Social mood in Greece

Greece has had a rough year due to its debt problems, which have yet to be solved. Citizens have violently protested austerity measures, but skeptics might not consider these protests as significant from a social mood perspective. Not so the latest round of violence.

It was only a matter of time

On Tuesday, Manolis Kantaris, 44, was fatally stabbed while preparing to take his pregnant wife to the hospital. The next day, Ioannis Kafkas, 31, was hospitalized in critical condition after suffering serious injuries during an anti-austerity rally in Athens. The slaying of Kantaris, allegedly carried out by three illegal immigrants, and then the beating by members of the MAT riot squad were not random incidents. They were products of their specific circumstances, thus more like accidents waiting to happen.

...Kantaris’s killing is a blow to the politically correct ideologues who refuse to see the dramatic consequences of mass immigration, particularly on the middle class. Kantaris’s death does not fit into their preordained ideological scheme. Because it can’t turn a blind eye to the killing, the left has taken the death out of context, treating it as an isolated incident which could have happened anywhere at anytime. In contrast, members of the extreme right have exploited the anger prompted by the killing to advance their own racist agenda. They ran after and beat any immigrant they met in their path. If there is evidence that they are responsible for the death yesterday of a Bangladeshi man, then we can talk about a new phase of blind race-motivated conflict -- generated by the absence of any official migration policy.

The Kafkas beating, meanwhile, has enfuriated the left. This group sees his case as vindication of their repeated allegations of state violence. For people on the far right of the political spectrum, the police beating was just collateral damage. Sure, they feel sorry about the incident, but that’s about it. Different perspectives that stem from different ideologies are inevitable in a democratic society. But there are limits. And these have been violated. The fact is that the two dramatic events have inspired two rival protest rallies and conflicts, as if the Kantaris killing was juxtaposed against the Kafkas beating.

Greek officials urge calm after racist attacks

"There were racist attacks before, but Thursday's events were something else, really terrifying," Mohammad said. "It all happened very suddenly, we didn't expect something that extreme."

"The police were everywhere, but neither did they offer us protection nor did they stop those who were attacking us," he said. "I have a wife and three children. Should I leave Greece, or stay and maybe get killed?"

Pakistani worker Riaz Ahmad said he was grabbed as he left home for work. "Five or six people started shouting: Catch him! They hit me with sticks and kicked me before I slipped back into my block of flats. I have lived in Greece for 11 years and everything has been fine. If things have changed now, what fault is it of ours?"

Separately, police are investigating the fatal stabbing of a Bangladeshi worker in another central Athens district that is home to many migrants and has a strong far-right presence. There have been no arrests, and the motive of Wednesday's attack remains unclear.

Government spokesman George Petalotis urged restraint.

"The spectacle of knifed immigrants in hospital cannot be accepted by Greek society," he told state TV. "Citizens who live in the center of Athens and in areas with a big (crime) problem are right to be frustrated ... but clearly nobody has the right to take the law into their own hands."

The ruling class has no answer for the bailouts and no answer for the massive wave of criminal immigrants. Negative social mood increases the desire for conflict, mistrust of outsiders, etc. With the Greek state and elite unable to provide leadership, negative social mood is turning into violent street action. The Greek stock market is back near its three-year lows and at a new low versus gold, just as the violence breaks out.