Editorial Ta Nea: Excuses

21:06 3/3/2020 - Πηγή: In.gr

The government took a difficult decision to cancel all carnivals around the country as a public health precaution to confront the threat of the coronavirus.

One can dispute the efficacy of the measure but not its enforcement.

Moreover, one cannot exhibit a defiance that is not compatible with the rules

of democracy simply because one disagrees.

Unfortunately, some citizens flouted the instructions of competent authorities and overlooked the broader public interest.

Such defiance of authority was not linked to socio-economic demands or the defence of certain rights. It was a socially thoughtless and irresponsible act which ignored the whole of society.

Such acts of defiance were often explained away in the past and particularly during the decade-long financial crisis.

As one saw with successive efforts to enforce the smoking ban these justifications are not rooted in reality. Those who acted with defiance did not target unjust laws which often create a social backlash but rather laws that they simply did not like.

It is noteworthy that organisers and participants in the world-renowned Venice carnival obeyed the decision of authorities to cancel it for public health reasons but the supposedly defiant Greek carnival revelers did not.