“International Celebrity Syndrome”

As’ad AbuKhalil (aka Angry Arab) coins the term:

Lebanon, as a country, suffers from an acute case of the “international celebrity syndrome.” Lebanon and the Lebanese are more keen than other Arabs to attain international (read Western) recognition, for any Lebanese accomplishment — whether real or fictitious. People who visit Lebanon are astonished at the extent to which the Guinness World Records occupy the Lebanese.

I don’t agree with some of his language (all this talk about wanting to please the “white man” is a bit too anti-colonialist for my taste), but I agree with his assessment.