The violent insurrection scenes that unfolded in the United States on Wednesday were like nothing the country has seen in recent times.
As were numerous people around the world, Lebanese were watching on as supporters of incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump stormed Congress for the first time since the 1800s.
Evidently from what became trending on social media, many Lebanese, having had their fair share of demonstrations over the past 15 months, had quite a bit to say about the chaos that erupted in the U.S.
And, Lebanese being Lebanese, aka can’t help control their famous humor in dark situations, they had to share that too, on Twitter.
Hashtags such as “#America_protests,” and “#Trump_protests,” made their way to Twitter’s top trending list in Lebanon, carrying analyses and opinions, as well as more lighthearted, humorous posts and relatable memes.
“Macron is on his way to Washington, carrying a French initiative to solve the American crisis.”
Onions?
Drawing from their less-than-pleasant experiences, some Lebanese thought to share some advice with American protesters for when they come face-to-face with law enforcement.
Onions, to counter the effects of tear gas, were a common recommendation.
Just the first couple of days…
This Lebanese tweeted: “An American citizen after a few days: I participated in the protests in front of Congress in the first two days. But, when I sensed a conspiracy and that something bigger than you and me was happening, I returned home and started theorizing about the protesters.”
A swift entry
Some Lebanese on social media took note of how quickly the protesters broke into Congress, compared to the fruitless time and effort Lebanese protesters spent trying to enter Parliament on several occasions.
“Poor things, they don’t have Human Chains and similar moves. They entered Congress on the first day,” one user wrote.
Lebanese Parliament Police having a blast
Implying the abuse of power of the Lebanese parliament police against the protesters, this person tweeted: “Lebanese Parliament Police personnel when they hear about how fast Congress in Washington was breached.”
The Lebanese pound makes its move
On a more serious note, the pound did go up quite a bit against the dollar on Wednesday.
The tables have turned
“Zaatar sandwiches, Makdous, and Ghandour biscuits were found with the demonstrators, sourced from the Lebanese Embassy in Washington,” this Lebanese tweeted, sarcastically insinuating the allegations that embassies were behind the people’s protests in Lebanon.
“A protester to the U.S. National Guard: I’m the one paying your salary.”
A timely power cut
“President Donald: ‘At 12 o’clock midnight, during vote counting, the electricity went out and boxes were switched and so…!!!’ “
For the the son-in-law
Comparing Trump to the Lebanese president, this person tweeted, “Breaking: Trump refuses to hand over the presidency to Biden for the sake of his son-in-law.”
