As part of its many renouncements, the Lebanese government has abandoned its mission of controlling and monitoring the public space. It allowed media outlets to literally wreak havoc in a country that is already on the verge of a civil war. One cannot hide behind the pretext that the Lebanese constitution guarantees freedom of expression. In every country in the world, there is a clear distinction between self expression and incitement to crime especially when it comes to calling for civil, sectarian, and ethnic strife. There is not one country in the entire world that would allow the inciters to promote killing directly and publicly via the major media outlets like the Lebanese state is doing. While the security services are terrorizing a number of bloggers, summoning them to humiliating investigations, insulting them simply because they expressed their opinions on social media websites, and threatening to subject them to arbitrary sanctions simply because they are not supported by any of our "good" sects, dozens of journalist-wannabes are roaming TV stations and newspapers, broadcasting their dark hatred, and announcing the nearing of the sectarian inter-killing. Televisions and newspapers are devoting large fractions of their time and columns to people whose only skill consists of flattering the sects' leaders and the local and international intelligence officers, to say the least. These "colleagues" only broadcast and promote the issues that they are asked to promote regardless of whether their words will lead to bloodshed or not. The use of arguments and logic does not work with these people who must rather stand trial, along with the owners of the newspapers and televisions where they work, for charges of stirring sectarian sentiments and incitement to kill. Oddly, whenever a tragic security incident occurs, and instead of broadcasting classical music like they used to do years ago, the Lebanese channels are now hosting deranged guests, launching campaigns to stir people's sentiments, and broadcasting the live calls of individuals who are actually benefitting from the crime and calling for its propagation. On top of all this pettiness, astrologers and charlatans are also called upon to add to the scourge of a country where everyone can hear the sound of death. Can this kind of behavior be justified by the race to gain viewers in light of the savage competition between the channels? Has the "media scoop" mentality reached its lowest? We say no. Following the conclusion of the Arab role played by the Lebanese media between the 1950s and the 1970s, most of the Lebanese media outlets turned into mere promotional tools for their funders, including those who sponsored the civil war. By definition, media is a two way road: on the one hand, media reflects reality; and on the other, it serves to form the public opinion, thus affecting reality. However, most of the Lebanese media outlets have been on a third mission: to maintain a high level of political and social tension and to justify the upcoming massacre, with the aim of pleasing the funders and the powerful parties, i.e. the real killers in this human slaughterhouse. Needless to say, the media outlets did not create the present obscure atmosphere and the political and security struggle goes well beyond the borders of Lebanon and its miserable televisions and newspapers. However, we must be wary of the fact that this mentality which wishes to transform everything – including the dead bodies of the Dahyeh and Tripoli blasts – into personal gains is draped with a male coquettish smile.
