Comments for Beirut Spring | A Lebanese Blog http://beirutspring.com/blog Blogging Lebanese politics, business and society since 2005 Fri, 25 May 2012 06:46:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Comment on The Failure of Lebanon’s Facebook Demonstrations by Antidisestablishmentarianism http://beirutspring.com/blog/2012/05/22/the-failure-of-lebanons-facebook-demonstrations/#comment-33605 Antidisestablishmentarianism Fri, 25 May 2012 06:46:22 +0000 http://beirutspring.com/blog/?p=11770#comment-33605 Such a party would be elitist. What can it promise to the underprivileged? While existing political parties do not promise them anything either, except services offered in the form of charity, they have a successful card to play, which is sectarianism or some grand delusional slogans. I think another important issue is language. A lot of material for the liberal/secular cause should be produced in Arabic to reach anyone outside of the liberal clique. The ideas need to be made attractive, and need to really promise change and improvement. The middle class can act as a train engine for the rest of the nation, if it abandons elitism and truly cares for the plight of people it doesn't really understand. It also helps if the issues are tackled one by one, rather than all at once. Choose one big attractive issue, and put all the firepower behind it until it works, then move on to the next. Such issues are civil marriage, citizenship to sons of lebanese wives of foreigners, proportional representation within the confessional system, etc. these already have a lot of traction.... Such a party would be elitist. What can it promise to the underprivileged? While existing political parties do not promise them anything either, except services offered in the form of charity, they have a successful card to play, which is sectarianism or some grand delusional slogans. I think another important issue is language. A lot of material for the liberal/secular cause should be produced in Arabic to reach anyone outside of the liberal clique. The ideas need to be made attractive, and need to really promise change and improvement. The middle class can act as a train engine for the rest of the nation, if it abandons elitism and truly cares for the plight of people it doesn’t really understand. It also helps if the issues are tackled one by one, rather than all at once. Choose one big attractive issue, and put all the firepower behind it until it works, then move on to the next. Such issues are civil marriage, citizenship to sons of lebanese wives of foreigners, proportional representation within the confessional system, etc. these already have a lot of traction….

]]> Comment on The Failure of Lebanon’s Facebook Demonstrations by Observer http://beirutspring.com/blog/2012/05/22/the-failure-of-lebanons-facebook-demonstrations/#comment-33600 Observer Thu, 24 May 2012 20:18:54 +0000 http://beirutspring.com/blog/?p=11770#comment-33600 Shaving obliges you to look at yourself in the mirror ... at least once every two/three days. Shaving obliges you to look at yourself in the mirror … at least once every two/three days.

]]> Comment on The Failure of Lebanon’s Facebook Demonstrations by Observer http://beirutspring.com/blog/2012/05/22/the-failure-of-lebanons-facebook-demonstrations/#comment-33599 Observer Thu, 24 May 2012 20:16:27 +0000 http://beirutspring.com/blog/?p=11770#comment-33599 Tonight I will start praying that my fellow Lebanese will realize that we are all Sunnis, that we are all Christians and Druze and Buddhists and this and that ... and hope the Jews will also accept that we are all Jews as well ... and that Shi'ite Iran needs to shed its "Darth Vaderesque Khomeini" look for a more appealing "Universally Appealing" Box office candidate. You know ... "Gillette ... The best a man can get!" Tonight I will start praying that my fellow Lebanese will realize that we are all Sunnis, that we are all Christians and Druze and Buddhists and this and that … and hope the Jews will also accept that we are all Jews as well … and that Shi’ite Iran needs to shed its “Darth Vaderesque Khomeini” look for a more appealing “Universally Appealing” Box office candidate.

You know … “Gillette … The best a man can get!”

]]> Comment on The Failure of Lebanon’s Facebook Demonstrations by Observer http://beirutspring.com/blog/2012/05/22/the-failure-of-lebanons-facebook-demonstrations/#comment-33598 Observer Thu, 24 May 2012 20:00:16 +0000 http://beirutspring.com/blog/?p=11770#comment-33598 Finally someone willing to admit we are "different". It's called BEING A LEBANESE ! Finally someone willing to admit we are “different”.

It’s called BEING A LEBANESE !

]]> Comment on The Failure of Lebanon’s Facebook Demonstrations by Observer http://beirutspring.com/blog/2012/05/22/the-failure-of-lebanons-facebook-demonstrations/#comment-33597 Observer Thu, 24 May 2012 19:57:02 +0000 http://beirutspring.com/blog/?p=11770#comment-33597 Suleiman: If there is a discrepancy between the Arabs and Iran, Lebanon must seek to bridge differences between them. Smart move. Suleiman: If there is a discrepancy between the Arabs and Iran, Lebanon must seek to bridge differences between them.

Smart move.

]]> Comment on Brace Yourself for Lebanon’s Superwomen by Chrissy http://beirutspring.com/blog/2012/05/18/brace-yourself-for-lebanons-superwomen/#comment-33592 Chrissy Wed, 23 May 2012 14:09:18 +0000 http://beirutspring.com/blog/?p=11725#comment-33592 Why don't you walk up to one of these women and explain to her your thoughts? I have a feeling she may disagree. Why don’t you walk up to one of these women and explain to her your thoughts? I have a feeling she may disagree.

