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Kimbop

Joined: 31 Mar 2008
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 10:18 am Post subject: Paul Shirley Tells the Truth about Haiti |
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I thought about adding this to Mises' Haiti thread, but this is a seperate debate.
http://www.flipcollective.com/2010/01/26/if-you-rebuild-it-they-will-come-by-paul-shirley/
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I haven�t donated to the Haitian relief effort for the same reason that I don�t give money to homeless men on the street. Based on past experiences, I don�t think the guy with the sign that reads �Need You�re Help� is going to do anything constructive with the dollar I might give him. If I use history as my guide, I don�t think the people of Haiti will do much with my money either.
In this belief I am, evidently, alone. It seems that everyone has jumped on the �Save Haiti� bandwagon. To question the impulse to donate, then, will probably be viewed as analogous with rooting for Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, or the Spice Girls.
My wariness has much to do with the fact that the sympathy deployed to Haiti has been done so unconditionally. Very few have said, written, or even intimated the slightest admonishment of Haiti, the country, for putting itself into a position where so many would be killed by an earthquake. |
Apparently Paul Shirly lost his job at ESPN because of this article. It's a very good read. Sometimes the truth hurts.
I also want to repost Mises' link from the Boston Globe: they're tragic, but self-explanatory:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/01/haiti_six_days_later.html |
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catman

Joined: 18 Jul 2004
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 10:34 am Post subject: |
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Too bad he doesn't know (or ignores) why Hati is so poor in the first place. The truth would probably hurt his ideological outlook. |
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pkang0202

Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 10:46 am Post subject: |
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I predict a year from now, no one is going to care about Haiti. I'm willing to bet a year from now, those same celebrities that put on the Save Haiti Now telethon wouldn't do it again next year. |
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Kimbop

Joined: 31 Mar 2008
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 11:01 am Post subject: |
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catman wrote: |
Too bad he doesn't know (or ignores) why Hati is so poor in the first place. The truth would probably hurt his ideological outlook. |
I'm a mind reader! The US and other white colonialists encouraged aids, illiteracy, burning tire piles, runaway population growth, and African values & beliefs, right? |
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NovaKart
Joined: 18 Nov 2009 Location: Iraq
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 11:40 am Post subject: |
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It's not the Haitian people's fault what happened any more than Americans are responsible for their government or any other country. Should the average Haitian be denied aid because of the mistakes their leaders have made?
I suppose Paul Shirley is worried the funds will be misused and I understand that concern. But I imagine at least some of it will go to the people. Perhaps he should research a way to donate more responsibly instead of condemning donations period and saying it's the Haitian people's fault.
I do agree that it's tiresome to see the usual celebrities rushing out to do a concert, doing their part by giving the gift of song. Still, I think people should put more scrutiny on how the money is handled and not just abandon donations.
I don't think he should be fired over this or anything else he says however. Too many people get fired over a single foot-in-mouth statement. |
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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007 Location: retired
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 11:56 am Post subject: |
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Why Haiti is poor is a difficult topic. A key problem is the rate of population growth. Haiti needs a one-child policy. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 12:20 pm Post subject: |
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It looks like Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer has found some allies:
"My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed! You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply, they will reproduce."
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catman

Joined: 18 Jul 2004
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 12:52 pm Post subject: |
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Kimbop wrote: |
catman wrote: |
Too bad he doesn't know (or ignores) why Hati is so poor in the first place. The truth would probably hurt his ideological outlook. |
I'm a mind reader! The US and other white colonialists encouraged aids, illiteracy, burning tire piles, runaway population growth, and African values & beliefs, right? |
It is apparent that you don't know either. |
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Kimbop

