Depression of early 21st century leads to infestation of racists making false claims

[feargach]

It's very sad how every time there is a serious economic depression in Europe, the racists get let off the leash, and are given freedom to spread horrible falsehoods that are easy to disprove. But everybody just sits back and lets the racist lies spread around uncontested.

Back in the 1930s the target for this was the Jews, nowadays it's the Greeks. People just lie and lie until they're blue in the face. They can say virtually any racist blather about Greeks, and nobody says "wait, let's see your source for that assertion, mate!".

Greeks are a race of people that, in the main, like every other nation on Earth, are basically clueless about finance. For the vast majority of all Europeans, and all other nations, high finance, bond swaps, maturity dates, and all the other mumbo jumbo are a completely opaque mystery. A tiny number of specialists know what these words mean. In this, it is like quantum mechanics. The average Greek is no more responsible for the shady deals of financial specialists than a toddler in a Berlin kindergarten in 1943 was responsible for the Final Solution.

There is a widespread myth, freely spread around everywhere that Greeks can retire at 55. Of course, that's not true. For more than four-fifths of Greeks, they have to retire in their 60s, like the rest of the Eurozone. Another popular lie is that Greeks have a bloated public sector. Actually, they have the 4th smallest in Europe. Why do we tolerate such blatant hate-mongering using falsehoods? Hate-mongering using accurate data is pretty unsavoury, but surely tolerating those who do the same using flat-out lies should be beyond our comfort zones, if we have any decency?

The other false, deeply racist notion that even politicians like Merkel like to pretend is true is that Greeks are lazy and don't work enough hours. The truth? Greeks work 160 hours longer than Germans per year, and 100 hours more than the rest of Europe as a whole. Let's call that 3 very gruelling 53-hour weeks a year. Average that over a 40-year career and you have 120 weeks or two years four months extra years of work put in by Greeks.

What's wrong with us that we are suspending all basic rules of decency? Why do we allow these racist slime to spread these vicious, utterly false, easy to check lies about people who had the bad luck to have dark skin? Yes, Greeks did falsely believe that their finances were OK when in fact they weren't.

So did the Irish. But for the Irish, it was a LOT more obvious that their finances were bent out of shape. Greeks didn't have an immense housing bubble. Their houses didn't grow in price 300% in a decade. Wealthy Greeks frequently evade taxes, as do wealthy Britons, Italians, French, Irish and yes, Germans (why do you think Geneva and Basel are such nice places and German middle managers get to ski on the most exclusive Alpine slopes despite declaring modest incomes?). Tax evasion is the rule, not the exception for the upper middle classes of all of Europe, yes all.

Not that it should matter, as the vast majority of Greeks couldn't evade taxes if they wanted to: the overwhelming majority are taxed at source, and have already paid in full by the time their very modest paycheques arrive in their accounts. A simple fact like that won't stop a hardened racist from spreading the lie, like the same racists like to spread the lie that black men are born rapists. But we tolerate the first lie even though we have stopped tolerating the second.

Maybe some day we can just stop tolerating racist lies altogether.

[bob3367]

Can I ask one question.....

Did they falsify their financials to gain €uro entry?

[Clanrickard]

Back in the 1930s the target for this was the Jews, nowadays it's the Greeks.

Not only is your post incredibly stupid. It is utter profanity to equate the treatment of Jews with the situation in Greece. Get a life.

[Happytolearn]

Can you link sources? (Not questioning your points - would like to read more about this)

[ShoutingIsLeadership]

I blame the blacks for exposing our innate racism.

[hedzog]

I blame the blacks for exposing our innate racism.

blacks , it was them there Nigerien blacks so it was , they really get the best out of us .

[The Field Marshal]

Can I ask one question.....

Did they falsify their financials to gain €uro entry?

Your wrong to allege that the Irish falsified their economic data to join the euro.
That did not happen.

I have to ask this question too.

From many extant sources and reports it does look like the Greek govt falsified information in order to join and remain in the eurozone.

Even if they did not the Greeks should never have been allowed to join the EU as the average nationalistic mindset in that country looks with utter contempt on all other nations.

[ShoutingIsLeadership]

blacks , it was them there Nigerien blacks so it was , they really get the best out of us .

And if they're not here they're picking on us white folk by e-mail. Racists

[owedtojoy]

It's very sad how every time there is a serious economic depression in Europe, the racists get let off the leash, and are given freedom to spread horrible falsehoods that are easy to disprove. But everybody just sits back and lets the racist lies spread around uncontested.

Back in the 1930s the target for this was the Jews, nowadays it's the Greeks. People just lie and lie until they're blue in the face. They can say virtually any racist blather about Greeks, and nobody says "wait, let's see your source for that assertion, mate!".

Greeks are a race of people that, in the main, like every other nation on Earth, are basically clueless about finance. For the vast majority of all Europeans, and all other nations, high finance, bond swaps, maturity dates, and all the other mumbo jumbo are a completely opaque mystery. A tiny number of specialists know what these words mean. In this, it is like quantum mechanics. The average Greek is no more responsible for the shady deals of financial specialists than a toddler in a Berlin kindergarten in 1943 was responsible for the Final Solution.

There is a widespread myth, freely spread around everywhere that Greeks can retire at 55. Of course, that's not true. For more than four-fifths of Greeks, they have to retire in their 60s, like the rest of the Eurozone. Another popular lie is that Greeks have a bloated public sector. Actually, they have the 4th smallest in Europe. Why do we tolerate such blatant hate-mongering using falsehoods? Hate-mongering using accurate data is pretty unsavoury, but surely tolerating those who do the same using flat-out lies should be beyond our comfort zones, if we have any decency?

The other false, deeply racist notion that even politicians like Merkel like to pretend is true is that Greeks are lazy and don't work enough hours. The truth? Greeks work 160 hours longer than Germans per year, and 100 hours more than the rest of Europe as a whole. Let's call that 3 very gruelling 53-hour weeks a year. Average that over a 40-year career and you have 120 weeks or two years four months extra years of work put in by Greeks.

What's wrong with us that we are suspending all basic rules of decency? Why do we allow these racist slime to spread these vicious, utterly false, easy to check lies about people who had the bad luck to have dark skin? Yes, Greeks did falsely believe that their finances were OK when in fact they weren't.

So did the Irish. But for the Irish, it was a LOT more obvious that their finances were bent out of shape. Greeks didn't have an immense housing bubble. Their houses didn't grow in price 300% in a decade. Wealthy Greeks frequently evade taxes, as do wealthy Britons, Italians, French, Irish and yes, Germans (why do you think Geneva and Basel are such nice places and German middle managers get to ski on the most exclusive Alpine slopes despite declaring modest incomes?). Tax evasion is the rule, not the exception for the upper middle classes of all of Europe, yes all.

Not that it should matter, as the vast majority of Greeks couldn't evade taxes if they wanted to: the overwhelming majority are taxed at source, and have already paid in full by the time their very modest paycheques arrive in their accounts. A simple fact like that won't stop a hardened racist from spreading the lie, like the same racists like to spread the lie that black men are born rapists. But we tolerate the first lie even though we have stopped tolerating the second.

Maybe some day we can just stop tolerating racist lies altogether.

I tend to agree with you, but what are YOUR sources (mate?)?

[patfitzbally]

what is a racist, a culchie calling a dub jackeen