It couldn't happen here
ENIn Finland, an attitude towards the potential and upsetting catastrophes of the world, which is that “it could not happen here” (from now on, “IconHah”), has long prevailed. The question here is of more than a mere commonplace saying; in fact, it comprises a whole-scale mentality or ethos concerning Finland and its place in the world. A typical example of this ethos was expressed some years ago when mad cow disease (bse, “bovine spongiform encephalopathy”) broke out in the UK. In Finland, the responsible official of the Ministry of Forest and Agriculture hastened to make a public statement that there was no reason to worry in Finland; our control mechanisms were foolproof. Even though people in other countries needed to watch what they are eating, and be skeptical about their control systems, Finns need not concern themselves. Such a thing could never happen here. [Extract, p. 53].
