Greek riots: the extended disco version
Dec. 21st, 2008 02:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ishtar79The protests about the murder of a 15-year-old by police are still continuing here, if on a slightly smaller scale than the first day. I realize at this point there’s probably zero interest in this outside of Greece, but I’m posting this for my own reference if nothing else.
Yeah, so I wish I had some articles that didn’t make me want to bang my head against the wall (or, more appealingly, bang the head of the journalist who wrote it). I’m not talking just coverage outside of Greece-our own media haven’t exactly covered themselves with glory-but then overreacting and spreading panic *is* what they do best.
As for the boy’s murder itself, this blog post has the best summary I’ve found in English:
That’s the shooting itself. The rest of the post is worth checking out too, as it gives some idea of why this lead to the shit hitting the fan in such a spectacular manner.
In case anybody does read this and has any questions, I’d be happy to answer them. But right now I’m too drained to even attempt an in-depth analysis, so instead I’ll post some of the best pictures of the events I’ve found online over the last two weeks:
Alex Grigoropoulos, the kid whose murder started it all.
Student protesters.
School kids protesting. School children are at the very epicenter of these protests, occupying schools, taking it to the streets, and having the shit kicked out of them by the police while their middle-aged parents mostly watch it on the news and comment on ‘these young punks’. A Greek comedian insightfully compared the situation to ‘watching a Reality TV show of our own kids’.
It should be noted that our glorious state thugs/police, who did very little in the face of the more violent protests/looting of the first day, saw fit to break out the tear gas and sticks during the peaceful demonstration consisting of school kids and their teachers.
According to numerous statements from kids on the news, they take special pleasure in shouting out classy things like “Come and get it, you little fa****s” and “where’s your Alex now?”, in order to provoke some of the more hot-headed teens and have an excuse to get violent.
I totally believe it, too. The other day, while walking around town, I passed a small demonstration consisting of about 20 University students, doing nothing more innocuous than blocking traffic and holding up some signs. Just as I was heading away, I saw a squad of riot police in full gear heading in their direction, with the air of the Romans about to invade Gaul. Intimidation > constitutional right of protest
Well, fuck you too.
Rioters have taken to using laser pointers to blind the cops during skirmishes. Between this, and blogs, youtube, and videos and police violence getting posted on the hour, I bet they’re really cursing those fucking kids and their damned technology.
Meanwhile, Greek police uses tear gas with an expiration date of 1978 (!). I don’t want to know what the effect would be from breathing an already harmful chemical that is older than me.
I’m just saying, it can’t be healthy.
One of the themes of protest is a demand of disarmnent of the Greek police. I fully support it, but am not exactly holding my breath.
My very own hometown of Thessaloniki.
Now, I’m not personally one to protest violently, but I if I still lived there, I might have been tempted to firebomb a certain TV station (this joke will only make sense to small portion of my friendslist who’s been here for years).
Those are not images commonly shown in the media. Doesn’t sell as much as clashes, fires and Molotov cocktails.
As an aside, among all my frustration at my government, the fucking cops and really, the world, I’m filled with a sense of hope because of those kids. Those kids, that I believed to be apathetic and too into their I-Pods and consumer goods, and Netspeak, those kids have made me so fucking PROUD these days, with their refusal to be bow their heads down, their political activism and surprising eloquence. I didn’t think this generation had it in them.
Of course, when I told![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ariadneelda as much, she pointed out to me that with every youth revolt in history, the previous generation is all shocked and surprised because the kids weren’t stuck in their own little world. Shit, does that mean I’m officially OLD?
Tear gas: the gift that keeps on giving.
The birthplace of democracy-sometimes the irony can become almost tangible.
I have nothing to say to these, not without exhausting every expletive I know.
A candlelit vigil.
High school students, taking their clothes off and playing symbolically dead in front of the central police station.
(They’re underage, but really, LJ, I’m sure if the news outlets show this, it’s not a ban-worthy picture…right?)
I love this one. So powerful.
This isn’t over.
Yeah, so I wish I had some articles that didn’t make me want to bang my head against the wall (or, more appealingly, bang the head of the journalist who wrote it). I’m not talking just coverage outside of Greece-our own media haven’t exactly covered themselves with glory-but then overreacting and spreading panic *is* what they do best.
As for the boy’s murder itself, this blog post has the best summary I’ve found in English:
Whatever really did happen on Saturday night, one thing is clear from the eye witness accounts (unfortunateley for the police, there are several and they all concur). Alexandros and his friends got into an argument with two police officers in the bohemian district of Exarcheio. There was no baying mob as the police claimed. Shots were fired, supposedly in the air, and an unarmed teenager lay dying on the road as the two officers calmly walked away.
That’s the shooting itself. The rest of the post is worth checking out too, as it gives some idea of why this lead to the shit hitting the fan in such a spectacular manner.
In case anybody does read this and has any questions, I’d be happy to answer them. But right now I’m too drained to even attempt an in-depth analysis, so instead I’ll post some of the best pictures of the events I’ve found online over the last two weeks:
Alex Grigoropoulos, the kid whose murder started it all.
Student protesters.
School kids protesting. School children are at the very epicenter of these protests, occupying schools, taking it to the streets, and having the shit kicked out of them by the police while their middle-aged parents mostly watch it on the news and comment on ‘these young punks’. A Greek comedian insightfully compared the situation to ‘watching a Reality TV show of our own kids’.
It should be noted that our glorious state thugs/police, who did very little in the face of the more violent protests/looting of the first day, saw fit to break out the tear gas and sticks during the peaceful demonstration consisting of school kids and their teachers.
