Could someone walk me through the r/Lebanonr/Lebanese subreddit drama? They both seem to be pointing fingers at each other and saying "You don't represent the people of Lebanon". r/Lebanese is pointing at r/Lebanon and saying they are a bunch of Zionist shills while r/Lebanon points back and says, "You guys are Iranian shills".
Any suggestions of how I can know what's actually going on in Lebanese public opinion?
The truth is, Lebanese are indeed divided. Tensions are extremely strong. The only reason division doesn't devolve into true civil war is that they already tried and they know that civil war would be a catastrophe for everyone involved.
R/Lebanon used to represent a non-negligeable part of the Lebanese population: the part of youth that is westernized (and generally Christian). They are critical of every part of the political spectrum in Lebanon (including but not limited to Hezbollah). They feel for Palestinians but in the same time would very much prefer to live peacefully than to be dragged into any war. They are frequently hostile to Syrian refugees, but even in that they still represent the opinion of many Lebanese (sadly)
But around the start of the war, Israeli shills infiltrated the sub (we had also the same attempt over in r/Tunisia), and the overall hostility towards the political elite became specifically targeted against Hezbollah and by extent to Palestinians. It became so aligned with Israeli rethoric that it became obvious that the sub was infiltared. Like they were chearing for Israeli crimes and upvoting comments calling for more Israeli attacks against Lebanon and Palestine
So in reaction r/Lebanese was created. There is probably an over representation of Hezbollah supporters compared to the actual situation in Lebanon.
So yeah the true situation is probably in-between, but the Lebanese society is extremely polarized. There are obviously Lebanese who fully support Hezbollah, and there are many who don't support Hezbollah but believe that Israel is a much bigger threat. I think that there is also a fringe of Lebanese who actually do support Israel and wouldn't even mind an Israeli annexation (don't forget that Palestinian Druze are an integrated minority within Israel).
Looking in from the outside, I don't see why any Lebanese would support Hezbollah dragging them into a war with Israel but I'm doubtful that you have Lebanese who would want Israel to annex their territory.
Well, there is definitely solidarity with Palestinians. In all Arab countries, you'de find people who would rather see their country officially declare war on Israel to stop it from completely annihilating Gaza. The sentiment is understandable in my POV. What made the US enter WWI with the allies? Or even WWII.
What made the US enter WWI with the allies? Or even WWII.
FWIW, this is not a great comparison. In both cases there were direct impacts on American lives and interests including large amounts of American deaths.
Anyways, you said you didn't get why some Lebanese support Hezbollah. Hopefully, you now understand.
The debate about the way to stop Israli expansionnism and aggression is way beyond your original question, and clearly, even with the Arab world, there is no consensus.
4
u/sar662 Oct 27 '24
Could someone walk me through the r/Lebanon r/Lebanese subreddit drama? They both seem to be pointing fingers at each other and saying "You don't represent the people of Lebanon". r/Lebanese is pointing at r/Lebanon and saying they are a bunch of Zionist shills while r/Lebanon points back and says, "You guys are Iranian shills".
Any suggestions of how I can know what's actually going on in Lebanese public opinion?