Reflections from far mland

Monday, February 20, 2006

Political incorrectness

So, I would like to point out that today, I was accused of being politically incorrect. By a lebanese, of all people!!
A visiting american resident, interested in middle-eastern politics, probed me about ratios and proportions of sects in Lebanon. I told him "50-50" (christians and muslims). Statistics in lebanon are dangerous and often fictional, used to assuage sectarian tensions. Off record, i told him that muslims probably outnumbered christians by now.
And then -
- BP "so is that due to increased christian emigration rates or greater muslim reproduction?"
- Me "both, i think". I explained about differences in socioeconomic conditions.
- Lebanese compatriot who had until then remained silent, turns towards BP, points his pen BACKWARDS at me without even LOOKING at me and proclaims "I don't know how much faith I would put in that statement"
- BP "why not?"
- Fellow lebanese who still has his VA pen pointed at me BACKWARDS tells BP disdainfully "what she said was politically incorrect"

AS IF!!!

- BP, in answer to fellow accusatory lebanese (and note that when BP was a resident he had rarely said a sensible thing): "but when i say that african americans in this country have worse socioeconomic conditions i am not being racist, i am merely being factual"
-Me: "Exactly!!" -smirk-
-more smirk-
Fellow lebanese quiet now.
Conclusion: lebanon: DNR/DNI (do not resuscitate/do not intubate) - hospital slang denoting a patient who is dying and should not be resuscitated back to life because of the utter hopelessness of the situation.

Looking back now, I wanted to tell this idiot that there is no such thing as lebanese political correctness.
We are a country of political INcorrectness!

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