Can a Macedonian in Greece NOT be an enemy of the State?

[Risto the Great]

I, like many other readers on this forum, have relatives in Greece. They are Macedonians but have been educated through the Greek schooling system and served in their army and barracked for their favourite sports teams. They are 99% of the time Greeks for all intents and purposes.

As many of our Greek friends can attest, you can visit a city like Lerin or Voden and swear that everyone speaks nothing but Greek. When I go there, the assumption is everyone speaks Macedonian. I use it, then they follow suit immediately thereafter. In the villages, it is even more the case that the good Greeks can switch ethnic identity faster than you can bat an eyelid.

So ... if these 99 %'ers are really good Greeks most of the time, what level of "Macedonianness" is tolerable in a country like Greece until they become enemies of the State?

Of equal interest to me is what percentage of Greekness is acceptable for Macedonians from elsewhere in order for the ethnic Macedonians of Greece to be embraced as one and the same people.

Ethnic Greeks with Macedonian ancestry is another story ... but all part of this discussion. I hope you can help me work through this and I invite Greeks to enter into the fray to discuss this modern dilemma.

[ZAS]

I like many other readers on this forum have relatives in Greece. They are Macedonians but have been educated through the Greek schooling system and served in their army and barracked for their favourite sports teams. They are 99% of the time Greeks for all intents and purposes.

As many of our Greek friends can attest, you can visit a city like Lerin or Voden and swear that everyone speaks nothing but Greek. When I go there, the assumption is everyone speaks Macedonian. I use it, then they follow suit immediately thereafter. In the villages, it is even more the case that the good Greeks can switch ethnic identity faster than you can bat an eyelid.

So ... if these 99 %'ers are really good Greeks most of the time, what level of "Macedonianness" is tolerable in a country like Greece until they become enemies of the State?

Of equal interest to me is what percentage of Greekness is acceptable for Macedonians from elsewhere in order for the ethnic Macedonians of Greece to be embraced as one and the same people.

Ethnic Greeks with Macedonian ancestry is another story ... but all part of this discussion. I hope you can help me work through this and I invite Greeks to enter into the fray to discuss this modern dilemma.

You expect wonders my friend.
Not so long ago in the late 80'S i visited my Mothers village in the Prilep district and was shocked and HORRIFIED and appalled that it was 90% PRO YUGO, PRO TITO, PRO COMMUNISM, PRO SERB and PRO everything ELSE except PRO Maco.
At the gates of the village stood a big statue of the Late Dictator TITO, the bridge entering the village was calles Lenin Most, the school was call Srpskiot Dom, and the main street was called Bratsvo Edinstvo.
All this was nothing to what i was to see next....... a wedding presession was heading past the street with music blaring out SERBIAN songs with the Yugo flag waving and Framed picture of TITO being waved around, these deluded people missed the church and instead went to the Local Dom where a Local official who doubled up as a taxi driver performed the marriage rights and granted the young couple a marrige certificate.
Please RISTO tell me what was wrong here, and I will tell you how this village in a matter of 2 years was TRANSFORMED and is now a very PRO NATIONALISTIC Macedonian village.

[Risto the Great]

An excellent point ZAS.
These people were clearly Macedonians that embraced the Yugo crap. They discarded it very quickly too. But if I went there at the same time as you did, I would have been more horrified than you were and I would have been forever convinced that Macedonians were lost in Yugoslavia forever.

At least they were educated in Macedonian (as well as Serbian) and had the ability to perpetuate their Macedonian identity. I am quite sure many more would have remained pro-Yugo if Macedonia never seceded. There are still some people in Macedonia who feel 2nd class against their Serbian oppressors. It is as revolting as the Greek experiment with Macedonians.

The Macedonians in Greece have it much harder but they still exist in many many places. Are you suggesting the Macedonians in Greece can change that quickly? Is it really feasible? I am querying whether Macedonians from outside of Greece are really prepared to accept "damaged goods" from Greece as Macedonians. Especially when many "damaged goods" from Greece actually feel more Macedonian than Macedonians.

[Risto the Great]

I guess I am a little disappointed at the lack of Greek input here.
I was hoping that some might step up and have a reasoned debate.

Can a Greek national be an ethnic Macedonian?
Yes, absolutely.

Can a Greek national declare another ethnicity?
Hmmmm. There is the rub.

[Venom]

It's an unfortunate set of circumstances in dear old greece but not so unfortunate that they can't change in the future if greece and more importantly her creators were to right the wrongs of the past.