Up against society

Are the crowds of young people who have been congregating recently in public squares in Athens and other parts of the country politically guided acts of the usual kind or spontaneous gatherings? Even if they did start as a reaction by young people to being cooped up at home for seven weeks, these party-like gatherings soon became political. The police were demonized for intervening and branded agents of a suppressive state and others went on about riot police being sent into our neighborhoods to beat up residents and visitors.

Commenting on these gatherings, the deputy minister for civil protection, Nikos Hardalias, said that "containing the spread of the virus is the not the job of the police, but the social and personal responsibility of each individual." The Citizens' Protection Ministry, which is responsible for public order, appears to be on the same wavelength,...