The home of democracy, the fathers of philosophy, one of the founding nations of civilization, what did the Greeks ever do for us?
Only give us the marathon, Olympics, maths, catapult, feta cheese, moussaka, ouzo, a week in the sun, the alphabet, astrology, science, medicine, philosophy, maps, pretty much anything with an ology at the end of it, and bathrooms. Not to mention Jennifer Aniston, Telly Savalas, Billy Zane, Stavros, and yer one from Home and Away.
And now, well now they bring us protests, Molotov cocktails, and death.
This week has seen a severe turn in our view of Greece. From a much respected country, to one of violence and despair. Anger has overtaken democracy, and led to death.
It has become clear this week that Greek politicians have lost a grasp of the people they are meant to serve. And chaos has ensued. Citizens are angered that their country has spiralled out of control, so much so that it is receiving a bailout from Europe. Which has led to protest, peaceful demonstrations at the start, that sadly turned violent when volatlie extremists decided to throw Molotov cocktails at a bank building, killing three staff members, one of whom was pregnant.
Now I know that there is a lot of hatred for bankers at the moment, but is throwing petrol bombs really the answer? These bankers aren’t to blame for the country’s financial state, and thankfully in Ireland we have the sense to realise this.
The anger coming from Greece is deeply disturbing. And just demonstrates how isolated people there much feel. Massive demonstrations like this don’t happen by chance. This is a clear-cut demand to be heard. Demonstrators at this week’s protests were heard shouting “Scum” “Criminals”, and “Thieves” in reference to their politicians.
Taking out the violent aspect of this week’s protests, perhaps there’s something we could learn here about unity within ourselves. Instead of sitting back, not saying much, and grumbling under our breath about how annoyed we are about the whole situation. After all it’s our money fixing their problems.
Isn’t it rather ironic that we’re giving money to Greece when we can’t even fix our own financial situation? And isn’t it a bit embarrassing that they’re laughing at our total apathy towards our own Government. After all, they are from the home of democracy.
