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Kalam El Nass: A Battlefield for Respect!
Printable Versionvictor | 01 April, 2005 08:39
Yesterday, a very unfortunate scene was seen during the famous LBCI TV Show "Kalam El Nass". My comments on the show are not about the topics that were "discussed" but rather on the approach that many Lebanese leaders use and master while in such public situations.I, as many other Lebanese citizens, waited for this show to see what Mr. Jmayyel and Mr. Wahhab had to say about the current situation. The show started tense and continued tense and ended with a simple conclusion: NOTHING!
Representation
Instead of negotiating the current situation in Lebanon, the guests (namely Mr. Wahhab and Mr. Jmayyel) discussed the past of each other. The present and future, according to Mr. Wahhab mainly, is directly related to the past of each and every one of us. What Mr. Wahhab didn't grasp is that Mr. Jmayyel was not acting a self-motivated politician. He was simply a representative of the many other individuals that are part of the Lebanese opposition. Thus, the first point that should be pointed out to Lebanese politicians willing to go public on TV shows is "Who is the Other Person Representing? Himself or his Party?!?!"
Personal vs. Party Opinions
When discussing issues in public, a politician must stick to one approach: either that of his party or himself. In most cases, a politician is interviewed and discussed as being a member of a certain party. If he is to discuss his personal opinion, then this must be stated clearly in order to avoid confusion. Jumping from personal opinions to Party opinions was the main cause for confusion in yesterday's show. Mr. Wahhab jumped from his personal opinion about Mr. Jmayyel, to his personal opinion about the current Lebanese situation, to the Party's opinion about everything (Ain El Tineh in this case). He kept jumping back and forth between these three positions which lead to the unfortunate sense of humiliation that was caused to Mr. Ghanem (the show leader), Mr. Jmayyel (the opposite guest), and myself as a TV viewer and guest.
Use of Bad Words and Unthoughtable Interruption
Mr. Wahhab and Mr. Jmayyel did not hesitate to use very bad words in his speech. Mr. Wahhab used far more bad words than Mr. Jmayyel did since he used the terms "to2rotna", "rou2 ya 7abibi", "sma3neh 3am 2ellak", and "mabrouk 3leik". These terms, like any other decent person knows, are the main reason for end of negotiation or dicussion and can act as direct and indirect causes for fights. I was surprised by the nerves and faith that Mr. Ghanem had yesterday and by his capability to keep himself under control without losing temper and stopping the show. In my personal opinion, the discussion between the two guests stopped during the early minutes of the program. Discussion stopped when bad terms starting being used.
On the other hand, I was shocked by Mr. Wahhab's direct responses to semi-questions. His answers lacked thinking and, in my opinion, he must learn to listen to the complete question, think it over (a very necessary step for achieving usefull conversations), and then start to answer. Mr. Wahhab's direct answers did not satisfy the question involved and, thus, the long time he consumed talking was useless and caused frustration to many viewers including myself.
Indirect and Vague Answers
Normally, when a TV show is set and guests are invited, the agenda of the show is presented to the guests so that they can prepare for the show. What happened yesterday is that many questions asked by Mr. Ghanem remained un-answered and many other questions were vaguely answered. The lack of respect to others as well as the lack of self-control and self-confidence were the primary cause for the answers to remain unanswered. This showed a lack of preparation for the show from the guests and caused TV viewers to suffer while waiting to hear the answers for the important questions that were being asked.
A Word to Mr. Ghanem
While watching the show yesterday, I felt the suffer, Mr. Ghanem, that you faced during the show with the majority of attacks caused directly or indirectly from Mr. Wahhab's expressions and approach. You were attacked on all levels: as a Journalist, as a TV Show Presenter, as a Political Master, and as a Person. I was amazed by your self-confidence, patience, courage, and democratic approach for keeping "Kalam El-Nass" a real place for people to communicate.
A piece of advice, if I am allowed to, must be given. When you invite guests to your program, please ask them to prepare the agenda and to stick to the agenda only. This must be well-preserved especially during shows where the two guests are opponents. Then, during the show, your cleverness and strong personality can easily open off-the-agenda topics for discussion without giving the guests full control over the show.
Conclusion
What happened yesterday was a disgrace for the show that I always looked forward to watch. I completely and fully understand, as well as many other viewers of the show, the reason why this happened but I cannot understand why the guests were completely free to use any term they wish to use without any respect to viewers. If they are to stay calm while disrepsecting each other, then the viewers might simply turn off the channel next time and watch something else. I also liked Mr. Ghanem's request to shake hands between the two guests at the end of the show, but I would have liked it better if he had asked them to appologize from the viewers for everything they said and for the suffer they caused.
"Kalam El-Nass" is still one of my favourite programs and Mr. Ghanem is still one of my best presenters. Because of that, I wrote this article filled with hope that this won't be happening again another time...