Joined: 31 Mar 2008
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 2:24 pm Post subject: |
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So what is "the truth"? Enlighten me please. |
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ELGORDO
Joined: 12 Jul 2009
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 3:26 pm Post subject: |
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http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/crs/rl34299.pdf
That link basically gives the real reason no on should give a single cent to Haiti.
It�s a report on just how much money the US has given them. During the 90�s, we gave them roughly $266,000 per person. The average family size in Haiti is 7. That comes out to a $186,200 a year income per year, for 10 years (note this does not count all the aid sent to Haiti since then), per family.
This is plenty of money for the average Haitian to own their own house, a couple of cars and live an opulent existence in any 1st world nation. In a third world nation like Haiti, it equates to being set for life��every Haitian�.set for life.
Yet, the average Haitian lives a desperate, squalid existence, where their prime recreational activities are doing drugs and killing each other. |
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NovaKart
Joined: 18 Nov 2009 Location: Iraq
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 5:38 pm Post subject: |
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I totally agree that pouring in massive amounts of aid and thinking that's going to solve everything is a really flawed idea. The problem I have with the article is that he blames the average Haitian person for not preventing this problem when there's little they can do about it.
He asks why they build ramshackle houses in shantytowns that are so vulnerable to earthquakes. Does he think there are housing projects available for them and they're making makeshift shacks just because they're lazy? |
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Fox

Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 5:44 pm Post subject: |
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NovaKart wrote: |
It's not the Haitian people's fault what happened any more than Americans are responsible for their government or any other country. |
The Americans are responsible for their government, and the same is true of the Haitians. That said, no, they should not have been denied aid because of their mistakes. This situation isn't analogous to a homeless man begging, as a writer implies. Rather, it's analogous to you walking down the street and finding a homeless man lying barely conscious in a pool of blood. I think even those of us who would usually give a homeless beggar nothing would be inclined to aid the man in such a scenario, rather than thinking something like, "Well, if only he had made better life choices, he wouldn't be where he is now. He deserves nothing."
As far as whether it was right to fire him, given how much people in the media get paid, and given how much competition there is for those jobs, it's totally reasonable for companies to hold their employees in those fields to an incredibly high standard. If you go out of your way to embarass your employer in this fashion, I see no reason they should continue to employ you if they feel what you bring to their product isn't sufficient to outweigh the embarassment. |
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NovaKart
Joined: 18 Nov 2009 Location: Iraq
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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People are responsbile for electing someone into office. What those people do while in office is not really under our control. We can protest it but that doesn't mean it's going to change anything.
In a place like Haiti which doesn't have a stable democracy and many people are more concerned with survival than with protesting government policies it's even more difficult. |
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Fox

Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 6:31 pm Post subject: |
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NovaKart wrote: |
People are responsbile for electing someone into office. What those people do while in office is not really under our control. We can protest it but that doesn't mean it's going to change anything. |
Protests, replacing the encumbant in the next election, recall votes, and outright revolution are all possibilities.
NovaKart wrote: |
In a place like Haiti which doesn't have a stable democracy and many people are more concerned with survival than with protesting government policies it's even more difficult. |
This is true. There are always very understandable reasons why a populace lets its government get away with things, but in the end, they're still just reasons. Struggling to survive every day while the government inhibits rather than supports that task is like trying to use a pail to bail all the water out of a bathtub with the spigot on. You're never going to get anywhere until you fix the real problem. Yes, it's an easier thing to say than to do, but it's still true. |
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kabrams

Joined: 15 Mar 2008 Location: your Dad's house
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 8:08 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: |
for putting itself into a position |
Spoken like a true person who has no idea the history of Haiti.
http://news.discovery.com/history/why-is-haiti-so-poor.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Haiti
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/External_debt_of_Haiti
http://www.openculture.com/2010/01/jared_diamond_explains_haitis_enduring_poverty.html
You don't have to agree with everything, but at least PLEASE think about the history of slavery, colonialism, rebellion, the Great Depression, foreign debt, environmental and social problems etc. before you just say, OMG Haitians are poor because they have a bunch of kids and spend all their time murdering each other and doing drugs.
Seriously, people. RESEARCH, READ, and THINK FOR YOURSELVES. |
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