The government is putting on 16,000 more IRS employees with the express purpose of delving into our private lives and making darned sure we either buy insurance or pay the fines. This is not what our country is all about. Russia had the KGB to do that sort of thing. I personally do not care to be heavy-handed by the government. I prefer to make my own FREE decisions.
It is just as much an invasion of privacy as opening our mail. Even Hitler began by bringing Germany out of a severe Depression. He brought in great technology and once the German people trusted him, he began to take over every facet of their lives. Every move dictators make at first, is said to be for the good of the people. Usually they hand out goodies like two years of unemployment pay, trash for cash car deals, etc., to reel the sucker in. It moves on to transportion that the people didn't want, but hey, if it's coming to me at little cost, great. Then it moves to other things we have always taken care of ourselves, eventually ending in indoctrinating our children from the cradle. By the time the people see what's happening, they are used to having everything handed to them instead of getting out and working for it, the hook is set and the dictator now doesn't care about the people.
The goodies are replaced with substandard living conditions, cheap labor and massive prices on every day items like bread, because they usually destroy their countries currency. That is what is happening here with massive debts being incurred against the people's wishes and the overwhelming amount of money being printed with nothing to back it up.
Right now, we need jobs and nothing, absolutely nothing is being done in that sector. What we are getting is more debt on unworkable solutions to problems.
When the Russia, Cuba and other such countries are cheering for what is happening to us, it's time to open our eyes and see why they are so happy. It seems to be because they think our country will finally have as little as they and be governed by the type of tyrants they must obey. We have been receiving warnings by those who do not wish us ill, that what they see happening is what happened to their beloved countries before they came under a dictator's thumb.
1 person likes this
@jhoanee (598)
• Philippines
6 Apr 10
cant imagine they agree on that..its invasion of privacy. for me letters or any other personal documents should be kept privately and i wont let anyone read it just to make things easy for them to send. but then i guess we have to respect with that decision for sure they have there own reasons why they agree on doing that.
1 person likes this
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
25 Apr 10
well then might as well go 'E-mail-ish'
there is no need to scan it, everyone will just use emails
it also saves trees that way anyway
I am sure Internet is widely used there too, or else the post office won't bother scanning and sending them electronically right?
but the Finnish accepts it, I read
so I guess in the future I won't be sending love letters there - ever
LOL joking
@rebelann (111178)
• El Paso, Texas
11 Jul 21
Makes me glad I live here and not over there and also that I don't know anyone who lives there.
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
2 Apr 10
Sounds daft to me. If the recipient wanted me to find their communication in my inbox, surely they´d have emailed it to me in the first place!
There´s something more special about personal mail, a greetings card or handwritten note, than there is about emails. I´d be very sorry to see it disappear.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159058)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Apr 10
This doesn't really surprise me. But, if it does become a reality I would thing that due to the privacy act mail would start being sent differently. I would definitely appose them opening our mail. That would be like being in prison and being treated like you have no rights.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159058)
• Boise, Idaho
5 Apr 10
I am too. It is scarey. What will they think of next?
1 person likes this
@Wizzywig (7847)
•
2 Apr 10
Absolutely not!! MY mail is MY business. I'm sure there would be 'confidentiality' clauses in the employees contracts but.... I'd just tell everyone to email me direct - that would save the Postal service even more money. Perhaps that is indeed the cunning plan ???
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
2 Apr 10
They say that it will operate like internet banking. But sometimes you just have to have the letter in your hand. There's no way that I want anybody, vetteed or not, reading my letters from the bank...."Dear Sir, with regard to the cheque for £1000,000 that you made payable to Miss Wizzywig......" LOL.
1 person likes this
@Wizzywig (7847)
•
2 Apr 10
I think that probably continues...." She cashed it and scarpered to a little retreat where she will live in peace and comfort, listening to the sound of the birds and the sea and doing all manner of craft-type stuff...badly". Oh, no!! You're gonna tell me the cheque bounced aren't you? 
