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: 2/2
Date: 2008-12-22 08:13 am (UTC)Well, most european news sources give vague "Greece's current government in the midst of political/corruption scandals' quotes, and really, I don't expect them to take a crash course of Greek political life to write an article. We've been getting this info over a looong period here, and I still have trouble keeping up.
but I didn't ever connect "bad government system" with Greece. Whenever Greece gets mentioned, it's like, oh, Greece? Yeah, they invented democracy.
Bear in mind that the modern independent Greek state has only existed since the mid-18th century (before that, it was 400 years under Ottoman rule). And since, we've had some major Balkan wars, a war with the Turks, two world wars (with a dictatorship in between), and a junta. To say nothing of being a pawn in games played on a major bigger board. Those things leave behind a certain mentality in government and society than isn't easy to just shrug off-there's been ups and downs, politically (obviously, right now is not a high point)
And yeah, kudos on Obama, but I'd be wary of anyone hailing him as a solution to all problems (well, maybe a solution to grammar abuse by US presidents).
Also, about most cops in the US being essentially good guys...hm. I have a lot of American friends who would strongly disagree with the statement. If I were you, I'd research that statement a bit.
I sympathize about the mind in knots thing. As for wanting to do something-well, between the recession and global problems the current generation is facing, there's no shortage of possible things to get mad about anywhere in the world. As long as we're not lulled to a sense of compacency and apathy, I have to believe things can because even a little less bleak.
To borrow something I heard a former University dean say on TV the other day: "There's no such thing as heaven. Let's work on making hell a little bit better.'
Re: 2/2
Date: 2008-12-22 04:33 pm (UTC)Yeah, that's rather hard to explain away. (I'm curious, what do you think of that ballistics report that said the bullet was dented? Would it be unusual for someone to lie about whether it was dented, or are the autopsy/ballistics investigators also corrupt?)
it's so chilled, inclusive and unpretentious
Oh, how terribly dangerous that must be.
"Greece's current government in the midst of political/corruption scandals"
That's the kind of quote I hear. US political scandals often are along the lines of "That official cheated on his wife! With a MAN!" Which is completely the wrong frame of reference... :p
I'd be wary of anyone hailing him as a solution to all problems
I had to be careful during the campaigns, because I wanted so badly for him to solve all my problems. I want to believe he'll be able to carry out all of his promises, but I keep having to remind myself that's not realistic. I think he is a decent human being and will be a good president, but he's still not some magic problem-solver. I do appreciate his care with grammar. ;p
Ah, I didn't mean cops in the entire US--sorry. That was not clear at all. I mean that in my immediate area, nobody's scared of the police. They're definitely not perfect. Sometimes they do fuck up very badly (plus some of them have a disturbing tendency to be extra-suspicious of people who aren't white), but generally they just do what they're expected to do, which is catch people who actually do break the law. People can hold protests without worrying about getting beaten up. (More often, cops get sent to protests to protect the protestors from getting attacked by other people.) When people in my part of the city say, "I hate cops," it's usually because they got a ticket for speeding. Our cops do seem to enjoy filling quotas by setting speed traps, but that's still not close to brutal power-tripping. I'm faintly aware of police brutality as a thing that happens more often in other places in the US, but I can't point to specific Other Places. Research will commence now, because I'm curious and may be slightly obsessed about knowing what is going on at every moment in every part of the world, including my part of it.
"There's no such thing as heaven. Let's work on making hell a little bit better.'
I love that.
Re: 2/2
Date: 2008-12-23 11:27 am (UTC)That's the first I heard of it-no idea, honestly. Actually, I'm glad I was too busy to reply before, because I just saw on the Greek websites the initial site forensics report came out, and it showed the cop shot straight ahead at the teens, and not on the air, like the police claimed.
Research will commence now, because I'm curious and may be slightly obsessed about knowing what is going on at every moment in every part of the world, including my part of it.
You should. Information is power, and you can lead to constructive action.
Anyway, I really enjoyed our conversation. :)