Christopher Hitchens and the Battle of Beirut

Michael Totten ^ | February 25, 2009 | Michael J. Totten

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Last week Christopher Hitchens and I were attacked in Beirut. Less than 24 hours after we landed at the international airport, a half dozen members of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party jumped us on Hamra Street when he defaced one of their signs.

He and I were traveling together because the Lebanon Renaissance Foundation invited us to meet Prime Minister Fouad Seniora, Future Movement party leader Saad Hariri, Druze chief Walid Jumblatt, and other leaders of the pro-independence “March 14” coalition.

We had just attended a massive rally downtown commemorating the fourth anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Christopher needed a new pair of shoes. Our colleague Jonathan Foreman from Standpoint Magazine needed a shirt. I needed a coffee. So I led the way as the three of us strolled over to Hamra Street where we could buy just about anything. And I told my two companions a story about the neighborhood's past on the way.

“When Hezbollah violently seized West Beirut last May,” I said, “the Syrian Social Nationalist Party followed them in. They put up their spinning swastika flags all over the neighborhood, and no one dared touch them until the prime minister ordered them taken down several months later.”

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Interesting background on the SSNP.

[Tribune7]

Fear not Hitchens.

Obama thanks you for your support last fall. He will send you a solum note of condolence.

[I Buried My Guns]

Note to self: When in Beruit, don’t deface the posters of the local Nazi party while in the presence of members of said party.

[icwhatudo]

Not sure who is scarier....

[Dr. Ursus]

He was upset. The airline lost his gallon of scotch!

[VRWCmember]

Note to self: When in Beruit, don’t deface the posters of the local Nazi party while in the presence of members of said party.

As I read the story my first thought was "Why in the world would you deface the posters of a bunch of thugs in their presence?"

[caseinpoint]

Hitchens was stupid to take this tact. His weapon is the pen and he could have influenced many more people than saw him deface the sign or even seen the sign had it been allowed to remain defaced. Now he has neutered his ability to use his pen to critize Syria because Syrian spokesmen can always respond that Hitchen’s criticism is personal retaliation for the beating.

Somehow it has become a liberal shibboleth that vandalism is a noble act, if the cause is just. Here we had people ripping down campaign signs, outshouting conservative speakers, retaliating against individuals and companies who supported Prop 8 in California. These are largely symbolic acts which are hailed as “courageous” by liberals. Yet it rarely accomplishes anything except to make the liberal look good to other liberals.