[MGSA-L] Golden Dawn in New York city

Aristide Caratzas acaratzas at gmail.com
Mon Oct 1 02:31:48 PDT 2012


The pontifications in the item below notwithstanding, let us get to some facts:

1. The (amorphous) "Left" in Greece, which includes an number SYRIZA factions in its ranks, has employed violence pretty much throughout the period since the advent of democratic rule in 1974 and until the present; this has included murder (November 17, ELA which was run by the Stasi, and similar grouping defined themselves as leftist to the best of my knowledge),  [probably hundreds of] bombings, and many lesser acts such as vandalism, setting of fires, stealing cars and other property. Some more publicized cased included (but were not limited to):

	— Recently (February 2012) over 40-50  buildings in the center of Athens were put to the torch; it was widely discussed in the media that those (anarcho-leftists) who set the fires worked of behalf of speculators who wanted to redevelop the center. It is interesting to note that the criminal arsonists did their work undisturbed because there was no police presence in most of the area where the fires were set. The arsonists were followed by swarms of illegal aliens who looted offices and stores.

	— in June 2008 anarcho-leftists set fire to five (rightist) bookstores and beat up personnel that attempted to stop them; the publishing, and political establishment more generally, did not condemn these crimes. One is reminded of the Heinrich Heine quote, to wit “Dort, wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen" [=There, where books are burned, the end up burning people.]

	— the Heine quote proved prophetic: in May 2010 in a Leftist demonstration in which SYRIZA factions played a leading role a branch of the Marfin Bank was set on fire; the criminals who set the fire, and the crowd that gave them cover, likely knew that there were bank employees inside, including a pregnant woman. Four people died.

Based on the sampling above, and assuming that the writer below is correct, viz. that the "violence from the left is categorically different in that it seeks to overturn and transform the existing legal and political order in Greece," one questions transform the order to what? The record of the left (and the extreme right for that matter) is pretty clear in the areas where it has seized control over the last century, namely tyranny  characterized by oppression, murder (and in many cases genocide) coupled with inefficient management of the state. The present model that comes to mind is North Korea, which one hopes in not what the writer below envisions.

2. Golden Dawn only emerged into a movement of political consequence over the last couple of years, mostly as a result of the failure of the government to control illegal immigration into the country and to provide even elementary protection to its citizens in many parts of the country. Much has been written about violence emanating from that group, though a careful reading of the actual reports in fact reflects less, not more.

Anyone who visits today some formerly middle class neighborhoods of Athens will see that they have been transformed into slums, with all manner of squalid organized criminal activities taking place, from drugs and prostitution to robberies and murder; the desperation of the residents  is palpable since they are the ones remaining who could not afford to move and escape. The constituencies for Golden Dawn are the old and the weak, who welcome any rudimentary protection given to them to be able to carry on with life; the merchants, who are taxed and regulated, and whose business is ravaged by unfair competition from (often illegal) foreigners selling illegally imported goods on the street (in fact it would make for an interesting investigation to find out links between criminal human trafficker networks and factions of or individuals linked to SYRIZA). 

Enter Chryse Auge (Golden Dawn), effectively is a vigilante organization, testifying to the weakness of the government (not on its side, as the writer of the screed below would have it conspiratorially). Indeed, it remains to be seen what happens to Golden Dawn once the government returns to functioning, offering the controls and protection which is its obligation to the citizens. 

One last point: the writing below ends by suggesting that the writer is on the side of "founding a new order" (sic) — there are NO new orders; if we scratch below the sloppy verbiage, the new order that the writing below suggests will end up totalitarian. We have seen much of this kind on "new order" since Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Kemal Ataturk, Mussolini, Hitler, Tito, Mao, Hoxha,  and many more. 

