Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party is increasingly assuming the role of law enforcement officers on the streets of the bankrupt country, with mounting evidence that Athenians are being openly directed by police to seek help from the neo-Nazi group, analysts, activists and lawyers say.
In return, a growing number of Greek crime victims have come to see the party, whose symbol bears an uncanny resemblance to the swastika, as a “protector”.The Raw Story
Greek police send crime victims to neo-Nazi ‘protectors’
Helena Smith | The Guardian (UK)
This is how it begins, if history is any guide. Soft fascism becoming hard fascism?
12 comments:
I wonder who is funding the Greek neo-Nazis ?
The German Nazis were bankrolled by industrialists in America as well as in Germany.
With the police behind them, go figure.
"More than one out of two police officers voted for Golden Dawn in the elections"
http://www.grreporter.info/en/one_every_two_police_officers_voted_golden_dawn/6853
There are two very good quotes in that article:
"For them [the Greek police] Golden Dawn supporters are their only allies on the frontline when there are clashes between riot police and leftists."
If I had to guess, I'd say Greek capitalists would feel pretty much the same: a choice between real leftists and Nazis? That's a no-brainer (for them).
"This is a party [Golden Dawn] based on hate of ‘the other’. Now ‘the other’ is immigrants, but who will ‘the other’ be tomorrow?"
Try a guess.
Re Nazis, that Guardian article said that “if they come they will be met by leftists who have said they will beat them up with clubs.” Since Hitler used street violence, is it the political left or the political right who are Nazis?
The same thing has happened in Britain: we’ve had members of left wing groups arrested for street violence.
Hitler used to kill the authors and film producers he didn’t like. Muslims do likewise, so Muslims are Nazis?
The Nazi jibe is a strong indicator that the person using the jibe has run out of arguments.
What Ralph Musgrave has noticed is an odd asymmetry in the way that left and right wing extremists are treated.
Right wing extremists provoke much wailing and gnashing of teeth over the coming Nazi-pocolypse. They must be always and everywhere defeated and crushed under foot.
Left wing extremists are completely normal. They should be placated with concessions and other shiny things to mitigate their wholly legitimate grievances.
As I recall from history, Ralph, the Nazis were in street fights with the Communists and other socialists of the time. Looks like a similar dynamic going on in Greece to decide who the man on the white horse is going to be that steps up to resolve the issues on nationalistic lines. Doesn't bode well for a united Europe, at any rate.
Good heavens, vimothy, compare the treatment of Tea Party extremism, guns and all, with Occupy — unless some right wing nut cases actually plan to assassinate the president or blow something up. Similar in Greece. The right is on the side of the 1% and the left not. Go figure.
Some have mentioned an "odd asymmetry in the way that left and right wing extremists are treated".
Indeed, there is one such asymmetry. The right wing extremists are actually beating up migrants:
"In recent weeks racially-motivated attacks have proliferated. Immigrants have spoken of their fear of roaming the streets at night following a spate of attacks by black-clad men on motorbikes. Street vendors from Africa and Asia have also been targeted."
The left wing "extremists" are threatening to beat up the right wing extremists if they attempt to beat up the migrants.
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Because, surprise, surprise, there is a little issue these "close observers" did not observe: the migrants themselves.
Indeed, vimothy there is an asymmetry. Everywhere, nonviolent lefties tend to be met with state violence, while even violent righties are usually treated with kid gloves. There are academics who study this y'know.
As Tom says, "The right is on the side of the 1% and the left not." It's entirely natural that things turn out that way, and entirely natural that there is propaganda that reverses things.
I'd like to point out that this was all predicted by this blog several years ago when I commented on the Greek tendency about the neo naz schtuff ..
not looking so good, in Greece or elsewhere
when disorganization sets in, mistrust follows;
conservatives feel justified in extreme measures;
liberals feel motivated by events;
and partisanship spirals into class war ... where "investors" sense opportunity! (to buy "damaged" assets at fire-sale prices)
Jim Rodgers: "Investors, get thee to a country just recovering from a disastrous war."
i.e., loot the widows & orphans
George Washington saw a better way. So can we.
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