Greek Man Commits Suicide Outside Parliament — Allegedly Leaves Note Urging Others to ‘Take Up Arms’ Against Austerity
- Posted on April 4, 2012 at 2:49pm by
Erica Ritz
- Print »
- Email »
A Greek pensioner shot himself dead in the busiest public square in Athens during Wednesday morning’s “rush hour,” leaving a note that police said linked his suicide with the country’s acute financial woes.
The 77-year-old drew a handgun and shot himself in the head near a busy subway exit in central Syntagma Square, reportedly yelling, “so I won’t leave debts for my children!”
The square, opposite Greece’s Parliament, is a focal point for public protests against the government’s austerity cuts.
The location where the man killed himself has already become a memorial
Business Insider is reporting that the retired pharmacist left a suicide note railing against the government and calling on fellow Greeks to take up arms:
The Tsolakoglou government has annihilated all traces for my survival, which was based on a very dignified pension that I alone paid for 35 years with no help from the state. And since my advanced age does not allow me a way of dynamically reacting (although if a fellow Greek were to grab a Kalashnikov, I would be right behind him), I see no other solution than this dignified end to my life, so I don’t find myself fishing through garbage cans for my sustenance. I believe that young people with no future, will one day take up arms and hang the traitors of this country at Syntagma square, just like the Italians did to Mussolini in 1945
Soon after the suicide, about a dozen written messages had been pinned to the tree under which the man shot himself, some reading “It was a murder, not a suicide,“ and ”Austerity kills.”
Government spokesman Pantelis Kapsis described the incident as “a human tragedy,” but said it should not become part of political debate.
“I don’t know the exact circumstances that led that man to his act,” Kapsis said at a daily press briefing. “[But] I believe we must all remain calm and show respect for the true events, which we do not yet fully know.”
Greece has relied on international rescue loans since May 2010. To secure them, Athens implemented austerity measures, slashing pensions and salaries while repeatedly raising taxes.
Still, one in five Greeks is currently unemployed, and suicide rates are up 40% in 2011 from 2010.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Popular Stories
Does Misstated Marathon Claim Prove Paul Ryan Is Dishonest? (POLL) 692 Comments
Paper Details Obama Admin’s Alleged Secret Note Sent to Iran: If Israel Attacks, We Won’t Get Involved 495 Comments
Obama: RNC Like Watching ‘Black-and-White TV’ Because Romney ‘Did Not Offer a Single New Idea’ 375 Comments
Roseanne Barr: Most Billionaires ‘Violent Pedophiles’ & ‘Heartless’ Cocaine Addicts 346 Comments
‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 331 Comments
Faith
This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 315 Comments
Pakistani Muslim Cleric Accused of Framing Disabled Christian Girl in Koran-Burning Case Read More- ‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 331 Comments
Meet the Controversial German Imam Accused of Brutally Beating His Wife & Pushing Sharia Law Read More
‘Self-Proclaimed Messiah’ & Unification Church Leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon Has Died — Here’s His Life Story Read More
Business
President Obama Issues Major ‘Green Energy’ Executive Order 239 Comments- Germany’s Upcoming Court Ruling Will be Huge for the EU Read More
Ford Looks to Beat Toyota for Best-Selling Car in 2012 With This Model 148 Comments
Bernanke & QE3: Here’s What You Need to Know Read More- ‘Extortion’: Why Did the Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Farmers? 302 Comments
Technology
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 315 Comments
‘TaserDrone’: Hackers Weaponize Quadcopter With Actual ‘Shocking’ Technology Read More
Ever Heard of the Wild ‘Burning Man’ Festival in the Middle of the Nev. Desert? Here’s Your Primer Read More
Stanford Develops Technology ‘Better Than Steroids’ for Athlete Recovery Read More
Have You Pretended to Know What ‘the Cloud’ Is? You’re Not Alone Read More
Submitting your tip... please wait!
Comments (71)
TheObamanation
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:54pmIt’s like walking into a bank … pointing a gun at your head … and saying … “give me all your money or the idiot gets it”… This guy wasn’t too bright.
