I think one thing that struck me as different in Greece than in America is how militarized the police are here. I have never seen police people with gas masks or bullet shields before and that was a bit shocking to me. I have been told by locals that this is a normal sighting and a reality here. That being said, I was also interested to learn about how the difference in gun violence here versus in the United States. Getting to experience being in a culture that has mass protests over one case of gun violence is just so different from the society I am used to, where mass shootings happen often.
The police presence definitely felt overwhelming at times, especially not speaking the language. I had moments where I felt very uncomfortable by the sheer number of the force, especially when in contained areas. There was one time when I voiced my concerns to one of my professors and she didn’t understand why the situation felt unsafe to me. She was so used to protests and the militarized police that she couldn’t understand my perspective. That being said, I now feel very differently about violence in the United States. Being here has really given me a different perspective on something that I have grown so used to in America. In one of my anthropology classes my professor specifically told me that other countries see the US as a violent country. This really struck me as I have never thought about my country this way. I feel like growing up in the United States I was taught with a sort of nationalist mentality, but by leaving, I am able to be much more critical of my home country in this respect. I think that if one of the Greek people I have met were to go to America and hear about the amount of violence that happens there, they would be shocked.
I think that I will feel differently when I return to the United States and hear about instances involving guns or police violence. In the same way that seeing so many police people was shocking to me when I got here, I wonder if the lack of police, and their attire, will feel like an adjustment. Because this is such an important and relevant topic in American society, I will definitely use the lens in which I have developed while I was here to talk about this issue further. I have found it really fascinating to hear about local attitudes towards the police force while living here and I look forward to having more meaningful conversations at home.