Adonis Diaries

State mocking us:  What is “Cultured my ass” Lebanese?

There are plenty of disinformation concerning the Lebanese people.  It is time to get outraged and discuss exaggerated misconceptions disseminated about Lebanese in general, and particularly how our governments mock our fantastic characteristics.

They say: “The Lebanese is proud”.  Proud my ass.  For over 70 years, the Lebanese have been treated as chattel: Individuals and entire communities were treated as bulk and traded to a feudal “leader” here or a sectarian warlord chief there.  Proud my ass.  The Lebanese ended up behaving with chattel mentality at every election:  A people indifferent, apathetic sheep following in Indian file, behind medieval-minded “leaders”.

They say: “The Lebanese is smart”.  Smart my ass.  The Tunisian is smart: He overthrew the Ben Ali dictator regime and dismantled the oligarchic political apparatus.  Not a single figure from the old system is represented in the current government and previous practices of State Security laws went down the drain.

The Egyptian is smart:  He wiped out the Mubarak regime and displaced all the old political and administrative figures. He devastated the State Security centers that humiliated and heaped indignities on him for four decades.  The Libyan, the citizen in Bahrein, in Yemen, in Oman are catching up at the speed of a bullet train.

They say: “The Lebanese is cultured”.  What is “Cultured my ass?” Is babbling in three languages and inserting words in three languages in a single sentence a measure of culture?  How about a demonstration of ignorance in three languages?  How about incoherence in expressing in one system of language, its rich meanings and traditional texture?

Cultured my ass.  Knowing a language is being able to read and comprehending a language in the original version:  If you hate to read and never read anything of value, or cannot understand a complicated paragraph then, how being cultured is defined?

A century ago, the educated Lebanese mastered the languages they learned, but first mastered the Arabic language:  They emulated the Renaissance Man with their polyvalent knowledge.  When they immigrated, they carried on their education tradition and were on the forefront of reforms, teaching, publishing, and changes.

Cultured? Get out of it.  You don’t want to be visiting Lebanon prison system. You don’t want to be entangled in our legal system.  You don’t want to feeling frustrated with our gender discriminating laws.  You don’t want to read about the horror stories of maltreatment of “imported” foreign maids.  You don’t want to be a poor visitor or a “non-western” tourist.  Even Israel, the worst apartheid State system, now and then feels ashamed of its policies.  We don’t:  We prefer to amass our dirt under the carpet, out of procrastination and indifference.

They say: “The Lebanese is skilled”  Skilled my ass. I am not aware of valid technical schools in Lebanon.  Skilled people are imported from Syria and Egypt.  Find me a plumber, an electrician, or any worthwhile skilled artisan in Lebanon who is less than 65 years of age.  “Modernity” has displaced family artisan heritage and no “ancient monarchs” are demanding work of arts from Lebanese skilled workers.

They say: “The Lebanese is versatile in knowledge”.  Knowledgeable my ass.  I have taught in Universities and I don’t recall students graduating in rationality, scientific, or critical thinking.  They graduate as the staunchest supporters of this feudal and sectarian system.  How can you use a graduate student who has no patience to study, make the effort to reflect, and invest time to acquiring knowledge by their own volition?

A month ago, youth in Lebanon have been demonstrating regularly every week, demanding change in the sectarian political system.  They want to cancel all mention of religious affiliation in all official documents.  They want civil marriage.  They want laws not discriminating on genders, religion… They want fair and equitable election laws representing all classes and citizens.

The youth in Lebanon want to reverse this trend of ill-cultured conditions, falsehood misinformation, and humiliating situations.