Are you sick and tired of unwise provocations, like Bambi?

Who has not encountered “provocateurs” in his life thus far? Lucky you if you haven’t yet. Who knows? Maybe you are a chronic provocateur to someone else, in your daily life, and you either are not aware of it or you take pleasure in it? How do you solve this unhealthy interaction if you care to repair your relationship, moving forward with the other person? Or, alternatively, how do you protect your well-being/sanity, moving away from the other person if too toxic for you?

The behaviour described above can happen to anyone of us at the individual, or at times even at small group, level. This behaviour can also happen at a larger scale among big groups, either within a state or among different ones. Sadly, this is what we keep seeing in Lebanon and its neighbourhood and in places where provocations may be counter-productive like at UN meetings among supposedly highly skilled diplomats from all over the world.

You may wonder what Bambi is talking about? First, let’s start with Lebanon. Hezbollah is mourning there, over 18 days of commemoration, the killing of Mr. Nasrallah (and then another colleague, his replacement who was also killed) by Israel during war last year.

To begin with, whenever there is death and especially a killing in an act of war, whether of a prosocial figure or or a warrior, there are families, friends, lovers, and fans who are mourning. Bambi has the utmost respect for the grief of everyone, including lovers of warriors, criminals, or even killers of her own loved one, may God forbid.

She does not know about you, but she consciously refuses to stop seeing the humanity, or at least potential for it, in everyone. Yes everyone, even and especially in those who have harmed her loved ones or even killed them, whether intentionally or not (like during civil wars). She is thinking of many loved deceased ones, and especially of her beloved aunt Ramona who lost her life in Beirut in 1978. May her memory be eternal. In other terms, Bambi does not have hate toward any group or country related to her death or the death of other civilians. She may have not endorsed their policies or violent acts (of occupation or of fighting, etc.). Yet no hate. She wishes healing and prays for peace for all.

To come back to Mr. Nasrallah and his friend, these deceased Lebanese figures are literally adored by their loved ones. In other terms, they might be perceived as enemies by some. Yet, they are perceived as heroes by others. Mr. Nasrallah was clearly a highly controversial figure who had a lot of charisma (way more than his current replacement, by the way). All these men are religious figures. So they are honoured, if not worshipped, by many folks.

Sadly, these religious men also happen to be enablers, or rather actors, for Iran in their birth country to a point beyond imagination, especially for us living far away from the Middle East. They literally seem to forget about the interests of their own Lebanon when the ideology spread by Iran blinds their minds and hearts. They seem to be more loyal to the interests of a foreign country, apparently because they share the same religious ideology, with its leaders. Does that make any sense to you?

Specifically, they put Iran’s interests before those of their own, highly diverse, country. In other terms, they sadly “forget” about Lebanon’s sovereignty, rule of law, and tradition of co-existence. They have/still have weapons and state that they want to keep holding to them (https://tinyurl.com/bdvrh8ut). They want to keep the monopoly over decisions of wars. They want to keep fighting Israel (and America) until the end of time (https://tinyurl.com/bdvrh8ut). So what do the rest of their fellow Lebanese citizens do then? Migrate all over the world to live in safety? Stay in their beloved and beautiful country, eternally living, and risk dying, with and because of the consequences? Don’t they, and their offspring, deserve to live in peace and thrive once and for all?

Bambi will spare you all the silly events of some latest illegal provocations in Beirut related to the commemoration mentioned above. She does not want to get into those details that occurred over a touristic site in the capital. Perhaps Hezbollah mourners arrogantly provoked the government and their other fellow citizens to hide their pain and losses (https://tinyurl.com/3mct5dc9)? Bambi has never been into Schadenfreude. However, the message here does not seem meant for Israel or for the rest of the world. It seems to be specifically addressed to the rest of Beirutis, and to the relatively still new government there: we will keep imposing our ideology/cult of death on you, even if it leads to our own death… and yours.

Unfortunately, the Islamist mindset seems to be incompatible with the psychological concept of “radical acceptance”, which is all about efforts to accept a harsh or sad reality we cannot change, along with tough emotions like grieving losses, which ultimately reduce our suffering. It is Bambi’s hope that this is so because the pain is still unbearable and that more time and emotional distance will help these mourners, who resorted to provocation, in seeing matters from a different perspective: ideally, one day rising above their sorrow and co-building a peaceful Lebanon of tomorrow with their fellow citizens.

Bambi’s post would be incomplete if she does not mention another provocation. This time by the Israeli drones flying over Beirut today at the site of commemoration in which the head of the Hezbollah declared that it is ready for another confrontation with Israel that “wants to annex Lebanon” (https://tinyurl.com/bdvrh8ut).

Similarly, before concluding, Bambi wants to mention the sad provocation she read about this week in the Middle East between Houthis and Israelis and what she observed on YouTube before sleep last night. First and foremost, how sad to see innocent Israeli civilians injured and suffering. Same for the innocent Houthi citizens. Again, it comes down to Iran playing all its proxy cards in the region and Israel fighting or re-provoking back. Will the Houthis re-provoke again? This is sadly what happens in absurd wars and this senseless regional war does not seem to want to end.

Last but not least, to wake herself up while working very late, she decided to listen to Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the UN. She noticed how so many diplomats left the room before he opened his mouth. If she was not mistaken, the “Lebanese” seats were empty. Being someone who reads all media and all sources, including the tweets (or X comments) of Mr. Khameini of Iran, she found it childish and sad. Everyone deserves to be heard, even and especially our enemies or opponents. First, we want to learn from them and understand the reality from all its angles. Second, we want to work to find solutions. If at the UN we cannot debate anymore, where would we? On the streets filled with passionate people who do not know anything about the Middle East yet get too excited about it? At our universities where we are cancelled if we do not endorse the exact same ideas of a majority or we question parts of it? Why did we lose the virtue of patience and listening to one another at a place like the UN?

Thankfully, Mr. Bob Rae (representing Canada at the UN) stayed in the room. Bambi salutes his personal wisdom, even if she questions the collective wisdom in our world, including us here in Canada and surely in the doomed Middle East (https://tinyurl.com/msk8fpne).

With or without wisdom, and sadly with much unwise provocations, may you have a lovely day, dear readers. Thank you for your time reading this long Saturday’s post.