It's hard for me to believe that it has almost been a week since I was sitting here at my desk, writing a blog post about Google leaving China, when I got an AP Mobile push notification about a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that had struck Haiti. I turned on CNN so I could hear the coverage in the background as I continued to write.
Originally, I had made the conscious decision not to write a post about the tragedy. Frankly, I didn't really feel like I had any unique input to add to the dialogue. While I felt, and continue to feel, the utmost sympathy for the people of Haiti, I didn't feel as though I had anything to say about the initial reactions following the quake that hadn't been sufficiently covered by the mainstream media.
However, almost a week later, I feel like there is a lot to be said about what a true test to humanity this tragedy has proven to be. This catastrophe, while heart-wrenching at its core, has brought out the best in a lot of people, groups, and countries. That being said, I believe it has also shown how much ignorance and intolerance still exists in modern society.
I can't even begin to express the pride that I have for the people of the United States who, as of today, have donated $22 million dollars to the Red Cross, and that's only through text messages. During a time in our country's history when people seem to be tightening their belts financially, to see such an outpouring of financial support really makes me proud to be a citizen of this country. In addition to individual support from people all over the world, large companies and small businesses alike have stepped up to the plate to both directly and indirectly aid the Haitian people. Whether it's wireless providers dropping texting charges on text donations to Haiti or small businesses donating percentages of their profits, all of these acts of charity are adding up to an incredible humanitarian effort.
I would be ecstatic if that were all I had to say about the reaction to this tragedy. Unfortunately, this tragedy has been used by political commentators on both sides of the aisle, activists, and a certain T.V evangelist as a pawn in their individual games of political chess, and that is beyond shameful.
I'll begin with T.V evangelist Pat Robertson, who pontificated on January 13th that the earthquake in Haiti was a direct result of a "pact" that the Haitian people had signed with the Devil. He elaborated, claiming that,
"Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it... they were under the heel of the French and got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, we will serve you and you'll get us free from the French. And so the devil said, OK, it's a deal. But ever since they've been cursed. But it may be a blessing in disguise."This is absolutely unforgivable. I honestly can't believe that so many people listen to, and believe the words of this ignorant bigot. Honestly, as a member of the Catholic faith, I feel that are so many things that Pat Robertson could have drawn from religious scripture that would have more accurately described in a religious context why a tragedy like this might have occurred. I would think this would be a time to comfort the people of this devastated nation, not blame them for something that has no factual evidence whatsoever. So much of Christianity is about comforting the downtrodden and helping those in need, but I guess Robertson must have just skimmed those pages in preparation for his service on this particular day. I couldn't be more disgusted.
The following is a retort from a member of the Emergency Relief Committee:
Next up in front of the firing squad: Rush Limbaugh. On his radio show the day following the disaster, Limbaugh claimed that the tragedy would,
"play right into Obama's hands. Humanitarian, compassionate, they'll use this to burnish their credibility within both the light-skinned and black skinned community within this coutry. It was made to order for him."Again, I must express my disbelief concerning how many people listen to this extremist, racist zealot and take his words to heart. I have no doubts that this will be the first of many Limbaugh offenses that I will comment about on this blog.
You know what, Rush, I'm confident that Obama's first thought when he heard about the Earthquake was, "JACKPOT." You know why I might think that? Besides common sense, I would probably say that because as much as I despise President Bush, Dick Cheney, and Karl Rove, I don't even believe that they could have thought of something so diabolical following Katrina. If that was an opportunity for Bush to bolster his humanitarian hand, he missed the boat by not showing up to New Orleans. Oh, but that's right, maybe Bush didn't want to hear all of the "whining and moaning" of the Black Katrina victims, as you so artfully spoke of them, while you touted the achievements of White Iowan flood victims as the "backbone of America." Oh by the way, during that flood relief effort, the Obama campaign was on the ground 5 DAYS before the McCain campaign and President Bush visited the flood zone. But I'm sure that Iowa flood just "played into Obama's hand" as well, huh?
Finally, I want to touch on the comments of actor / activist, Danny Glover, who said yesterday that,
"the threat of what happens in Haiti is the threat that can happen anywhere in the Caribbean to these island nations, you know? They're all in peril because of global warming; they're all in peril because of climate change. When we see what we did at the climate summit in Copenhagen, this is the response, this is what happens, you know what I'm saying?"While this comment isn't in any way intolerant of the Haitian people, it's still incorrect. The movement on tectonic plates (or seismic activity) has not been proven to be affected by climate change. Climate change concerns weather conditions and the condition of the Earth's atmosphere. It's comments like this that give false credibility to people who actually believe that global climate change is a myth, despite decades of scientific data and research that proves otherwise. Global climate change is a serious issue, but it has no place in the dialogue of this tragedy. I'm sorry that you're disappointed that Copenhagen was a big flop. I'm disappointed too, but that's no reason to bring global climate change into every current event that grabs media attention.
All in all, thought I am totally disgusted and disappointed in some of the comments that have been made by the aforementioned individuals, I'm ultimately happy that the people of Haiti are receiving such an outpouring of international aid. While we hope that countries would never have to face catastrophes such as this, it's comforting to see the international community acting so quickly despite the dangerous conditions.
