Open Thread 5

UPDATE: Pictures have been published of a police officer aiming a firearm at demonstrators. The photographer who took the picture for the national paper Elefteros Typos (Free Press) has subsequently been fired. Pictures are also circulating of known fascists “working” alongside the police. The situation is becoming more and more complicated. There are even people out there who are blaming immigrants for the violence ! I just don’t know what to say about the whole mess.

Also, apologies again. It seems that you are unable to leave comments for now! We’re working on it…

As I haven’t been able to post anything for a while and I am still having problems logging in,  I think the best thing to do is have another “Open Thread”. Most of you will have heard about the nights of rioting that we have been experiencing here in Greece following the death of a teenage boy, Alexandros Grigoropoulos who was shot dead by police. Teacher Dude has some excellent coverage over at his blog as well as photographs. He was interviewed on CNN yesterday too. I think he sums it up in the title of one of his latest posts, Days of Rage.

Let’s focus this “Open Thread” on these issues.

The police shot dead an unarmed fifteen year old boy. They are saying that the bullet was a ricochet from a warning shot but eye-witnesses say it was a direct hit. The postmortem results are not out at the moment. Many people believe that the officers involved will not be punished as they should be, given the track record of past cases of police brutality where they have escaped any kind of prison sentences. Again, Teacher Dude has a post on this with several examples including his own experiences of being beaten up by MAT officers.

What do you think ?

People are angry. One student who was on the protest march said

Rage is what I feel for what has happened, rage

What are the causes of this rage ? My feeling is that it is a combination of issues. Unemployment, lack of opportunity, low wages and disgust at the corruption and incompetence of the government. I believe, like many others commenting on this situation, that the death of the Alexandros was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

What do you think ?

All comments are welcome as long as you follow my Comment Policy. I have posted the main guidelines below as a reminder:

ONE:
People commenting for the first time will need approval from me before their comment will appear. This will hopefully prevent people who repeatedly violate my comment rules from changing their names and coming back for another hit. (yes, I know who you are).

TWO:
People who have approved comments will automatically be able to post whenever they wish. Friends and allies of this blog are always welcome. People wanting to discuss the issues in a civil and respectful way are always welcome. New visitors are always welcome and will have posting privileges once they have a comment approved.

THREE:
People who attack and insult people personally on this blog will have their names dropped into my moderation list. This is so that if you have something to say (yes, even if you disagree with me!) and you say it without rudeness and name-calling, I can approve it once I’ve seen it.

FOUR
People who continue to ignore my repeated requests for respect and civility on this blog will go on the banned list. No discussion. No cries of censorship. You will just be banned.

If your comment does not appear as soon as you hit send, it does not mean that you are banned. It might mean that I haven’t had a chance to read through the comments and approve them. I do get a fair amount of spam and sometimes comments slip into the spam list instead of moderation.

I still reserve the right to delete any comment that I consider necessary to remove even if you have had other comments approved.

ALL COMMENTS ALLUDING TO OLD PERSONAL ATTACKS ON THIS BLOG WILL ALSO BE DELETED.

Thank you.

Technorati Tags: greece, riots, alexandros, grigoropoulos, police