A Greek Tragedy named Dimitris Christoulas

 Dimitris Christoulas is the 77 year old retired pharmacist who two days ago stood in front of the Greek Parliament building in downtown Athens and blew his brains out because he couldn't bear being reduced to  foraging for food in garbage cans.  He was Mr. Everyman-- an ordinary citizen who worked hard, supported his family and saved for retirement.  He was us, part of the worldwide 99%, and that is what has shaken everybody up so badly.We all identify with the desperation of the man. He could be us, or our father or grandfather.

We haven't heard much about this modern Greek tragedy here in the United States because we've been busy with Newt and Mitt and the rest of the Republican clown car, but we really should pay attention to Dimitris Christoulas and his story. His suicide and the ensuing riots just may be the tipping point that galvanizes a nation and an example to the world, if not to the World Bank.  It was a fruit peddler setting himself on fire in Tunis that set the Arab Spring in motion after all.

 He left a note.  Here's a photo of the original in Greek. (H/T to  InnerSelves.com for both the image and the translation) as well as for the heart rending photo above.

and here is the English translation:

The Tsolakoglou [a reference to a wartime Nazi collaborationist in Greece] government has literally wiped out my ability to survive, based on a decent pension which I paid for myself over 35 years with no help from the state.

If one Greek had taken a Kalashnikov into his hands, I might have followed him and done the same but because I am of an age that makes it impossible for me to take strong action on my own, I can find no other solution than to put an end to my life before I start sifting through garbage cans for my food.

I believe that young people with no future will one day take up and hang this country’s traitors in arms in Syntagma Square just as the Italians hanged Mussolini in 1945.

 The note is a testament to the anger and despair of one old man, but it is also something else.  It draws a parallel between  the EU imposed austerity measures that are beginning to bite and the humiliation of German occupation of Greece under the Nazi's during World War II.  Connecting those dots provides an emotional flashpoint for national rage.  It's what they've been doing in Europe for centuries and why the creation of the EU was such a miracle in the first place.  This blame game is why nobody ever thought Europe could function as a united entity with a common currency.  This suicide is a human tragedy but it also shines a light on the inherent weakness of the European Union not to mention the vulnerability of the Euro.

 Blaming Germany for Greece's current financial  problems won't help and the fall of the  Euro will help even less.   But here we go again.  This suicide has touched a nerve and I smell a tipping point. I don't know what's next.  I seem to have mis-placed my crystal ball, but I don't see this ending well. Do you?

Crossing My Fingers for Greece, the EU, and the World

source

Don't know about you, but I am holding my breath about Greece and keeping my fingers crossed. While here in America we've been paying attention to such stupid stuff as Bristol Palin's virginity and Congressman Weiner's weiner, there has been rioting in the streets of Athens as the government of Greece tries desperately to put its financial house in order.  This is not a "so what" for the rest of Europe or for the beleaguered American economy.  If Greece goes under, it  potentially takes the rest of  the European Union and the Euro itself with it.   That could have a major impact on all of us all over the world.  Isolationism is not a viable option anymore.

Here's a quote from Reuters Quick Guide to the Crisis:

Greece has a sovereign debt pile of 340 billion euros ($481.5 billion), more than 30,000 euros per person in a population of 11.3 million. The 110-billion-euro bailout it accepted last year from the European Union and International Monetary Fund has proved insufficient and a second package worth 120 billion euros is now under discussion. With its debt equivalent to 150 percent of annual output, Greece holds two unwanted world records: the lowest credit rating for a sovereign state, and the most expensive debt to insure. Its people have run out of patience with an ever-deepening austerity drive that has slashed public sector wages by a fifth and pensions by a tenth.

Greece is between a rock and a hard spot-- or, to use an ancient Greek literary analogy-- between Scylla and Charybdis.  In order to secure  bailouts from the European Central Bank and the IMF, the government has had to cut jobs and services to the bone.  This has shrunk the sick Greek economy even more, created massive unemployment and civil unrest, and made the prospect of  paying the debt even more unlikely. France and Germany, the  EU powerhouse economies, are getting nervous.  Who knows how long their citizens will be willing to shore up  Greece? They are still offering help, but insisting on stricter and stricter oversight.  The situation does not look good.

Like I said, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Greece. You should do the same.  A little prayer wouldn't hurt either. The medicine will be tough, but the alternative is even tougher.