Report Post »AvengerK
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 4:19pmSuicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. “Theos Syxores Ton” to the man and his family. Without impuning the dignity of death, this man was a fool. Greece will recover from it’s woes and likely be in better shape for it. This man said he didn’t want to leave his family any debts but what he left them was a lifetime of anguish and pain instead. The Greeks themselves are as much to blame for this as an incompetent government. It’s not unsual until recently for Greeks to be getting four pensions at once. Right before Greece hit the wall it’s government (led by a die hard socialist) added to it’s constitution that anyone with a government job may keep it for life…and the greeks rejoiced. The Greeks have no one to blame for this but themselves. They should never have joined the EU and I can tell you from first hand experience..when they joined the EU they were all saying the Germans would pay the bills. Make no mistake…Germany needs to keep the EU together. It’s enjoyed a boost in exports since taking on the Euro. To abandon it would see Germany’s currency rise nearly 20% and thus price it out of the export market. What Germany’s been doing is buying time for Spain and Italy to get shored up and prevent the same thing (not likely but Brussels is still hoping). Greece is expendable and will default..it’s not a question of if, it’s a question of how soon.
Report Post »Blackhawk1
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 4:29pmIf about 1 million more of these liberal Greek entitlement idiots follows this guys lead Greece will be out of debt in no time.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 5:21pmThrough the Magic of Transmutation… Bullets will turn into Money :)
Report Post »Onowicit
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 9:12pm@TheObamanation
My Arss just fell off laughing, literally out loud at your comment. I went back and read it twice SO funny. I can see the guy in the bank and all the people shocked…….at first, and then BLAM hahahahaahaa
shwoooo OH my goodness. man, LOL
Report Post »raderby
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:51pmonly now does he realize the power of the dark side. RIP.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 9:22pmSocialist Promises… fuel the Train to NoWhere… and, yet, people keep climbing OnBoard!
Report Post »Cavallo
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:45pmTaking up arms would be the worst thing to happen for the EU. It would get really ugly really fast, especially since the basis of the uprising would be to take wealth, rather than to seek freedom. Very quickly it becomes a mob of looters, and Bolshevik thugs. Speeding up the demise of their ecosociological experiment in Europe might be a boon or at least a wakeup call for the USA.
Report Post »Disabledvet
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 4:21pmFrance would just put their hands in the air and give up and start crying why it is taking America so long to come rescue us.
Report Post »HappyStretchedThin
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:42pmAll due sympathy for the sadness of such a desperate act being given, I still can‘t help but read this poor man’s purported reasons for suicide and ultimate death as an allegory for what would happen to Greece collectively WITHOUT the austerity measures. Debt doesn’t just enslave the labor of individuals, it saps the soul of the group and tends to erase the distinctiveness of the people as a whole, reducing it to its economic value to the outside world. May the Greek people have the courage to face their debts, stand up to the politicians enslaving them, and return to the pride they could otherwise claim.
Report Post »sawbuck
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:42pmWell.. I personally think people shouldn’t read so much doom and gloom..
into this economy. I think it’s about to turn around.
I feel so strongly about it.. I went out the other day
Report Post »and started pricing pots to pee in..!
Blackhawk1
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 4:34pmThe pot to pee in is a start, but the window to throw it out is really going to be expensive!
Report Post »vtxphantom
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:38pmI’ve read this guy had lots of debt, which makes sense looking at the Greek economy. His suicide is a convenient way of pushing a political point of view.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:37pm.
Report Post »I know this is off topic, but Ya‘ll it is raining so hard there’s a frog in my backyard signaling for the Coast Guard……..
OhioRifleman
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 4:24pmToss the poor amphibian a signal mirror so they know where to pick him up from. I’ll bet there are a lot of frogs in the area with alert beacons activated.
Bad thing is, we’re going to get whomped where I live sometime in the next day or so…
Report Post »Blackhawk1
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 4:37pmSpank
Are you sure it’s raining? Maybe it‘s Obama peeing on you and only leading you to believe it’s raining!
Report Post »jungle J
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:36pmThe greedy are too lazy to live..would rather die than sacrifice.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 9:26pmThis is your understanding… that you took from this Story?
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:34pmPathetic.
Report Post »woebegone
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:29pmAll condolences to the family. But really the Greek economy has been parasitic, and as much as this represents real hardship for some and as much as I empathize with them what is the eventually weakened host to do? Go on to be bled to incapability out of respect for a parasite? Really?