]]> Comment on The Failure of Lebanon’s Facebook Demonstrations by Chrissy http://beirutspring.com/blog/2012/05/22/the-failure-of-lebanons-facebook-demonstrations/#comment-33590 Chrissy Wed, 23 May 2012 13:47:46 +0000 http://beirutspring.com/blog/?p=11770#comment-33590 I think your economic points hit the nail on the head. When I was in high school, I participated in the Model United Nations club, which is like a mini version of the UN but acted out by high schoolers; each school would pick a country to "be" and we would have a large assembly to debate current events. We quickly learned that no matter what the country was, or what the problem was, it almost ALWAYS came down to economics. If you have a significant part of your population struggling with poverty, those are the ones most likely to act out in desperation. Poverty is often cited as a root cause of many social ills, including crime and illiteracy. This is why gangs are so popular among the "inner city" crowd, as we say in the US. It gives them an artificial sense of purpose and an (albeit often illegal) income. It seems to me, as an outsider, Lebanon's politics are hampered by a "gang" mentality. I'm curious, is there any sort of social welfare or charities that actively seek to promote better living for the poor in Lebanon? Could this be a channel for change from within the community? I think your economic points hit the nail on the head. When I was in high school, I participated in the Model United Nations club, which is like a mini version of the UN but acted out by high schoolers; each school would pick a country to “be” and we would have a large assembly to debate current events. We quickly learned that no matter what the country was, or what the problem was, it almost ALWAYS came down to economics. If you have a significant part of your population struggling with poverty, those are the ones most likely to act out in desperation. Poverty is often cited as a root cause of many social ills, including crime and illiteracy.

This is why gangs are so popular among the “inner city” crowd, as we say in the US. It gives them an artificial sense of purpose and an (albeit often illegal) income. It seems to me, as an outsider, Lebanon’s politics are hampered by a “gang” mentality.

I’m curious, is there any sort of social welfare or charities that actively seek to promote better living for the poor in Lebanon? Could this be a channel for change from within the community?

]]> Comment on The Failure of Lebanon’s Facebook Demonstrations by lebaneseexpatriate http://beirutspring.com/blog/2012/05/22/the-failure-of-lebanons-facebook-demonstrations/#comment-33589 lebaneseexpatriate Wed, 23 May 2012 13:27:33 +0000 http://beirutspring.com/blog/?p=11770#comment-33589 Mustapha, You are one of the most read bloggers and active activists. What do you think keeps the liberals from forming a party in Lebanon and rallying and actually having a mission, an agenda and people running for public office? AlYassar Al Cemocrati was an attempt but it got swallowed by the sectarian parties with the green dough eventually, even though its base still exists to this day and maybe consitutes the majority of the online political activists. If you read, "لست لبنانياً بعد... في مديح الطائفية" you will clearly see the failure of liberals and seculars in lebanon in actually ever forming a power to attract people who do not share similar points of view and actually challenging the existing religious and feudal powers. As an intermittent blogger myself, I really doubt the power of tweets and facebook in a society like lebanon, or around the world. What we need is people on the ground, people who are willing to meet on a weekly basis, solicit funding, reach out to the poor and uneducated, organize and know that they plan for the future and will not see change in their current days. the poor kid who dropped out of school in jabal muhsen, doniyeh, akkar, tareek l jdeedeh, al da7ieh and his family and friends who have not made it past the 9th grade will not read those tweets and facebook comments. they need a role model, a job and a book. Mustapha,
You are one of the most read bloggers and active activists.
What do you think keeps the liberals from forming a party in Lebanon and rallying and actually having a mission, an agenda and people running for public office?
AlYassar Al Cemocrati was an attempt but it got swallowed by the sectarian parties with the green dough eventually, even though its base still exists to this day and maybe consitutes the majority of the online political activists.

If you read, “لست لبنانياً بعد… في مديح الطائفية” you will clearly see the failure of liberals and seculars in lebanon in actually ever forming a power to attract people who do not share similar points of view and actually challenging the existing religious and feudal powers.

As an intermittent blogger myself, I really doubt the power of tweets and facebook in a society like lebanon, or around the world. What we need is people on the ground, people who are willing to meet on a weekly basis, solicit funding, reach out to the poor and uneducated, organize and know that they plan for the future and will not see change in their current days.

the poor kid who dropped out of school in jabal muhsen, doniyeh, akkar, tareek l jdeedeh, al da7ieh and his family and friends who have not made it past the 9th grade will not read those tweets and facebook comments. they need a role model, a job and a book.

]]> Comment on The Arguileh as Witness to Lebanese Life by Posh http://beirutspring.com/blog/2012/05/15/the-arguileh-as-witness-to-lebanese-life/#comment-33588 Posh Wed, 23 May 2012 12:28:11 +0000 http://beirutspring.com/blog/?p=11641#comment-33588 Wow. How did I miss this post? Wow.

How did I miss this post?

]]> Comment on The Arguileh as Witness to Lebanese Life by Wafa http://beirutspring.com/blog/2012/05/15/the-arguileh-as-witness-to-lebanese-life/#comment-33587 Wafa Wed, 23 May 2012 11:59:07 +0000 http://beirutspring.com/blog/?p=11641#comment-33587 On a second thought, and relating to the title of the blog, and Dania's post above; I think there is a relation between the Arab spring happening when governments banned smoking, or raised the prices of tobacco products. Some people are benefiting from the laziness and stupid state that smokers indulge in. I hope the Lebanese government will have the "guts" to impose the banning. It needs a pressure from the general public and commitment from the private sector, definitely. On a second thought, and relating to the title of the blog, and Dania’s post above; I think there is a relation between the Arab spring happening when governments banned smoking, or raised the prices of tobacco products. Some people are benefiting from the laziness and stupid state that smokers indulge in. I hope the Lebanese government will have the “guts” to impose the banning. It needs a pressure from the general public and commitment from the private sector, definitely.

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