Two Greek-American tourists were stabbed Tuesday morning on a pedestrian street right outside the Acropolis — and the establishment press can barely be bothered to treat it as more than a local blip.
A man with a knife attacked the pair near the entrance to the Acropolis Museum in Athens, wounding the woman in the leg and the man more seriously in the arm, according to police. The attacker was detained at the scene. Authorities say he appeared to be suffering from "psychological problems" — the go-to explanation that lets everyone move on without asking harder questions.
CNN framed the attack as "rare," and AP and Breitbart ran the same wire copy noting that "violent street attacks are rare in Greece." Maybe they are — for now. But "rare" is not "never," and it only takes one knife to end an American life abroad. Greek media reported the assailant had been randomly threatening passersby with a knife before the stabbing, and a member of the public had to alert police. That means a armed man was already menacing civilians at Greece's most iconic landmark before anyone in authority intervened.
The Acropolis draws millions — 4.6 million visitors last year alone, per AP. It stayed open after the attack. Business as usual.
This is the second notable violent incident in Athens in three months. In April, an 89-year-old man opened fire with a shotgun in a social security office and courthouse, wounding at least four people, reportedly over social security grievances. A pattern of instability is forming, and the answer from officials is the same every time: isolated incident, mental health, move along.
No one in Washington is asking what happens to American citizens when the institutions of the West continue to fray. No travel advisories updated, no hearings scheduled, no questions about whether governments that can't secure their top tourist attractions can be trusted as allies in anything else. Two Americans were stabbed at the birthplace of Western civilization, and the people who run everything want you to know it's no big deal.
The question isn't whether Greece is still safe. The question is who's keeping count — and who's being kept in the dark.
