ATHENS - Greedy Greeks, accustomed to freeloading off their government, took matters into their own hands when they gathered, supposedly to "protest," in an overcrowded courtroom, preventing a bank's lawyer from appearing before a judge in a "routine" eviction case.
Chanting and jeering, the "protesters" filled the courtroom beyond its capacity, breaking windows, crushing tables, and demolishing the witness stand. "Don't pay to stay!" some shouted, while others cried, "Stay home, don't roam!"
Overcome with compassion, the empathetic judge rescheduled the case for a date when soldiers could be present to bolster the bailiff.
The "protesters" said too many people have been forced into homelessness by greedy banks demanding loan repayments. The government, they said, should forgive homeowners the loans they acquired.
Greece is bankrupt. Its citizens' entitlements became unsupportable during the economic recession it, along with most of socialistic Europe suffered recently, and, now, the one country with money to loan, Germany, wants "exorbitant interest rates," Greeks whined.
"They want as much as five percent, when we can't even afford the principle."
Greece owes 180% of its gross domestic product to Germany and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
German Chancellor Angela Merkin said, "There's a solution: Greeks need to suck it up and tighten their belts six or seven notches."
IMF Director Christine Lagarde agreed with Merkin. "Why are they eating one meal a day, when they could get by on one per week?"
The bank's lawyer might have been denied his right to a fair trial, but, he vowed, he would have his day in court. "I'll be back."
"When he is," the "protesters said, "we will be, too."
