Akron, Ohio native, Los Angeles resident and granddaughter of Greek immigrants Maria Nicolacakis shared her feelings on her Facebook page after seeing numerous posts from fellow Greek Americans on her newsfeed that bothered her. With her permission, The Pappas Post has reprinted her entire post and we thank her for allowing us to share her perspective with our readers.
Some of the Greek community are posting about black people looting and how they feel sorry for the police. I’d like to provide a little historical perspective from one Greek American to another. My yiayia got on a boat to America for a better life, and her sister survived a concentration camp and getting assaulted by Nazis so their future generations and Greek parea could live in a country where people didn’t perpetuate hate.
That means seeking to understand one another, not posting about how all the “terrible things” that the “mavri” are doing “too much.” Looting is not the answer, but focusing on it not only misses the point, it deepens the wound and perpetuates the stereotypes that are dividing us.
Let me clear: there is a time to celebrate the good cops–but it’s not when the nation is mourning the victim of some bad ones. We are supposed to act in a way that would make our yiayias proud. Have you forgotten your history? That not too long ago Greeks were targeted by the KKK, too?
Look, I get it, our parents and grandparents came to this country with nothing. They endured great pain and hardship to earn what they built. “How dare people burn it down?”
But imagine if our ancestors were black.
If my papou were black, then would he have been able to have the choice to stop working at that Youngstown Sheet and Tube steel mill? I wonder. If my papou were black, then would he have been able to save enough money to open his business, “Sun Bright Dry Cleaners”? I wonder. If my papou were black, then would he have been able to get that loan to buy the family house– the one that is still in our family and home to his half Filipino great grandson today? I don’t have to wonder. Because when my husband and I bought our first house in 2003, the original paperwork from 1953 revealed it, “shall not be sold to any person of color.”
We sold that house.
So if my papou were black, then there may still have been a Sun Bright Dry Cleaners, and there may have even been a house on Park Drive, but it would have been a much steeper climb. “See, he did it on his own!” you say. “I just don’t believe in handouts. Be accountable for your own actions and success.” How has that gone for you during this crisis? When circumstances beyond your control became an obstacle too great to bear? Have you managed it on your own or did you lean on your strong Greek community– one not completely stricken by poverty, violence, and broken homes? Did you keep that stimulus check?
Just wondering, because you don’t believe in handouts.
My papou was not educated. He was, however, accepted in white society, and that meant he could get a loan or buy a house in a certain neighborhood. He got what he earned from hard work, determination, and the privilege of being able to participate in a system built by whites. That’s what is meant by white privilege. White male privilege to be precise, because we all know our yiayia’s didn’t have the same opportunities, being women.
Speaking of women, let me ask you something. Especially you Greek mothers so irate about the rioting. How would you respond if a cop had his knee on your son’s neck for 1 second, let alone for 8 minutes and 46 seconds– the time it takes you to drive to your local Starbucks? Because I have a feeling your response would be a helluva lot more dramatic than taking some Nike shoes that aren’t yours. I’ve seen how you react when someone even remotely slights your prize possession, The Greek Son.
How would you respond if no one stopped your son’s slow asphyxiation and murder since he was Greek? Because I know it would be a lot more dramatic than breaking a window. And dads? If you joke about answering the door with a shotgun when a “nice Greek boy” comes to pick up your daughter for a date, I can only imagine your wrath.
If my son were murdered, I know I’d want to grab that antique Cretan machete I’ve seen hung on various Greek mantles over the years and pierce his murderer through the heart without an apology. And so would you if anyone ever laid a finger on your precious Yianni. Or your Constantine. Or your George. George Floyd. That’s his name. Ironic it’s a Greek one, huh? George called for his Mama when he lay begging for his life. George wasn’t perfect, but haven’t we all mourned the untimely death of a loved one with flaws?
It’s all unfolding like a classical Greek tragedy, so it should feel familiar. You’ve seen the theatres in Athens, created so individuals like you and I could watch how the consequences of our actions play out in society–safely. It’s just that now, we’re seeing the drama unfold in real life and it’s uncomfortable.
We’re experiencing the part of the play where the victim calls for revenge and justice. We’re experiencing the part of the play where the Greek Chorus arrives as a mechanism to amplify a message, so they chant and dance and sing in the city to elevate the action toward climax; to call attention to the theme.
