I was wondering how the flies would get in my ointment. As a basically dissatisfied person, I wondered, what will I find to be dissatisfied about here? The weather is actually enjoyable after four years of cancerous sunshine, the social protections are great and inexpensive, awesome conditions for the boy, good cost of living relative to income, forests, parks, outdoor swimming, strangers are nice to each other, etc. etc.. Everything's awesome. What am I going to find to bitch about? Anything?
It turns out that the only thing that has cropped up is that I feel uncomfortable living in a country whose politicians and population feel so comfortable holding another country's head down a toilet.
There was obviously criminal wrongdoing leading up to this situation - obviously years of Greek books being fudged, Greek businesses dodging taxes, and French and other European banks making criminally irresponsible commitments. I don't suggest it's a good thing that northern European taxpayers be on the hook to the tune of billions of euros to paper over these criminal acts and incompetencies. I do suggest it's a fucking terrible thing that Greek people suffer conditions that look like total defeat after total war in a way that will be of immense profit to private investors.
And I suggest it's utter and complete bullshit to suggest Greeks brought this on themselves, and that there is some sort of moral reason why they can't be allowed to cancel their debt. They can't cancel their debt because they're not allowed to cancel their debt. Not like Germans were allowed to cancel their debts, over and over, because who was going to stop them? Last time anyone tried to, they turned into the fucking Nazis and fucking massacred everybody. If Greeks swing to the extreme and violent right, as I am sure they will if present proposed conditions are enforced, there's just not enough of them for anyone to care.
There's no positive-looking scenario for Greece right now but what is being levered through the EU and the Greek parliament at the moment is terrible. I hope it's a joke - something nobody expects will be accepted - an unspoken way of kicking Greece out of the euro without anybody that anyone takes seriously having to explicitly say "we're kicking Greece out of the euro". Otherwise - if these machinations are meant to succeed - I think for the first time I can confidently say fuck this place. It's a semi-socialist paradise to a pinko like me, but at the same time, it exports the most virulent and predatory aspects of its capitalists the way Saudi Arabia exports violent religious fundamentalism.
I'm still not ever leaving, though. And frankly, after four years in an actively genocidal country, it's still a moral relief.
It turns out that the only thing that has cropped up is that I feel uncomfortable living in a country whose politicians and population feel so comfortable holding another country's head down a toilet.
There was obviously criminal wrongdoing leading up to this situation - obviously years of Greek books being fudged, Greek businesses dodging taxes, and French and other European banks making criminally irresponsible commitments. I don't suggest it's a good thing that northern European taxpayers be on the hook to the tune of billions of euros to paper over these criminal acts and incompetencies. I do suggest it's a fucking terrible thing that Greek people suffer conditions that look like total defeat after total war in a way that will be of immense profit to private investors.
And I suggest it's utter and complete bullshit to suggest Greeks brought this on themselves, and that there is some sort of moral reason why they can't be allowed to cancel their debt. They can't cancel their debt because they're not allowed to cancel their debt. Not like Germans were allowed to cancel their debts, over and over, because who was going to stop them? Last time anyone tried to, they turned into the fucking Nazis and fucking massacred everybody. If Greeks swing to the extreme and violent right, as I am sure they will if present proposed conditions are enforced, there's just not enough of them for anyone to care.
There's no positive-looking scenario for Greece right now but what is being levered through the EU and the Greek parliament at the moment is terrible. I hope it's a joke - something nobody expects will be accepted - an unspoken way of kicking Greece out of the euro without anybody that anyone takes seriously having to explicitly say "we're kicking Greece out of the euro". Otherwise - if these machinations are meant to succeed - I think for the first time I can confidently say fuck this place. It's a semi-socialist paradise to a pinko like me, but at the same time, it exports the most virulent and predatory aspects of its capitalists the way Saudi Arabia exports violent religious fundamentalism.
I'm still not ever leaving, though. And frankly, after four years in an actively genocidal country, it's still a moral relief.
2 commenti:
Ah jeez yes.
I've been going around feeling fucking furious. With me - for the wilful blindness that let me ignore what I suspected (but placated myself - miserable legal idiot - that I really had no proof) were the evil excesses of power elites in the EU - happy that there was a sort-of pinkish tinge to the social policies and employment and H&S initiatives that (in a way) protected folk in the UK from the viciousness of Thatcherism and subsequent neoliberal decades.
Turns out the Troika is a bigger evil (just the same but bigger) than the UK's home grown variety.
My eldest is off to Leibniz Uni in Sept - for an Erasmus year. She lived in Berlin for a year and has reified Germany ever since as the 'ideal society'. I feel pained for her - her beliefs and ideals have had a big bloody shake-up . Her idol has dirty big clay feet. Though she still loves Germany - choosing now to distinguish the politics of Merkel et al from the people and institutions she will move amongst.
I think you've already said this - in a comment to me or maybe EB somewhere before - but anyway, I know that Power is fundamentally 'anti-democratic' - it'll move to protect its own interests and will use whichever system is in vogue to do that. (The simplest example of this I ever saw was a woman I knew who would jump political party when she felt her current party was about to lose - this way she remained an elected rep. I despised what I viewed as her amorality - he lack of principles - in reality she was just 'surviving'.). I just continue to hope that people see through the devices it uses to prop itself up - that they actively resist the propaganda and understand that their views are being manipulated to meet the needs of a force that is not ever going to give a shit for them.
I'm tired of it all. I am sickened by it all. I wish I had no insight at all - because what little insight I have is of no f'ing use at all - nothing is going to change.
Enjoy what you can.
It's a damn sight better than where you've been.
There is still some hope for the European model - the European Parliament is perhaps the most anarchic democratic institution in existence and at a certain pitch of broad European popular fury maybe eventually it will be allowed to do something, and as an anarchist that fills me with hope. A Europe that did sincerely represent the regions in that way, and allows for a complete and utter mess by most standards of power, is still full of possibilities. That isn't the Europe that Europe is getting so far, though - just another monolith. Well.
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