Report Post »bullcrapbuster
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:28pmWhat Greece needs now is to make the final push to Communism. Yep pick up a rifle and create a peoples paradise. Then there will be no more dissent or street violence because that would make you an enemy of the people. Enemies of the people are shot in the communist paradise. Every one then needs to shut up and be happy to be alive,or else.
Report Post »GoodCook
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:27pmThat’s one way to help the Government cut costs. No need to pay his pension and health care anymore. He’s no longer a burden to the State.
Report Post »beffuddled
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:26pmIf they had had started with austerity, instead of leaping right into socialism, they wouldn’t be feeling the effects of this Ponzi scheme.Now Greece knows what happens when you run out of other peoples money.
They are not alone, we are boned as much as Greece because the voters decided to give the elections to Democrats and Obama. We are worse off than Greece is something even Matt Lauer can fit onto a bumper sticker. What Greece is, we will become.
Report Post »TH30PH1LUS
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:23pmThe 77-year-old drew a handgun and shot himself in the head near a busy subway exit in central Syntagma Square, reportedly yelling, “so I won’t leave debts for my children!”
Sounds like Greece has Obama-Care
Report Post »racebannon
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:13pmSo you have a socialist declaring to fellow socialists to take up arms against those who are trying to save the country from financial ruin. And when they depose and kill the ‘austerians’ (sic) and the country finally collapses, well then they will have to take ‘their cause’ to their neighbors by invading them (and stealing their food and wealth) because those immediately closest to them are ‘necessarily’ most responsible for ‘taking care’ of the Greeks needs. Hhhmmm, sounds like the beginning of a world war…
Report Post »Mark0331
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:12pmWeak disturbed coward.
Report Post »mobynowak
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:11pmOne less mouth to feed. One less bus seat to subsidize. One less patient to heal. At least someone is doing their part.
Report Post »encinom
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:11pmAusterity kills. Austerity punishes the meek, the poor and workers while rewarding the 1%. Austerity is the product of the heartless cultist that follow Ayn Rand, like Paul Ryan, instead of the speaker of the sermon on the mount.
Report Post »SquidVetOhio
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:23pmNice try. But I’m afraid the apostle Paul said this:
“For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work , neither should he eat .” – II Thessalonians 3:10
And God said this:
“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” – Genesis 3:19
No mention of austerity, only hard work. The Bible, LIVE IT, LOVE IT.
Report Post »I.Gaspar
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:26pmIf that’s true, there are those of us who hope you are a meek, poor worker.
Report Post »What a load of cr*p!
Big government kills.
Gonzo
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:30pmGrow up.
Report Post »Unix
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:32pmLOL, you are a gem Encinom! Laziness kills, sucking off the govt (read taxpayers) kills. These people have been living under socialism for decades, and now they are broke, and the all willingly participated, and in the end they will be gnashing teeth and crying foul, and for what? Their own making, they deserve to starve for their sloth and greed!!! Retire at 45, is a JOKE. Guess what encinom, you’ll be one of them, when our govt crashes and burns, due to Obama/congress (read Progressives), due to the welfare/nanny state spending.
A socialist does not run out of money, until he runs out of yours! The USA is well on it’s way now, and there is nothing that can be done to stop it, so I feel real sorry for you liberal communists in the near future, because you will take it to the streets, and that will be your big mistake. Keep spending money we don’t have, or have to borrow, the end fate of America will be starvation too. But you of course will think I am an extremist, too bad, because I have lived this nightmare before, and it will happen here, mark my words. You won’t, and to top it off, you’ll twist in a few more lies, to seal your illegitimate fate. Cheers!
Report Post »TSUNAMI-22
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:33pm“The poor you will always have with you”. – Jesus Christ
The death of this man although unfortunate, is the ultimate end result of the lie and con that is the Marxist, utopian, Godless ideology.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:39pmYour ignorance is limitless,and communism kills millions, unfortunately for us our president is a Marxist POS trying to transform us into a communist state and he will fail in grand fashion.
Report Post »neverfinal
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:49pmGet a job, you fool.
Report Post »encinom
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 4:23pmThe typicla, brought and sold defenders of the rich are out in force. Instead of standing with their brothers, they defend their masters hoping for some additional crumbs off the master’s table. Beck has his useful idiots trained well, using an old book of myths and fear he has them voting against their interests. The Ryan budget is nothing more than Austerity for the masses and hand outs to the wealthy, but the typical Tea Party supporter will defend it even if it means more burdens on them.
