The comment originated from a George Bush Sr. staffer in the early 90s, in a description of Portland, Oregon and now it will be forever remembered in the name of an indie-rock band:
Little Beirut take their name from an insult former President George H.W. Bush made about their hometown, Portland, Oregon. Thinking the comment was both unjust and unprofessional they decided to express their affection for the city by forming an indie rock band.
I don’t know if I’m more insulted by the former US president’s staffer or that the band were so incredibly insulted by the comparison.
Thanks Olivia Alabaster for the link. Olivia recommends I send Bush Sr. a certificate, in addition to the band. I think I will.
3 comments
Edwin
October 26, 2010 at 3:22 AM (UTC 4) Link to this comment
We have nothing against Beirut at all! This explanation of the origin of bush’s comment as well as the interpretation of why we chose it as our band name is not accurate.
Bush(sr.) called Portland “Little Beirut” on a visit here in the early 90′s when he was met with a fairly large protest demonstation against his policies. I guess he was making a comparison to the street level unrest between the two cities.
An odd comment for sure. But Portlanders have taken it as their own as a badge of pride. We love being Little Beirut. This city has a famous left leaning streak and we take no shit.
We’re not dissing Beirut. Quite the contrary!
Edwin
Little Beirut
Jad Aoun
October 26, 2010 at 10:33 AM (UTC 4) Link to this comment
Edwin, thank you for the clarafication.
Good luck with the band and congrats on the new album.
It would seem that Bush Sr. is our primary focus – one “Looks Like Beirut” Certificate is on its way to the US.
Edwin
October 27, 2010 at 6:17 PM (UTC 4) Link to this comment
Jad,
Thanks for the congrats.
And go ahead and send Bush a bushel of those. And his son too, although he’s probably not actually heard of Beirut
Edwin