Sometimes I worry that the American people are too complacent and I wish they would go out in the streets and stir up some shit when they find out their government has been lying and stealing and committing other immoral acts. But then I see what real rioting is like, and I’m not so sure we haven’t made the right decision.

ATHENS: The violence in Greece by youths angry over the killing of a teenager by the police raged for a third day on Monday as thousands of police officers failed to contain some of the worst rioting in recent years.

A major street march through the center of central Athens quickly turned violent Monday night, as demonstrators threw concrete slabs, rocks and flaming gasoline bombs at police officers. A Christmas tree set up by the government in the center of the city was set on fire.

The rioting also intensified in the country’s second-largest city, Salonika, and for the first time spread to Trikala, a city in the country’s agricultural heartland.

Schools were shut in Athens, the capital, and high school and university students spilled onto the streets, leading to scattered violence throughout the day. But the evening demonstration, which had attracted thousands and was organized by the nation’s Communist Party, was accompanied by some of the worst of the violence of the past several days, and bystanders said they were growing more frustrated with the police’s inability to stop the riots.

I understand the anger at lethal police brutality, but three days of rioting? Torching the Christmas Tree? Forcing the closure of schools? Whatever happens, they better make some reforms that will make it all worthwhile.