When on December 6, 2008 he was killed Alexandros Grigoropoulos on Epaminonda Korconea, the Greek citizens, who are now in their 30s, were teenagers. How did this particular event affect this generation? “The assassination of Grigoropoulos inflamed a generation of young Greeks, many of whom were still forming their political views, which made them suspicious of authority and skeptical of the system,” indicated in “K” director of the Hellenic Observatory, London School of Economics in London, Kevin Featherstone. When the financial crisis erupted, there was already an atmosphere of rejection of authority in Greece, a seeming failure of the political class, he notes. “A flood of popular protests,” adds Mr. Featherstone, “was sparked by the 2008 murder of a 15-year-old student by a police officer in Exarchia.”

According to a 2020 National Center for Social Research survey of “influential political events of a generation”, “December 2008” is recognized as an influential event of their generation by 6% of young people who were 17 years old in 2020. -29 years. However, for the 25-29-year-olds, who were about the same age as Alexandros Grigoropoulos, his murder mattered much more – it was the political event that affected them more than their personal and family experiences. “For older young people, residents of urban centers, with a high educational level, who independently place themselves on the left side of the Left-Right axis, this fact is chosen as the most important in a percentage that reaches 20%. and comes out first among other political and social events of the 21st century”, adds Manina Kakepaki to “K”., chief researcher at the EKKE Institute for Policy Studies, but emphasizing that this does not apply, for example, to younger young people or those who do not live in urban centers. “The murder of Grigoropoulos was catalytic for some categories of today’s youth, and even more so for others,” he emphasizes.

“Radicalization”

OUR Dimitris LivaniosAssociate Professor, Department of Modern Greek and European History, AUTH, refers to “K” how the murder of Grigoropoulos contributed to the radicalization of a significant part of the Greek youth born politically after December 6, 2008. “It acted as a catalyst for some of the Greek youth to move towards extreme forms of reaction,” he adds, “such as sympathy and recruitment into groups like the Cores of Fire.” From a historical perspective, the event is too recent to be able to assess its impact, he adds.

Thodoris Georgakopoulos, editorial director of the non-profit research organization diaNEOSIS, refers to “K” that for this particular generation, the “hit and slap” was the financial crisis. “15-year-olds in 2008 respond more or less the same as their parents,” he says, “no big change in how we trust the police.”

The 25-29-year-olds, who began puberty in 2008, admit that a particular incident left its mark on them.

“He shaped me…”

However, some 2008 teenagers tell K that the event was a catalyst for them. A few months after December 2008, 28-year-old Elpida would have turned 15. Alexandros Grigoropoulos has always been in her memory as a peer. “I think I really understood what happened around 19 when I saw his picture and realized he was a kid.” comments on “K”. “Growing up,” he points out, “I was shaped by both the incident and how I handled it.”

In December 2008, George turned 13 years old. “It shook my confidence in the police,” he tells K today about the murder.

“The Grigoropoulos incident, like any other case of excessive police force and therefore institutional deviation and arbitrariness, reinforced my anti-repressive stance.” refers to “K” 33 years.

“That day we just chose a camp,” says 27-year-old A.L. “Either you are with a child killed by the state, or you are not.” He places himself in an anarchist space and believes that even if this particular event had not happened, it would still be there politically – “it just wouldn’t have been done in such a violent way,” he emphasizes.