Meri puhul on väga tähtis ka see, et ta tahtis õrritada, ja seda nii lääne kui ka ida poole. Aga ta ei tahtnud, et see välja paistaks. Kui ta läheb hantide juurde, seal on räsitud handi vanamehed, kes võib-olla polegi nii vanad, ilmselt Merist nooremad, aga nad paistavad vanemad, hambaid suus pole ning eurooplase pilgule mõjuvad kuidagi kasimata, ja siis läheb sinna valges ülikonnas Lennart Meri, paneb neile käe õlale ja ütleb, et see on minu vend, ta ütleb seda Euroopa poole – tema on minu vend. Eurooplane, kes sellist sugulust häbeneb, vaatab natuke ja tunneb üleolekut, kuid saab siis aru, et Meri on tegelikult temast üle, sest Meri räägib edasi ja ütleb, et jah, see prantslaste kuld ja kard, mis on üle maailma kokku varastatud, see on ka olemas, aga see ei ole teie olemus. Kui te lähete tegelikult päris juurte juurde, on teie olemus ka samasugune, teie vennad on ka säärased, kuid te ei julge seda niimoodi öelda, aga mina panen käe õlale ja ütlen, et see on minu vend. See oli õrritamine lääne poole.
Aga ka ida poole oli see žest. Kui 1950. aastate lõpus hakkasid Eesti kirjanikud minema lääne poole, reisikirju kirjutama, siis Meri liikus itta. Ta oli poisikesena juba läänes käinud.
Nõukogude Liidu piires oli see žest nii-öelda suure vene vennasrahva poole. Meri näitas alati seda, et teda ei huvita selles rahvaste koosluses venelased, vaid teda huvitavad väikerahvad, kes olid alavääristatud. Tema näitas, et minu valik on justnimelt see, vot see on tähtis, mitte Nõukogude rahvas. Seega minu meelest on taolised õrritavad žestid tema soome-ugri ideoloogias ka väga-väga olulised.
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'With Meri, it's also very important that he wanted to provoke, and this both towards the West and the East. But he didn't want it to show. When he goes to the Khanty people, there are weathered Khanty old men, who might not even be so old, probably younger than Meri, but they appear older, have no teeth in their mouths and to the European eye seem somehow unkempt, and then Lennart Meri goes there in a white suit, puts his hand on their shoulder and says that this is my brother, he says this towards Europe – he is my brother. The European, who is ashamed of such kinship, looks a little and feels superiority, but then realizes that Meri is actually above him, because Meri continues speaking and says that yes, this French gold and glitter, which has been stolen from all over the world, that also exists, but that is not your essence. If you actually go to the real roots, your essence is also the same as mine, your brothers are also like this, but you don't dare to say it this way, but I put my hand on the shoulder and say that this is my brother. This was provocation towards the West.
'But this gesture was also made towards the East. When in the late 1950s Estonian writers began going westward, writing travel accounts, then Meri moved eastward. He had already been to the West as a boy.
'Within the borders of the Soviet Union, this gesture was so-to-speak towards the great Russian brother nation. Meri always showed that he wasn't interested in the Russians in this community of peoples, but he was interested in the small peoples who were undervalued. He showed that my choice is precisely this, this here is important, not the Soviet people. Therefore in my opinion such provocative gestures in his Finno-Ugric ideology are also very, very important.'
--- Interview with Jaan Undusk on occasion of the publication of Lennar Meri's Silverwhite in English Source
