Lebanon's People and the Monster they Created
It is in times of emergency that the real grit and resourcefulness of a people comes to the fore as they unite to face a pressing problem and come up with creative ideas and apply them rapidly and effectively. The fact is that crises, like the one we are in now as mountains of smelly garbage pile up on our streets, often reveal the true character of a people. Some people rise up to meet the challenge with stoic dignity and determination and help all those around them who are too old, too weak, too poor or too sick to help themselves. For other people, like the majority of ours, crises bring out their worst character flaws: quick to anger, foul mouthed, lacking courtesy or regard for others, totally wild and unpredict able. On top of all these comes the icing on the proverbial shit cake, passive aggression, which nicely complements barefaced aggressive behaviour so many locals are famous for. I remember the summers I used to spend in Lebanon as a kid back in the turbulent 80s,