On the Disaster in Haiti, and the Coverage
The footage from Haiti is absolutely heartbreaking.
If you’ve got a loved one in Haiti, my thoughts are with you. I can only imagine the anguish you must feel today.
Every person there is precious. Every injured person and every fatality represents a disaster for a family. I can only hope that rescuers arrive swiftly to save all those who can be saved, and that relief arrives promptly with food, clean water, and hospital supplies.
I’m donating, as I’m hoping you’ll do, too. Every little bit helps.
And I don’t want to fixate on the casualty figures, as Wolf Blitzer is doing. He acts like he’ll be sorely disappointed if it doesn’t exceed 100,000. He’s turning himself into a pornographer of disaster, a carnival barker of death.
And I don’t want to hear, as I did on the Weather Channel, of all places, about how pathetic Haiti is, and always was. Nor do any of us need to hear the rantings of Pat Robertson blaming yet another calamity on the victims.
I had to turn to BET to hear some welcome insight about how Haiti has a rich history of fighting for freedom and how its art, music, religious practices, and literature add tremendously to the world’s cultural stockpile.
What I want to hear, now, is how the people in Haiti themselves are fighting heroically to save lives.
And I want to know, now, is that our government is doing all it can in this regard, too.
We are not Americans. They are not Haitians. We are all human beings.
Matthew Rothschild is the editor of The Progressive magazine. To subscribe for just $14.97 a year, just click here.
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Comments
You are speaking, of course, of the "Thug Haitian Dictators", that we put into power, in Haiti?
For the most of History, any guy that the people down there wanted as their leadership, they were rapidly out the door, so you can't really blame the Haitians.
Maybe from time to time they have elected someone, who turned out not as advertised, but people can be conned, so one must temper the blaming of the electorate.
Classic example, being the American People's electing of Barrack H.W. Bama.
When the Haitians, who handily kicked France's butt two centuries ago and gained, supposedly, their Independence, and that is when France was quite competent, militarily ---- when ever they arise to do something about it, the Police, under UN protection, just shoot them.
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/513.html