Greek Man Shoots Himself ‘Over Austerity Measures’
4th April 2012
The death of the 77-year-old man in the Greek capital’s Syntagma Square came after similar incidents in Italy.
The pensioner shot himself with a handgun a few hundred yards from the Greek parliament, in apparent despair over his debts.
He reportedly shouted “so I won’t leave debts for my children” before killing himself in the square, which has been the scene of numerous violent protests against the introduction of tough austerity measures in recent months.
I’m not sure I make the connection, here. ‘Debts’ means that you borrowed money and can’t pay it back. Does Greece not have bankruptcy laws?
In neighbouring Italy, a 78-year-old woman threw herself from the balcony of her third-floor apartment on Tuesday in apparent protest against the fact that her monthly pension had been cut to 600 euros.
So I guess the government is ahead by 600 euros a month. Not what I think of when I think ‘protest’.
April 4th, 2012 at 10:59
Oh, if we could only convince the unhappy to throw Congressmen off of tall buildings as a form a protest………