Bambi just read the following tweet by her own sister, journalist/author Roula Douglas. She was deeply sad to read her beautiful yet highly disturbing comment about Lebanon. Why? Because Ms. Azar-Douglas is usually an optimistic person in life, like her…
Ms. Douglas’s quote literally means: “As far as I am concerned, I am not Sisyphus (or Sisyphos). And the Lebanon Phoenix, I do not believe in it anymore”.
In the Greek mythology, if Bambi recalls her lessons from high school well, Sisyphus was the king of Corinth (formerly Ephyra?). His punishment was to be forced to roll a huge boulder up a hill… then this boulder had to roll down every time it neared the top, repeating the action, over and over, that is for eternity.
This being said, the Lebanese capital of Beirut has been destroyed and rebuilt seven times. In other terms, it has been rebuilt from the ashes seven times in its history. This is why it is associated with the phoenix bird in mythology.
Ms. Douglas’ comment refers to the sad day of riots and of street fights in Beirut and beyond, it seems (with stones, insults… and heavy gunfire).
This happened today in two nearby neighbourhoods of the capital where citizens used to get into fights, especially at the beginning of civil war in 1975. Seeing fights there today must have been emotionally tough on many, including Bambi’s family.
As per the title of the article below from Naharnet, Bambi learned that it was about a silly religious insult. Bambi wrote “silly”, with all due respect to all involved. Luckily both religious and political leaders called for the utmost restraint!
This occurred on a day that was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration (the revolt is back on the streets). As a reminder, this “thawra” or “intifada” (revolt in English) began on October 17, 2019 to denounce political corruption.
Today, there has also been riots (just like what happened in the United States and in Berlin, it seems). Yes, thugs sometimes infiltrate demonstrations to provoke chaos ☹.
In the United States, it was perhaps easier to uncover those who may have been behind the riots. Bambi heard sad stories of people whose shops were destroyed. She heard this on the Mount Lebanon in Los Angeles internet music radio she listens to whilst working.
The American federal administration took the needed action to help states or cities who suffered from the destruction. Of course, if their federation works like ours, those cities or states would have asked for the help from the federal government in order for the latter to send extra armed forces.
In Lebanon, things are more complicated and the risk of unrest, or even civil war, can be more imminent. Thank Goodness, the Lebanese Army managed to control the situation fast, at least for today… but until when?
This is why Bambi finds ideas like abolishing (or defunding?) police forces not only odd but also unrealistically dangerous:
We should reform and always aim to improve our police forces, for sure.
We can perhaps aim to improve screening whilst recruiting new members. We can assess interventions or tape them. We can use tasers sometimes, if it is better, etc.
Even if most of our police officers are amazing people who just want to protect citizens, some could perhaps have psychopathic traits, who knows? A bit like people with pedophile tendencies who get into scouts or churches in order to have access to kids precisely whilst being in a position of trust. Thus, in a context of a protected abuse.
Bambi is of course for reforms, as needed and for best practices, etc. However, Bambi is also for allowing our police officers to do their job and to be proud of their good job.
Yes, we need more education and prevention… but at the end of the day, we need police officers to stop criminals and to protect people, neighbourhoods, and populations.
Sadly, police blunder will always exist. Here, Bambi is not talking about the story of police lynching in Minneapolis. She is talking about mistakes that are bound to happen sometimes, despite the good intentions. Sadly, sometimes these mistakes result in the death of innocent citizens :(.
Whether we live in Lebanon, in Canada or anywhere else, the alternative to an absence of police would be chaos. Bambi prefers police forces to chaos, tribes, gangs, or militias. Today, she thanks the Lebanese army for having stopped those fighting on the streets.
Bambi is of course for the education and prevention of disruptive behaviours, criminality, and/or strife.
However, we cannot always prevent in life. Serious problems happen.
A sovereign country needs to have its security forces and tools to protect itself (an army, no illegal arms, demarcated borders with its neighbours, etc.). Sadly, Lebanon does not have this luxury because some entities, or neighbours, do not want to see it truly sovereign.
When there is no strong police or army, tribes or militias usually take over or fight each other.
No to violence. No to chaos. No to destroying people’s stores, as they did in downtown Beirut today and in many cities in the United States lately.
People are already going through rough economic times. People are also in the middle of a pandemic. They do not need to lose their shops or businesses.
To those external forces who may be trying to provoke unrest, or even a civil war, to push their agendas forward, Bambi wants to say: hands off Lebanon!
To those “protesters” and “counter-protesters” who have been insulted by whatever words about their holy symbols or holy persons (insults to the Prophet’s wife, as per the article below), Bambi feels like saying the following: No one likes to hear someone they like, or believe in, being verbally insulted, we get it. However, please learn to have a thick skin in life, for God’s sake… or rather for your country’s sake!
