“Would you kill Picasso so that Mrs Maria would live on, even if he is 84 years old and she 17?” Greek painter Costas Tsoclis has put his own “selection” criteria about who would need to get help during the pandemic: Only people who have some accomplishment, “a proven value” should be helped and not young ones or babies “as we don’t know what kind of people they will grow up to be.”
In an interview with state broadcaster ERT and magazine “Art Week,” 90-year-old Tsoclis unfolded his views regarding who should be saved if there was to be a “triage” dilemma. He said he was frustrated and angry about “how the society’s attitude towards different age groups.”
“We consider a baby worth to live but do we know if it will grow up to be a human being with some value? Regarding an old man, we know what fish he has caught in his life. I, if I were to save a man at my age, who is still alive and hasn’t lost his mind, or a child for who we do not know its development, I would save the old man, because why should I risk it? The old man is a real value…” Tsoclis said.
As expected, Tsoclis statement triggered an outrage on social media with many Greeks commenting that he is afraid of coronavirus and he desperately tries to secure an ICU bed, now that hospitals are on the verge of collapse.
Όλα τα 'χαμε, ο Τσόκλης μας έλειπε να μοιράζει αριθμούς προτεραιότητας για το ποιοι αξίζουν να ζήσουν και ποιοι όχι.
— Anna Chatzisofia (@AnnaChatzisofia) November 28, 2020
“What we’ve been missing is Tsoclis distributing priority numbers to who is worth to live on and who are not.”
Αναστριχιαστικη η άποψη Τσόκλη περι διαλογής.Όσοι κατά τη γνώμη του δεν είναι διάνοιες και δεν έχουν διακριθεί στη ζωή είτε ειναι μωρά, είτε έφηβοι, είτε ηλικιωμένοι πρώτοι στην σειρά για τον υγειονομικό Καιάδα…
— Voula Kexagia (@bkex) November 28, 2020
“Creepy point of view on selection. Whoever is not a genious, has not achieved some accomplishment, whether babies, or teenagers or elderly, they should [die first.].”
PS At least Tsoclis would save old men who are still alive and not dead ones. I think I hear Darwin shouting from his grave: Hold my beer.
Is this the Greek intellectuals we deserve?
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That’s only his personal opinion !
And yet, we can’t predict society’s reaction to this insoluble dilemma !
When insulin appeared almost 100 years ago, and was very scarce, dying children were sacrificed in preference
to adults who seemed “more worthwhile”.
We could arrange to have another pandemic for when all these younger people have reached 70 plus. Then we could find out whether they still want to be thrown on the scrap heap. The young forget that they, too, will grow old eventually.
plural noun: intellectuals : a person possessing a highly developed intellect.
Just curious as he is speaking about value (?) How much value brings a 90 year old painter with comments like this to society?
Think I catch his drift.
Up and coming lefty, WOKE, victim-mentality millennials are not going to add value to the human species. They just complain and campaign against their educationally induced, prejudiced point of view. A point of view which is formed by the lefty, WOKE teachers in primary, secondary and university, who themselves have never actually worked for as living, never left school – in one form or another. No entrepreneurial get-up-and-go. Too content to ensconce themselves in a secure-for-life, early-retirement, tax-payer funded occupation.
There is a saying that goes – THOSE WHO CAN – DO! THOSE WHO CAN’T – TEACH.
Besides which, any of these entitled whippersnappers contracting COVID-19 will get no more than the symptoms of ordinary ‘flu.
Oh my god, a real neanderthal, without teachers my friend there would be no space for entrepreneurs
Greek “family” values. 60+ seniors are our most valuable asset. Screw children, bury them in debt, no schools…
Here’s a thought: spend less on riot cops to beat up punks and immigrants and maybe you can actually invest enough into NHS to have enough ICUs for *gasp* all age groups and their respective contributions to society.
Perhaps he hasnt heard that like many countrys on the planet Greece has and will have a serious shortage of young people to go to work,not enough babies being born so that they can go off every day,earn money and pay TAX which in turn pays for the old valued folks PENSION so dont bite the hand that feeds you. It sounds as if he might have lost his mind somewhat to be saying such strange things, so hes on the bottom of the list.Real Proven Value could be a long into- the- night debate.
What a horrible opinion. Sounds like eugenics to me. The Nazis were fond of that.
It should be done on a clinical basis only. Those most likely to survive. Even Picasso was a baby and a teenager.
As somebody 74 I have some sympathy with Tsoclis’ view, purely out of self interest BUT if I had to triage between me and my 8 year old grandson I would say give the bed to my grandson. I think I have added value to society during my life BUT how much more value am I going to add in my remaining years? I have no idea if my grandson will develop a cure for cancer or become a serial killer but I would take that risk. I am absolutely certain that whatever he does he will contribute more to society during his life than I am likely to contribute in what remains of mine.
Can I go for the middle ground and save a recent graduate who clearly has the ability and time to make a contribution to society, rather than an old man who has no more to contribute or a child who might not have what it takes? Proven value for the future, rather than a worn out drain on society!
I’m not serious, I would never want to have to engage in that sort of triage, but there’s no doubt that the loss of the aged is less of a tragedy for society than the loss of the young, even though that idea might put me in a perilous position! I’m scared of covid but perhaps not as scared as Mr Tsoclis and the fact I did make a contribution to human rights in the past doesn’t mean I have anything more to contribute in my approaching dotage.
I must confess, when I read about comments from Greek “intellectuals” like this, not to mention some of the things Govt ministers make, I do wonder what became of the heirs to Plato, Aristotle and Euclid. Still, it gives us something to scribble about during a boring lockdown.