Representation
Instead of negotiating the current situation in Lebanon, the guests (namely Mr. Wahhab and Mr. Jmayyel) discussed the past of each other. The present and future, according to Mr. Wahhab mainly, is directly related to the past of each and every one of us. What Mr. Wahhab didn't grasp is that Mr. Jmayyel was not acting a self-motivated politician. He was simply a representative of the many other individuals that are part of the Lebanese opposition. Thus, the first point that should be pointed out to Lebanese politicians willing to go public on TV shows is "Who is the Other Person Representing? Himself or his Party?!?!"
Personal vs. Party Opinions
When discussing issues in public, a politician must stick to one approach: either that of his party or himself. In most cases, a politician is interviewed and discussed as being a member of a certain party. If he is to discuss his personal opinion, then this must be stated clearly in order to avoid confusion. Jumping from personal opinions to Party opinions was the main cause for confusion in yesterday's show. Mr. Wahhab jumped from his personal opinion about Mr. Jmayyel, to his personal opinion about the current Lebanese situation, to the Party's opinion about everything (Ain El Tineh in this case). He kept jumping back and forth between these three positions which lead to the unfortunate sense of humiliation that was caused to Mr. Ghanem (the show leader), Mr. Jmayyel (the opposite guest), and myself as a TV viewer and guest.
Use of Bad Words and Unthoughtable Interruption
Mr. Wahhab and Mr. Jmayyel did not hesitate to use very bad words in his speech. Mr. Wahhab used far more bad words than Mr. Jmayyel did since he used the terms "to2rotna", "rou2 ya 7abibi", "sma3neh 3am 2ellak", and "mabrouk 3leik". These terms, like any other decent person knows, are the main reason for end of negotiation or dicussion and can act as direct and indirect causes for fights. I was surprised by the nerves and faith that Mr. Ghanem had yesterday and by his capability to keep himself under control without losing temper and stopping the show. In my personal opinion, the discussion between the two guests stopped during the early minutes of the program. Discussion stopped when bad terms starting being used.
On the other hand, I was shocked by Mr. Wahhab's direct responses to semi-questions. His answers lacked thinking and, in my opinion, he must learn to listen to the complete question, think it over (a very necessary step for achieving usefull conversations), and then start to answer. Mr. Wahhab's direct answers did not satisfy the question involved and, thus, the long time he consumed talking was useless and caused frustration to many viewers including myself.
Indirect and Vague Answers
Normally, when a TV show is set and guests are invited, the agenda of the show is presented to the guests so that they can prepare for the show. What happened yesterday is that many questions asked by Mr. Ghanem remained un-answered and many other questions were vaguely answered. The lack of respect to others as well as the lack of self-control and self-confidence were the primary cause for the answers to remain unanswered. This showed a lack of preparation for the show from the guests and caused TV viewers to suffer while waiting to hear the answers for the important questions that were being asked.
A Word to Mr. Ghanem
While watching the show yesterday, I felt the suffer, Mr. Ghanem, that you faced during the show with the majority of attacks caused directly or indirectly from Mr. Wahhab's expressions and approach. You were attacked on all levels: as a Journalist, as a TV Show Presenter, as a Political Master, and as a Person. I was amazed by your self-confidence, patience, courage, and democratic approach for keeping "Kalam El-Nass" a real place for people to communicate.
A piece of advice, if I am allowed to, must be given. When you invite guests to your program, please ask them to prepare the agenda and to stick to the agenda only. This must be well-preserved especially during shows where the two guests are opponents. Then, during the show, your cleverness and strong personality can easily open off-the-agenda topics for discussion without giving the guests full control over the show.
Conclusion
What happened yesterday was a disgrace for the show that I always looked forward to watch. I completely and fully understand, as well as many other viewers of the show, the reason why this happened but I cannot understand why the guests were completely free to use any term they wish to use without any respect to viewers. If they are to stay calm while disrepsecting each other, then the viewers might simply turn off the channel next time and watch something else. I also liked Mr. Ghanem's request to shake hands between the two guests at the end of the show, but I would have liked it better if he had asked them to appologize from the viewers for everything they said and for the suffer they caused.
"Kalam El-Nass" is still one of my favourite programs and Mr. Ghanem is still one of my best presenters. Because of that, I wrote this article filled with hope that this won't be happening again another time...
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Comments
Brief reply
broken_pipe | 01/04/2005, 08:16
I wonder Victor how you see Mr. Ghanem as a great presenter. Yesterday, he acted just like a kid and he was intentionally neglecting his role in leading the conversation. I wonder how you can lead a conversation with Mr. Wiam Wahhab and EL CHEIH Pierre Jmayyel EBNO LAL CHEIKH Amin Jmayyel.
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Respect is the Answer
Victor | 04/04/2005, 05:21
Fadi, this is exactly what I meant by saying that "Yesterday was a disgrace for the show". Regarding your question about how to lead such a conversation between Mr. Wahhab and Mr. Jmayyel, RESPECT is the answer. This is the title of the article. No respect, No conversation!