The theme in this drama is that George Floyd could be any one of our Greek sons. The tragedy is that because of our hubris, we still can’t see it.
It’s embarrassing.
Featured image courtesy of Benjamin Finley on Unsplash
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10 comments
Well said and recognized as accurate by another Greek American of Cretan heritage.
Spot on! And thank you for this – I for one am SO tired, and often embarrassed & angered by many in the Greek community who compare their immigrant experiences to that of Blacks in this country – Many of the children of these Greek immigrants now are college “educated”, have “higher degrees”, and continue to spout these lies – Sure, many Greek immigrants had a hard time a & were discriminated against when they came to this country, but they overcame & because they were white, they assimilated & in time they were indistinguishable from any other white person – And that is just for starters – I could recite the horrific history of Blacks in this country, but it would be preferable for you bigoted people to read & learn their story & not be so quick to judge – In general, the Blacks have NEVER been given a break in this country – Sadly many of us live in a vacuum, simply
parroting what we hear from others, too lazy to look for answers for ourselves – And it is because of people like this that “we have not yet overcome” – It’s way past time for justice!!!
I absolutely support Maria! This is the type of honesty we need; there is an utter lack of empathy in the community. I hope the next generation does better.
I agree with certain things and not other things said. I’m 100% Greek. Both my parents left Greece went to Canada and then America. I arrived 20days old in Brooklyn, NY. I grew up there. My dad worked 3 jobs and we lived poor in the housing projects. So not all Greeks own businesses or are privileged. There are also many Blacks who are privileged. I also read articles where back in the day Americans were racist against Greeks and Italians. These rioters and looters destroyed their own communities and their killed shot or hurt their own Black people who owned businesses so don’t defend rioters!! There is a difference between peaceful protest and rioter/looters. There are more white people being killed by cops then Black people but the media doesn’t show you that so you would never know. It’s 1% blacks and 3% whites. The cop was charged he will go to jail so there was no reason for the rioting except for free stuff. They actually destroyed the memory of George Floyd who did not deserve to die but by the way his autopsy showed so many drugs in his system and in 2007 was arrested for putting a gun to a black womans pregnant stomach to rob her. The media treated him like he was a martyr.
Cops are not judge, jury, and executioner. That is not and has never been their job.
A couple of comments, Nikki – Most of the protesters were peaceful, so to brand them all as rioters/looters is grossly unfair – Why, I wonder, do people always seem to focus on the few bad apples instead of lauding the many good people – And FYI, during a peaceful march in DC, it was Trump and his goons who were violent towards peaceful protesters as he marched to a nearby church for a photo op in which he held the Bible upside down – Secondly, since Blacks are only 12% of our populations the number of murders is way our of proportion to the murder of whites –
There are, of course, many Blacks who are successful, but not nearly the proportion there should be if all Blacks were treated
as Whites are in our country – Both my mother and father emigrated to this country from Greece – My father was subjected as
many were to racial slurs, but here’s the critical difference between his experience and that of Blacks in this country – Once
my father established himself and gained respect in his community here, he merged with the community – He was white!!
Black people are always black and continue to face racism, death, lynchings, and years in prison for crimes they did not
commit, as well as untold other humiliations – JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE BLACK! These are not parallel experiences –
Black woman married to a Greek American here. Thank you so much for this. It’s been painful for me to realize just how pervasive racism – more specifically anti-Blackness, is in the Greek American community and a head scratcher because these are mostly 1st and sadly 2nd generation immigrants who were just discriminated against. Call it out every time.
From one Greek-American Maria to another: Thank you and I completely agree.
Our own struggle stories coming to this country, difficult though they were, still do not even come close to what Black Americans experienced and continue to experience. If anything, our experiences should give us both empathy and greater urgency to fixing the problems caused by systemic racism that our fellow Americans are facing.
Thank you so much for writing this and putting everything I’ve been thinking out there in such a clear and concise manner. Our community needs more people like this!
So well-written and powerful. I agree whole-heartedly. In fact, I am no longer on Facebook because some of my relatives, sons and daughters of immigrant fathers ,are posting such horrendous racist comments. The situation here in the US is deplorable. I see all prejudice as a pecking order- feeling superior to others to elevate oneself.