Is something wrong with our society? The news is dominated by court coverage: trials, convictions, televised trials (we’re world champions at this), accusations, journalistic verdicts, public trials (like the one we saw outside Roula Pispirigou’s house in Patras), and much more. Everyone has something to say; everyone passes their own judgment long before the justice system has had its say…

It’s interesting how various «TV pundits» weigh in on every conceivable topic. Two months ago, they were «epidemiologists»; a month ago, they became «military analysts» and «international relations experts»; recently they were analyzing energy issues, and very recently they’ve become criminologists, child psychologists, social workers, and above all, «executioners» ready to carry out executions.

You might say that trials take too long to get underway, that the public is now «thirsting for blood,» and that there are always those willing to provide it for free.

Yes, but I, the naive one, ask: Isn’t this how we train society to get used to extremism? Isn’t this how the rapist, the murderer, the child killer, the racist, the fascist, and every kind of extremist become a face that visits our homes every night at exactly 8 o’clock (and for some of us, at other times of the day as well)? Do we open the door to our living room for him and listen to the story that those «on the scene» tell about him?;

«That's right,» my "other self" will reply, but if each of these criminals is not publicly shamed and condemned by society, then it will be easy for the same situation to continue; the same miscreants will continue to be produced, the same murderers.

Here lies the danger that I might be labeled a «hypocrite» if I do not condemn—like another Nikolouli, like another Tatiana—all these phenomena, all these «disgraceful characters». And what’s more, I have to condemn them in exactly the same way, with the same words, with the same sharpness. Anything else raises suspicions and second thoughts about me: «Hey, why is Koronaios beating around the bush? Is something up?» And I, the poor soul, would have to explain something incomprehensible about «journalistic ethics,» the «presumption of innocence,» the «rule of law,» and all those «strange»…

Well, there really is something wrong with our society, but above all, there’s something wrong with our social instincts. All these murderers, rapists, racists, and followers of the «macho» and «I’ll take care of you myself» mentality must be isolated, convicted, and punished in a way that serves as a deterrent. It is up to us, the citizens, to ensure their isolation and social condemnation. Punishment must be decided by the justice system—and the justice system alone.

We must make sure to talk to our children about all those people they should not be like. All those who stray from moral principles and values. Those who are under investigation by the justice system.

Journalism is a fundamental component of democracy. It has a duty to investigate and expose. Journalists have often «paid the price» for their dedication to their duty. They gain nothing by exaggerating «social condemnation» or by substituting themselves for the justice system. On the contrary, the excessive spotlight on evil undermines moderation, which is a fundamental element of humanism.

(From Wikipedia: Protagoras introduced the concept of «anthropocentrism» with his famous saying, «Man is the measure of all things.» This expression means that man is the measure of truth and knowledge, and therefore every subjective opinion on a given subject has its own value.).