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
26 Oct 10
Well, as it stands right now, I don't get any kind of private mail that comes to my house because of the fact that I just don't except for when it comes to Christmas and birthday cards. That said, I like to hold on to the cards that are sent to me and for that reason I really don't think that I would like the change to sending everything to people electronically at all. If that was what was going to happen, I would think that they should just totally get rid of postal delivery all together and move everything to electronic mail that you could handle as you please.
1 person likes this
@hvedra (1619)
•
13 Apr 10
Good grief NO that's a terrible idea on so many levels.
Surely it takes just as long to scan as deliver in towns, etc. What if you need the original because of the signature or something and what about packages "here, we scanned a picture of the fruitcake your granny sent - it was delicious!".
I also wonder about people who have ordered "niche" magazines - are they going to scan those?
Bills and banking can be done on-line if that is what the customer wants, private mail should be just that, private.
To me this is just another way to push a lot of smaller companies out of business and to make all us individuals plug into the Matrix.
@RobtheRock (2433)
• United States
5 Apr 10
No thanks! I've had enough postal workers already going into and stealing my mail!
1 person likes this
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
2 Apr 10
Nah I don't like to be Finnished cos I am a Malteser:) They do it their way! I prefer to do it our own way! And up till now I prefer to receive snail mail by hand rather than scanned. That is a great invasion of privacy. I would not like the local postman to know my bank account balance even though it does not have a fat sum on it.
1 person likes this
@sparkofinsanity (20471)
• Regina, Saskatchewan
2 Apr 10
Personally, I love receiving anything electronically, from bills, to cards, to whatever.
BUT. To receive a letter from a friend, relative or lover ON PAPER with their actual writing on it, is more meaningful. It's a keeper. Something to pass on to future generations to keep the paper trail of the family history alive and recorded.
So there is a major flaw in Finland's idea. They want to save paper, but anyone who receives a communication they want to keep a 'hard copy' of, will only have to print it out anyway!
@sparkofinsanity (20471)
• Regina, Saskatchewan
2 Apr 10
This is the kind of 'trend' that scares me about what kind of world we are turning into. Everything depending on 'machines'. We are losing our humanity in the pursuit of efficiency and eco-friendly (HA!) adaptations to what was never broke in the first place!
@sparkofinsanity (20471)
• Regina, Saskatchewan
2 Apr 10
Oh and as for the saving delivery times and such..............that's just lazy and cuts down the job market.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
2 Apr 10
hi pikey oh no I would hate that. so I wont want to go finnish'
at all, muchas I have finnish friends here.I mean come on one must have a little privacy not that my mail is all that titillating but it is
still my personal mail. even here in our emails we do have some privacy after all.my son loaded Mozilla thunderbird in place of my old email and its really wonderful. at first I had to learn a few new things on this but it has tabs just like my firefox. nope I really do not think I would like my postofffice reading all my personal mail, but they would not even get a chuckle out of it either. Too they might have a chuckle over my bank statements seeing as how there is never a lot of money in there.As for the letters between me and my best f riends they would probably fall asleep. I sure would not like the post office being able to go through all my private mall, that is for sure. my sentiments are:
thats for that idea.
thats for that idea.1 person likes this
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
2 Apr 10
Hi p!key,
What is the point of putting "Private and Confidential" on the top of the letter then? no, I prefer my mail to come through the letter box, to be honest, there is much privacy these days and the only thing we have is our letters, no, no ""Finnish" for thank you. Hugs.
Tamara
xxxx
1 person likes this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
3 Apr 10
Hey p1key! That sounds absolutely absurd! I know that this sound
absurd, but there are still people in the world, although maybe
not many, like my Mom who don't have computers! So, what are
those people supposed to do? I know that here in the US they
are thinking about stopping Saturday delivery to cut down costs!
That would be fine with me! I can wait for my bills to come!
I do pay most of my bills electronically at this point or by
phone! But, there are still bills that I pay by "snail mail"!
There will always be things that have to be delivered by
the Postal Service! I just don't think there is going to be
anyway around this, at least not for a few more years!
1 person likes this
