All of Lebanon Must Burn: What Have I Done to You?

[DISCLAIMER]

Recently, Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a demand on social media platform X that was consistent with the unrestrained speech characteristic of a nation that has engaged in genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crime behavior, as he stated (translated):

With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens is not in vain. All of Lebanon must burn. Our supreme duty is to protect the citizens of Israel and the soldiers of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces], and this obligation takes precedence over any other consideration.

I told the Prime Minister, even in our meetings: for every tear shed by an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must cry.

Enough with the ping-pong. In the Middle East, you don’t win with measured responses and containment - you have to go crazy. Erase. Defeat terrorism.

I denounce legitimate acts of terrorism (the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims). Still, rather than merely condemning terroristic behavior, I’ll instead provide a psychoeducational lesson on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT).

REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate that when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, not the occurrence itself, that causes an unpleasant Consequence. This is known as distress or disturbance.

In particular, there are four predominate irrational beliefs which people often use to distress or disturb themselves: global evaluations, low frustration tolerance, awfulizing, and demandingness. When contemplating these unproductive scripts, think of the acronym GLAD.

Additionally, from a psychological standpoint, people distress or disturb themselves using a Belief-Consequence (B-C) connection. Of course, this isn’t to suggest that in the context of the naturalistic or physical world there is no Action-Consequence (A-C) connection.

From an A-C view, Israel continues military operations in Lebanon (Action), as the terroristic killing of noncombatants by the IDF goes on seemingly without end (Consequence). Still, from a B-C perspective, terrorism of this sort isn’t what causes an unpleasant reaction, such as rage.

Rather, the IDF continues terrorism as Ben-Gvir calls for a ratio of 1:1,000 deaths (Action) and person X Believes, “Israel is fucking worthless [G], and I refuse to tolerate its genocidal behavior [L], because what’s done in Lebanon is awful [A], so something must change [D]!”

With this unaccommodating point of view, person X then becomes enraged (Consequence). I invite you to understand that even if you agree with the self-narrative of person X, it’s precisely that sort of rage-producing rhetoric that Ben-Gvir has used, as that script goes to dark places.

After all, in his X post, Ben-Gvir used absolutistic demands (i.e., “Israel must make it clear,” “All of Lebanon must burn,” “for every tear shed by an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must cry,” and, “you have to go crazy. Erase.” These are inflexible prescriptions!

Apparently, Ben-Gvir is using terroristic rhetoric which calls for the death of noncombatants—perceivably not solely “mothers,” though men, women, boys, and girls. The term “erase” is fairly straightforward, coming from a Minister of National Security of a nation with nuclear weapons.

Addressing how people upset themselves with unhelpful attitudes, the ABC model incorporates Disputation of unproductive philosophies of life in order to explore Effective new beliefs. Whereas rigid beliefs cause self-disturbance, flexible beliefs result in an un-disturbed condition.

Imagine for a moment that person X is someone living in Lebanon. As the IDF continues its terroristic operations, I invite you to consider that person X knows of REBT and chooses not to experience the negative and unhealthily self-disturbed condition of rage.

Rather, person X opts to endure the negative and healthily self-distressed condition of frustration. When contemplating a self-narrative that could cause this outcome, reggae and dancehall singer Bugle comes to mind.

Specifically, his song “What Have I Done to You” (2013) stands out. On the chorus, the singer states:

What have I done to you?

Why you wanna treat me like a criminal?

I’m not no criminal.

What have I done to you?

Why you wanna come to my funeral,

Come at my funeral?

What have I done to you?

Why you wanna treat me like a criminal?

I’m not no criminal.

What have I done to you?

Why you wanna come to my funeral,

I mean that literal?

Suppose that the IDF continues terrorism as Ben-Gvir calls for a ratio of 1:1,000 deaths (Action) and person X, living in Lebanon, Effectively believes, “What have I done to you, Israel? I’m not a terrorist. What have I done to you? Why do you wanna come to my funeral?”

Noteworthy, on the introduction to “What Have I Done to You?” the artist states, “There are so many unanswered questions.” Simply hearing people like Ben-Gvir express their apparent moral and ethical attempts at justification for terrorism won’t likely suffice for the people of Lebanon.

Therefore, I imagine that person X’s Effective new belief would cause frustration. Now, I invite you to ask yourself, given the option between rage and frustration, which condition would you rather experience? Would you choose disturbance or distress? The choice is yours to make.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

Photo credit, fair use

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