Reactions to the Haitian Disaster

By Tom Kando

On January 17, “anonymous” posted the following comment on my review of the movie Avatar: “Haiti proves it again. The white man has to rescue the natives.”
I’ll admit that the comment is succinct and to the point. It sums up a racism which is probably widespread. It also reminds me of some other recent reactions to the Haitian disaster. This anonymous writer links his comment to race. Back when white Europeans ruled the world, such colonialist rhetoric was acceptable: During the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries, it was okay for Rudyard Kipling to speak of “the White Man’s burden,” to say that “East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet...” it was okay to believe in Manifest Destiny.

It is also a fact that at different times in history, different cultures enjoy the advantage. In antiquity, the albino-looking people of the North were the savages, and civilization belonged to dark Mediterraneans. Three thousand years ago, olive-skinned people built bridges and wrote medical treatises, while pink-skinned blonds lived in caves and grunted to each other. Today, some groups are also doing better than others. But this, too, shall pass. Maybe in a few hundred years it’ll be Haitians who rescue Americans...

And then we have the bizarre pronouncements of people like Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh:


Robertson’s view is that Haitians have brought their misery upon themselves because they made a pact with the devil two centuries ago to gain their freedom from France. No doubt the thought was triggered in Robertson’s shrinking brain by the age-old and popular notion that Haitians do a lot of Voodoo.

There is a history of such far-out thinking among spokesmen of the religious right. Wasn’t it the Reverend Jerry Falwell who attributed 9/11 to America’s sinful ways? And Pat Robertson, or some other such strange person, who said the same thing about Katrina, i.e. that such disasters are punishments for our Sodom-and-Gomorrah-like behavior.

Next, we heard from Rush Limbaugh: Speaking of donating money to the Haitian relief fund, he said that Americans already have a charitable fund, and it’s called the income tax. Plus, he enlightened us by explaining that our government’s help to Haiti is just an effort by President Obama to look good, in other words political grand-standing, PR.

The problem isn’t that there are many people whose mind no longer works (Robertson) or who are really, really evil (Limbaugh). The problem is that for some reason, some of these people have millions of admirers and followers. A recent Time poll showed Glenn Beck (another similar character) to be the most popular American at this time.

I don’t know about you, but my first reaction to the Haitian earthquake - 50,000 to 100,000 dead, three and a half million homeless, etc. - was to send a small check to one of the relief funds. This was not a moral act, it was an instinctive act. I am not a good person, I am a normal person, as are the millions of other Americans who no doubt are also sending money.

It’s hard for me to understand the reaction of someone like Limbaugh: Wouldn’t it be “normal,” on such an occasion, to just shut up and make a donation? Limbaugh’s radio contract is for over $400 million. (I forget whether this is per year or what). Were he to contribute one million dollars to the Haitian relief fund, he would still have $399 million left, plenty enough to live on, no?

No comments, no editorials, no politics, just send some money and save some lives. A fraction of Limbaugh’s half billion dollar income could probably save half of Haiti.

But you see, such a man is not normal. His instincts are not normal. So be it. As I said, the worst part is that he has millions of followers. He is their role model. Those people, too, have lost their senses. Dare I raise an analogy with developments in Germany seventy five years ago?
leave comment here