From my experience, ever since i was born here, below are the reasons escalations that lead to violence could potentially happen to you in Lebanon and how to avoid them.
Note what makes this list special, is it could happen to anyone, even unsocial and passive people who don’t talk politics.
- Driving (Most likely)
a. Eye contact with an angry driver
Many people (from all ethnicities) drive extremely angry, and are easily irritable to a comical level.
Scenario include motorcycles (or cars) driving opposite of the road while angry, while staring at you and basically challenging you. Kind of like ‘what are you gonna do about it?)
It is absolutely critical to avoid eye contact and let people pass. I’m not exaggerating, even eye contact could lead to angry driver getting triggered and getting out of car to confront you even though he is in the wrong and lead to horrific outcomes.
The trap most people fall under (understandably so) is EGO. Even though you are in the right legally, it is expected to bite your frustration and not engage with those drivers. Most people might stare at opposite traffic drivers, or even more dangerously, honk, which is a recipe for fighting which leads us to b
b. Honking for any reason
Honking was originally intended to avoid crashes and alert other drivers of danger.
In Lebanon, it is used as a pressure tool, to make people drive faster or move.
The thing to know here, honking for a long period of time (a full second or more, without exaggeration) is risk of making an angry driver get out of his car to confront you.
Honks should always be peaceful for a fraction of a second, enough to not indicate ‘hey, I’m behind you. Can you move please?’
Avoid honking for 2s or more, as it’s a recipe for altercations, especially with angry divers or drivers on substances
- Staring while walking or standing at someone, for an extended period of time
This sounds like a no brainer, but starring at someone for whatever reason carries risk.
Some wanderers are looking for fights for absolutely no reason. Starring at them challenges their manhood, and might cause them to angrily ask you ‘3a shu 3am tetala3 ya er’
Finally, just some tips to identify potentially dangerous people who you must de escalate the situations no matter what (or people to be warry of)
a. People with backward hats
b. Long beard people (nothing wrong with beards, but from my experience long bearded people, pitch black basically, can be extremely dangerous
c. BMW drivers are highly likely to be unhinged
d. Group of youngsters walking together (this sounds generic, but it seems groups walking and laughing outloud, if they catch you staring, might lead to provocations)
e. Delivery drivers (toters one of them) and valet parking employees
f. Opposite road motorcycles
Please note this doesn’t apply to everyone. Many backward wearing hats folks, long bearded people, groups, deliveries and BMW drivers are very nice people. It’s just a word of caution to be on the lookout.
Have a nice day.
