Gaddafi nostalgia isn’t a political movement

Libyans once used the phrase ‘reckless boy’ to describe anyone who loudly cheered Muammar Gaddafi at the height of his power. It was a popular mocking expression aimed at the clowns and opportunists who had lost their sense — or pretended to. It was a simple piece of folk wisdom: don’t waste time arguing with reckless boys. Any conversation with them would lead nowhere. Not to politics. Not to statehood. Only more noise that resembled Gaddafi’s own. Libyans learned something lasting from their encounter with Gaddafi’s admirers. Anyone who went overboard in praising the ‘Leader’ knew deep down that their loyalty was opportunistic, not genuine. This had little to do with patriotism and everything to do with how Libyans viewed […]