Two Ziads Horror: A Few Thoughts

I pray the horror stops. I hope people, low and high, come to their senses.

We all know the big things/reasons for the open ended crisis: incompetent and/or criminal leaders supported by a lame citizenry, no rule of law etc.

Before any of that changes, the little things underneath need to change, the attitudes and the culture need to start moving. I see no signs.

--The Press

The nation is shocked, according to As-Safir. Yes it is. But what will the nation do with this shock and outrage?

Al Balad titled: "Lebanon unites around the blood of the two martyrs"

These are the little things I am talking about. Stop already with this martyr bullshit. Did the young man Ziad Qabalan (RIP), and the 12-year old child Ziad Ghandour (RIP) die willingly in the furtherance of a cause? Do we know that? What cause? Has the recent version of "martyrdom" a la Hezbo, Hamas, and al-Qaeda been a positive in the Arab/Lebanese culture? (Al Balad also irresponsibly published horrible pictures of the 2 bodies on page-one)

At best, that is a sick way to say that people who died horribly and in vain, did not. At worst, it perpetuates a sick culture of misplaced sacrifice and death that is dangled before the eyes of the young and the gullible.

--Police Work Standards (from Naharnet)

Police officers, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said their preliminary suspects were Shiites.

The police are NOT supposed to talk to the media. However, when the police idiots decide to break their rule and reveal something, they reveal only one thing: NOT the motive, NOT the name, NOT the age of the suspects. No, only that they were Shiites/Shia. Is the police plain stupid or is the police trying to stir up sectarian strife? (Or is it both?)

--Defense Minister Murr (also Naharnet)

Defense Minister Elias Murr said suspects in the crime "are known. We are chasing them and we hope to arrest them."

You "hope"? Here we go again, a top official says the authorities "know", and "are chasing" but only "hope" to arrest them. Oops sorry Elias, I forgot. That's right, we have all these neighborhoods where the mighty Lebanese army won't go. Hell, even the guys who tried to kill YOU are vacationing there. A real confidence booster to the nation and to a threatened people.

Murr said that the two may have been killed in revenge for the death of Shamas.

Murr said Shamas' relatives had fled their homes, reinforcing suspicions they may be behind the killings.

If all of that is clear (big if), why not have a press conference right now?

Announce who the suspects are and declare out loud that any leader, family, mosque, church, clan, tribe or bordello that will stand in the way of the arrests will be leveled to the ground. This is a national security threat of the highest degree and people know it. And if the stupid army cannot handle a frigging family clan or won't enter some camp, let them all go shoot themselves, starting with their commander in chief Lahoud.

As to the question: what should Lebanon do with its shock and outrage? I think every parent/citizen in the country should demand answers in 5 days or less. Barring that, everyone who knows a child should march on the offices/homes of Lahoud, Berri, and Seniora to rip their freaking hearts out, before turning on lower-level officials.

12-year old Ziad Ghandour is every innocent child who died since 1975, and every child who will die if civil war is rekindled. If real fear of civil war and child murder cannot motivate the Lebanese to action, nothing ever will.