Living in shame, existing in style
The last Greek hero to fall on his sword and exit this life rather than live in shame was Ajax Telamon in Homeric times.
Modern Greek politicians are no Ajaxes.
Indeed, they would shudder at the mere sight of a sword of any kind and shape.
Unlike Ajax, they have no antiquated conception of shame: they can live with it and in it, thank you very much, and take some more, if that means holding onto the perks of power plus the offshore bank accounts.
With the anniversary of the killing of Alexandros Grigoropoulos by a rogue police officer just around the corner, Greek politicians have again begun their shameless tap-dancing.
Grigoropoulos was a 15-year old high school student roaming through one of the seediest parts of downtown Athens shortly before midnight on December 06/2008. He was unlucky to run into a gun that should have been kept in its holster. His death fit the left’s eternal need for martyrs like a glove: Grigoropoulos, a clueless young boy with an apparently turbulent “family” life, has been elevated to the level of the heroes of the War of Independence (this is no joke) and is safely on his way to gaining on such luminaries of the people’s struggle as Che Guevara, Mao, Yassir Arafat, and all the great “martyrs” worshipped by the younger throngs with short-circuited brains.
Our politicians are again busily condemning “violence irrespective of where it comes from”.
They swear oaths to Athena that they won’t allow a replay of last year’s massive riots that devastated our cities and towns. They all look very sober and go-get. Even George (Papandreou) saw fit to issue a lightly boiled, no spices, statement suggesting that violence “recycles our problem”.
How uplifting and heart-warming.
Us, the simple folk, are very jittery. We know that our guardians in political power pee in their pants (or skirts) at the mere distant signal of thug agitation.
We know that they have no will or backbone to send violent protesters sprawling in the streets before they have a chance to throw that fire bomb, smash that storefront, torch some poor soul’s parked car, or loot that shop that represents livelihood for 4-5 families. 
We know that they prefer to hide behind the steel doors of their posh apartments or villas while street terrorists rampage through our neighborhoods, burning and pillaging.
We know they have little interest in “law and order”.
The concept itself is “undemocratic” — since it is not/not politically correct to go out there and defend peace, stability, and the property of innocents with whatever force is necessary…
…. and accept the possibility of some of the enemy departing for the Far Shore shrouded in their dear fumes of petrol bombs and the acclaim of the rest of their filthy comrades, who should all be put in the untenable position of having to run for their lives in return for their rioting, destroying, and sacking.
Our politicians are no Ajaxes.
Alki wrote,
We are turning into a lawless land, with an army of cretinous , corrupt to the core, political swindlers in charge of the very same lawlessness they ” pretend” to combat. It is a bewildering phenomenom that the Greek public, the voters , get sucked into casting their votes for the same crooks and thieves time and time again. A self perpetuating plutocracy of professional politicians, pandering and fostering their own particular decadence..
Link | December 8th, 2009 at 05:11
chrysoula wrote,
Hey, it’s not just the politicians who lack balls, but the citizens themselves! My grandfather (now deceased) would have been IN his shop protecting it while the raids were occuring, and let me tell you, if any punk ass thug tried to smash up or harm his property, he would have murdered him ON THE SPOT, with his own hands! Dead, right there, ready for burial next to Grigoropoulos. We cannot expect the politicians themselves to save us in these situations, and there are only so many cops to go around; the citizens themselves need to take action, but alas, Greece has become a nation of whimps!
Link | February 7th, 2010 at 20:29
PeterD wrote,
. . . he would have murdered him ON THE SPOT . . . .
You mean “killed.” Murder is an unlawful act. Killing, depending on the circumstances, can be justified.
I have no problem with peaceful protests, but violent protests where people are injured and property destroyed are the equivalent of “cutting off your noise to spite your face.” You burned down your city. Umm . . . Now what?
Link | February 8th, 2010 at 17:18
Demos wrote,
I like Chryssoula!
Link | February 8th, 2010 at 21:15