Posted on 05/07/2010 3:36:40 PM PDT by RightOnline
We've all been watching the video of the Greek riots of late. The coverage, even on Fox News, seems to be clearly implying that the Greek citizenry are angry over upcoming spending cuts due to Greece's horrific financial situation, need for EU bailout monies, etc. In effect, we are being told that this is just a bunch of spoiled brats who are used to sucking off of the public teat and are angry that their cushy pensions, etc. may be cut even slightly.
Well, according to a conversation I had this afternoon, this is anything but the case.
I have a good friend in Massachusetts who is Greek (artist by profession). Born in Greece, parents moved to the U.S. some years ago and are successful restauranteurs. Dual citizenship....Greek, U.S. Their ties to the "home country" are very wide and very deep. They speak Greek around the house and the restaurant...you get the idea.
According to my friend, what is REALLY happening is something completely different from what we're being told, and also explains why Washington is very concerned. I don't claim this to be the gospel truth, I only report to you, my fellow FReepers and lurkers, what I've been told by someone close to the situation whom I trust.
They're fed up. They're fed up with a corrupt, Socialist government. They're fed up with cronyism. They're fed up with rights and freedoms being taken away. They're fed up with watching their national treasure being squandered. They're fed up with the fact that their voices are not being heard and have NOT been heard for years.
Greece is the cradle of Democracy, and they are a fiercely proud people. We've all been led to believe (yes, including me) that they drank the Socialist Kool-Aid and sold their collective soul to the State for a false sense of security.
Instead.....I'm trying to choose my words carefully here......it seems that what we are seeing is something akin to our Tea Party movement, but VERY angry and even violent and not organized. Their citizens are furious. The announced cuts to pensions, etc. were not the 'cause'; merely a straw that broke the camel's back.
IF what my friend says is true, then I will say I have a whole different perspective on what is going on there, and even a new respect for the Greek citizens themselves. No, NO one has the right to torch a bank and kill employees inside. Violence is NOT the answer. That said, I think we can all agree that a citizenry will only take so much before they finally take to the streets.
I'm not Greek and have never set foot in the country. I merely pass this on as (rather impassioned) input from someone I respect and trust and who is very, very close to the reality that is Greece today. If this is closer to the truth, and if the same is inevitable soon in Portugal, Spain, and Italy......could this possibly signal the beginning of the end of European-style Socialism? Is that why Obama & Co. are actually watching events in Greece so closely, possibly concerned that the same could happen here?
Food for thought. I say we give the Greeks the benefit of a doubt, and I encourage the media to dig much deeper and speak with people on the streets there to better understand their anger and frustration. We just may find that we have far more in common with them than we have differences.
You are right, of course, that there have been no Tea Party riots recently.
But the original one, the one in Boston, was in fact a riot with felonious destruction of private property, breaking and entering, and piracy. The Boston Tea Party inspired similar violence.
What about the people who say, gee.
I wish this country were more like America!
Are we really so rare?
With the advent of computers..the Greeks invented triple bookkeeping...
one set of books for the business owner.
second set to show to his wife (so can siphon of some "spending around fun money"
and the third set for the tax authorities.
Yes......we really are.
Sounds good but its untrue, or they wouldn’t have burned people alive in a bank. I was married to a Greek for 25 years and can’t remember ever meeting one that wasn’t socialist or communist. They all hated Bush and voted Obama. Your friend is lying.
The much ridiculed Lyndon LaRouche correctly identified many problems with big governments decades ago,even if the messenger was flawed.
The time to stop big government was before it became so pervasive and intimidating to even contemplate resisting its dictates;no idea is so dangerous to liberty as the grudging "you can't fight city hall".Not only can you fight city hall,you can win sometimes,and every victory over dictatorship is important.
Nor do I.......
My next door neighbor who is in his 80's is Greek and even has the satellite svc. that allows him to pick up Greek channels. The guy is a pure socialist and Obama supporter and staunch union supporter which is strange because he was the plant manager for one of Chrysler's plants in suburban Detroit........
From my experiences with friends of Greek descent, I'd say Greeks and socialism go together like bread and butter......
these were violent protests...the hallmark of communists and anarchists.
EXACTLY!
Freedom loving, WORKING people who want to keep what they have and provide for their families and want the govt. to butt out of their lives, do not behave this way.
But perhaps it is time we did behave this way. It seems to get attention. Something about the “squeaky wheel...”
I AM SOOOOO FED UP!
Pretty strong talk. Sorry you ran into so many a**holes, but I don’t appreciate you calling my friend a liar, pal.
The narrative you describe is hard to believe. The Greek people haven’t acted out on this in any kind of notable way in any of the last decades. Why would they start now?
If they are so fed up, why did they endorse their status quo all along and keep pushing it while the situation got worse.
No, I think the nice folks telling you this are speaking from a place of wishful thinking.
The Greeks are getting what they deserve.
Based upon your logic, then we here in the U.S. are getting exactly what WE deserve. Don’t agree? Let me see you change it, then.
What.........you can’t? Hmmmm. Maybe millions of Greeks feel the same way.
As a general principle, I do believe that people tend to get what they deserve. So I do agree, though I can't say I'm pleased by it.
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