According to numerous statements from kids on the news, they take special pleasure in shouting out classy things like “Come and get it, you little fa****s” and “where’s your Alex now?”, in order to provoke some of the more hot-headed teens and have an excuse to get violent.
I totally believe it, too. The other day, while walking around town, I passed a small demonstration consisting of about 20 University students, doing nothing more innocuous than blocking traffic and holding up some signs. Just as I was heading away, I saw a squad of riot police in full gear heading in their direction, with the air of the Romans about to invade Gaul. Intimidation > constitutional right of protest
Well, fuck you too.
Rioters have taken to using laser pointers to blind the cops during skirmishes. Between this, and blogs, youtube, and videos and police violence getting posted on the hour, I bet they’re really cursing those fucking kids and their damned technology.
Meanwhile, Greek police uses tear gas with an expiration date of 1978 (!). I don’t want to know what the effect would be from breathing an already harmful chemical that is older than me.
I’m just saying, it can’t be healthy.
One of the themes of protest is a demand of disarmnent of the Greek police. I fully support it, but am not exactly holding my breath.
My very own hometown of Thessaloniki.
Now, I’m not personally one to protest violently, but I if I still lived there, I might have been tempted to firebomb a certain TV station (this joke will only make sense to small portion of my friendslist who’s been here for years).
Those are not images commonly shown in the media. Doesn’t sell as much as clashes, fires and Molotov cocktails.
As an aside, among all my frustration at my government, the fucking cops and really, the world, I’m filled with a sense of hope because of those kids. Those kids, that I believed to be apathetic and too into their I-Pods and consumer goods, and Netspeak, those kids have made me so fucking PROUD these days, with their refusal to be bow their heads down, their political activism and surprising eloquence. I didn’t think this generation had it in them.
Of course, when I told
ariadneelda as much, she pointed out to me that with every youth revolt in history, the previous generation is all shocked and surprised because the kids weren’t stuck in their own little world. Shit, does that mean I’m officially OLD?Tear gas: the gift that keeps on giving.
The birthplace of democracy-sometimes the irony can become almost tangible.
I have nothing to say to these, not without exhausting every expletive I know.
A candlelit vigil.
High school students, taking their clothes off and playing symbolically dead in front of the central police station.
(They’re underage, but really, LJ, I’m sure if the news outlets show this, it’s not a ban-worthy picture…right?)
I love this one. So powerful.
This isn’t over.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re: 1/2
Date: 2008-12-22 07:55 am (UTC)The thing is, there were quite a few eyewitnesses-and not just the boy's friends, but random people on the street, including a doctor who rushed to his side as soon as he heard the shot and found him already dead.
Here's a summary from interviews I've heard/articles I've read: the cops got into a verbal altercation with the group of kids. One of the kids *might* (according to some witnesses) have hurled a plastic water bottle in the cops' direction. Which was when one of them took out the gun and shot at the kid (he claimed he shot in the air, several witnesses say he clearly aimed at the kid). They then proceeded to turn their backs (although they claimed they felt 'threatened' by the kids) and calmly walk back to their patrol car, while the other kids were shouting that the boy wasn't moving.
By law, cops are required to report when they've used a weapon, yet when they radioed the station, they kept quiet, hoping they wouldn't be identified.
And this is what gets me: this wasn't some empty dark backstreet. It's one of the most lively places in Athens, with lots of bars, cafes, clubs...there were people all around.
I read something about a particular Greek official being concerned about Greece's reputation being "tarnished" in the eyes of foreign nations. But I definitely don't think worse of Greece. (Okay, I do think worse of the government, but that appears to be deserved. So.) I feel like it's been revealed to me as being a hell of a lot more than feta cheese and pretty beaches. If I am looking at the "true Greece," I like it. I admire the strength and courage of those protestors. I'm wavering among "I could never do that" and "I wish I could do that" and "I'm glad I don't have to do that" and "I wish I knew whether I would do that if I had to." But it boils down to, damn have you got some strong citizens.
Well, I'm sure it spoiled a lot of people's perception of Greece, but I find myself unable to give a fuck. ;) And we've had quite a tempestuous modern history (well, ancient too, come to think of it), so we're not exactly strangers to strife. You could say we're used to it. After the riots broke out, I got literally dozens of paniqued messages from friends (online and RL) abroad asking me if everything was alright, and I had to reassure them that really, it's not a big deal. I mean, it is, but we're not exactly running around like the sky is falling.
Hey, about that--what on earth is a "suspended sentence"? Does that even affect them in the slightest? Or is it just saying, "Here's what we'd do to you if we gave a damn, but we don't, so you can just go"?
Pretty much. Recently the 'convictions' for some riot police who beat a protesters so severely two years ago he was left with permanent damage (not to mention serious PTSD): a monetary fine. Which, over a couple of years, works out to about 5 euros a day. No discharge, or anything. To quote a comedian of ours: "Does that mean if I give 5 euros a day, I get to beat anyone I know into a bloody pulp?"
Exarchia (if I'm spelling it right? I've seen a few different spellings...) sounds remarkably like a certain section of where I live. I go there a lot because it's where you go if you don't completely fit (or want to fit) into Polite Society, or you want to have a drink, or a war protest, or perhaps all three. Maybe that's a piece of why this has clicked with me. When I read about Alexandros being shot in Exarchia, I imagined me or my friends being shot in our place. It hasn't happened, but if this can happen, maybe that could too.
That sounds about right. It's my favourite place to go because it's so chilled, inclusive and unpretentious, the complete antitheses of poseur-filled mainstream bars. And yes, a lot of people here are *painfully* aware that it could have been any one of us.