Ruled by fear and cowardice
We should no longer be surprised by the fact that masked hoodlums, barricaded university buildings and bomb attacks against both public and private property have become a part of everyday life in Greece. The reason behind all of these phenomena is quite simple: fear and political cowardice in dealing with the underlying issues relating to these outbreaks of violence. On the one hand, university rectors are behaving more like politicians and less like academics, bowing to political pressure from extremist groups. On the other, the Greek police force is too frightened to go out into the streets, gather information and evidence, and conduct investigations into such events, and would much rather continue arguing that it is all business as usual in Greece, a peaceful country. So, we really should not be surprised at all, because as long as the country’s academic leadership and police force fail to do the job they have been assigned by the state, there is no doubt that the situation can only get worse.
