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subversion which he perceived ultimately aided the Roma cause by weakening the
structural forces of oppression that kept them down and which condoned, and in some
cases encouraged, broader social oppression.
(0):
.. .1 mean, why, Christos. You know it’s dangerous, and I realize that you don’t
have many other options, but surely there are other things you could do. There
are people who will help you Ieam to read. You could stop taking drugs ...
(C):
Don’t you think I want to stop? My life is hard. Sometimes I wish it would all
just stop. My brothers are scared of me sometimes. My sister won’t let me see
my nephew any more.
(0):
So then?
(C):
So nothing! I have responsibilities and I’m good at what I do - it’s part of me.
Don’t think this is just about making money ... I’m good at this and I have to do it.
[Profanity] the police officer who chases me and who beats my friends. They
caught my father once and almost killed him - for nothing.
(O):
So you stand up to the police?
(C):
Every day I laugh at them, friend. If they catch me, I’ll fight, I’ll lie. I’ll kill
them. I don’t care. But even if they don’t catch me I’ll be there, always. What I
do goes against what they want, and that is good. That helps my brothers ...
(O):
How?
(C):
... if the police doesn’t get what it wants, then we can do what we want. My
brothers and my mother won’t be poor; we Tl all be the same ... maybe my
brothers can go to school ... If my moving boxes didn’t threaten the police and
the government, why would they care? No, I help my family by hurting the
police and taking money from the government
Christos and his group justify their behavior, partially, through a discourse of
grassroots resistance and what they construe to be civic action: fighting corruption and
state sanctioned violence in the name of equality for a specific group of disempowered
citizens. On the surface the allusions to civic engagement seem contrary to the spirit of
the activities Christos and his friends pursue, especially when one considers more