Aristide Caratzas


On Oct 1, 2012, at 8:18 AM, Peter Bratsis wrote:

> 
> It is good that AHEPA has come out against Golden Dawn but it is a severe misreading to equate their actions to those of SYRIZA or the far left in Greece.  Golden Dawn uses violence in order to defend the existing legal and normative order in Greece, to provide 'protection' to citizens and to fight back against those who desire to change key aspects of traditional greek society (for example, those who challenge the religious, linguistic, and ethnic social order).  Indeed, Golden Dawn often works in conjunction with the police and acts as a very useful foil to the present regime, taking a bit of attention away from the destruction and violence that the state is inflicting on society and dolling out the beatings and intimidation that would stain the image of official state security agencies.  
> 
> Presumably the violence and disorder one see on the streets during protests and general strikes (leaving aside the plain truth that this is most often at the hands of the police) is what is understood as being the violence and threats from the left.  That violence is a part of politics is a given, there is no denying that fact.  However, the violence from the left is categorically different in that it seeks to overturn and transform the existing legal and political order in Greece.  From the other side, from the right and the repressive apparatuses of the state, the purpose is to defend and continue the existing legal and political order.   
> 
> Those who believe that Greece is doing well and should continue on the present path, then by all means present the left as a danger to the status quo.   However if you simply decry violence and conflict, then you are fundamentally siding the with the existing regime and its own version of violence as a means of protecting existing Greek and EU policies.  The choice is not between violence on one side and none on the other, a position other than a partisan one is possible, either you want to defend and continue the existing order or you are on the side who wants to found a new one.
> 
> 
> Peter Bratsis
> 
> 
> On Sep 29, 2012, at 7:21 AM, "Savidis" <lists1 at savidis.com> wrote:
> 
>> It is important to note that the largest Hellenic heritage/diaspora
>> organization in the world (excepting the Church), the American Hellenic
>> Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), has strongly and publically
>> condemned Golden Dawn and the opening of this “office.”  
>> 
>> AHEPA’s statement is fairly and rightly explicit in labeling the group as
>> bigoted and neo-Nazi, and in pointing out the irony of a Golden Dawn
>> attempting to recruit in the home of the descendents of Greek immigrants --
>> who themselves had a long slog against xenophobic nativism and outright
>> racism.
>> 
>> Relevant to the prior discussion it is also instructive to note AHEPA also
>> makes it clear this is a problem of both the ultra right and ultra left,
>> which has been violent and equally nihilistic and threatening to
>> democratically elected Greek governments: "Simply stated, such rhetoric and
>> acts conducted by extremists on both the right and left are unacceptable and
>> deeply concern us as a community and as Ahepans. "
>> 
>> I find the AHEPA statement to be quite sober, well reasoned and well timed.
>> It points to specific and unique dangers of Golden Dawn, and specifically
>> and categorically deplores them, while also stating the evident fact that
>> extremists on the left also threaten civil society there.
>> 
>> George P. Savidis 
>> Washington, DC
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> From: mgsa-l-bounces at uci.edu [mailto:mgsa-l-bounces at uci.edu] On Behalf Of
>> Eleni Bastea
>> Sent: Friday, September 28, 2012 7:24 PM
>> To: mgsa-l at uci.edu
>> Subject: [MGSA-L] Golden Dawn in New York city
>> 
>> While we are debating what should and should not be published on the MGSA
>> list, Golden Dawn has opened an office in New York City. Deeply troubling
>> all around. Maybe our New York colleagues can comment more.
>> http://www.salon.com/2012/09/24/greek_neo_nazi_party_sets_up_ny_office/
>> http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/09/23/3107701/greek-neo-nazi-party-sets
>> -up-new-york-office
>> 
>> Quite troubling is also the commentary by various readers following some of
>> these articles.
>> Eleni
>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> Eleni Bastéa, M.Arch., Ph.D.
>> Professor, Architecture Program
>> School of Architecture and Planning
>> The University of New Mexico
>> MSC04 2530, 1 University of New Mexico
>> Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USA
>> http://www.elenibastea.com 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> List-Info: https://maillists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/mgsa-l
> 
> _______________________________________________
> List-Info: https://maillists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/mgsa-l

Aristide D. Caratzas
Telephone: 30-697-228-5442
acaratzas at gmail.com





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