Report Post »AvengerK
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 4:26pmYou idiot ENCIDIOT…Greece had cradle to the gave entitlements. Even before Greece hit the wall the Papandreiou (a hardline socialist) government added to the Greek constitution that all those with government jobs could keep them for life. Greece was a socialist/leftist paradise…that couldn’t pay for itself to stay alive. Grow up clownshoes.
Report Post »AvengerK
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 4:33pmWhat part of “we‘re broke and can’t afford ourselves” is too difficult for you to grasp ENCIDIOT? You’re watching Greece, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Ireland collapse under the weight of their own socialism and you want us all to deny our lying eyes and listen to the slongeering of a blind leftist git like you? No really….the word of a drooling idiot like you is worth more than our own eyes and ears? You can tax every “one percenter” in this country to the last penny and it still won‘t pay for the bottomless pit of entitlement spending in this country that’s got us in dangerous debt. What part of that is just too difficult for you, you vacuous cretin?
Report Post »encinom
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 5:08pmAvengerK
Report Post »Posted on April 4, 2012 at 4:33pm
What part of “we‘re broke and can’t afford ourselves” is too difficult for you to grasp ENCIDIOT?
_______________________
What part of that does the GOP and Paul Ryan not understand? The Ryan budget extends tax breaks to the wealthy, the GOP is defending tax breaks for the oil companies, if we are broke why defend the hand outs to the 1%. The Bush Tax break didn’t create jobs, but the Obama measure to save the Auto Industries and infuse the market with capital did.
AvengerK
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 5:42pmLOL….”handouts to the 1%” ENCIDIOT? Perhaps if we gave business incentives to the non-tax payer we’d see a better return and better employment numbers? You’re an idiot you truly are.
Report Post »encinom
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 7:32pm@AvengerK
Funny, even in the face of the GOP opposition to it, the jobs numbers keep on going up. Obama has turned this economy around while the GOP folded their arms and shouted no and the tea baggers acted as their useful idiots.
Report Post »howardfine13
Posted on April 5, 2012 at 3:39pmEncinom, Don’t you see that what you stand for is nothing new? You are trying to fight for something that has done nothing but ultimatley oppress people. You want poverty. You think poverty will make people equal. The problem is, history is against you. People who have followed ideas like yours in the past have ALWAYS been oppressed and poor. These are facts.
Legal plunder can be committed in an infinite number of ways; hence, there are an infinite number of plans for organizing it: tariffs, protection, bonuses, subsidies, incentives, the progressive income tax, free education, the right to employment, the right to profit, the right to wages, the right to relief, the right to the tools of production, interest free credit, etc., etc. And it the aggregate of all these plans, in respect to what they have in common, legal plunder, that goes under the name of socialism.
Report Post »–Frederic Bastiate circa 1850
SpankDaMonkey
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:11pm.
Greek Man Commits Suicide, Leaves Note Urging Others to ‘Take Up Arms’ Against Austerity’….
What and shoot themselves in the head like you did? Well I guess that one way to get the Debt undercontrol……………
Report Post »Frodo RinosBane
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:07pmReally? If the government doesn‘t take care of me so I don’t have to work, I’ll kill myself? Sad and sickening. But watch out – big government wants him to die, so this fits their agenda, too.
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:07pmTHAT will show THEM!!
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:45pm.
Report Post »I bet their‘s a Government Offical over in the corner just crying his eye’s out……..
progressiveslayer
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:02pmIt’s too bad he did that but when you have a socialist country like Greece it inevitably fails.If we don‘t get our house in order starting with firing our Marxist POS president we’ll be in the same boat,probably within four years.When you run out of other peoples money this is what happens,always,it’s very consistent.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:42pmHe was pathetic and weak, save your pitty for someone who deserves it.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:53pmAll this time I thought we were pen pals,WTF Gonzo.
Report Post »WTSpike
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:02pmThus does the coward make his statement loudly, and leave the fight to others.
Report Post »The_Jerk
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:01pmSee America’s future.
Report Post »tonydanibradbury
Posted on April 4, 2012 at 3:00pmWhat a fearmonger! Please….people taking up arms and killing other people over budget cuts???? What a weirdo! He must have been drinking the Glenn Beck Kool-Aid!
Hmmmm….oh….wait…..uh-oh.
Report Post »