I work at a French-language university and just spent the week reeling along with our 65 Haitian students. The university set up an emergency center where each of them eventually got the chance to contact their families, counseling if they needed it, and the resources to keep afloat financially even as their banks collapsed. On my level, we're organizing benefit events and setting up a long distance phone line for them. One student lost a sister, the only casualty in those 60-some immediate families, so there is that. They say the disaster set the country back 20 years, and frank Haitians will tell you the country was already 20 years behind on every possible infrastructure.There are many ways to help - through the Red Cross, Right to Play and Doctors Without Borders (the creation of one of my university's alumni) - but here's one that fits this blog's bracket: DriveThruRPG will match your 5/10$ to Doctors Without Borders. Whether you do it as a "gamer" or as a simple citizen of the world, I hope you'll help.
Comments
Robertson sees things from a spiritual perspective, and what he's claiming (note that I can't back up this statement, but I'm a "be damned for who you are" kind of guy) that years upon years ago, the Haitian people living there at the time made a deal with Satan to get the French out of their country. I don't know if they did that or not, but he's not claiming that God purposely attacked Haiti. He has also made this claim when they were having..."governmental problems" would be putting it lightly...some years ago.
He isn't and hasn't made fun of them for it, and the Operation Blessing wing of CBN was one of the relief organizations who rushed to the scene with food and aid, whether on not the victims were Christians. He states what he believed to have happened from a spiritual perspective and why he thinks Haiti got slammed (no God protection, not God smiting anyone) and their neighbors didn't.
Agree or disagree with him all you want, and I've disagreed with him on quite a few things that I can't defend (and I have no knowledge of this deal one way or the other), but to act like Robertson is sitting on some lofty perch laughing at the "heathen Haitians" is to not only take his words out of context but a complete misrepresentation of his mindset AND character.
I've taken stronger defense of the pro-Decepticon faction of Transfandom, which I also disagree with and that is hardly as important an issue as what the Haitians have suffered through the past few days. I just want the record set straight somewhere. Disagree with him, but get the argument right, please.
I still believe that even mentioning a deal with the devil in this context is in bad taste, but I'll let it go.
I commend Siskod for being stand up and admitting ignorance to the actual comments made by Robertson. I lot of folks get defensive and argue unnecessarily.
Siskoid's point about the comments being inappropriate are fair.
I didn't actually see them or hear them, but well said guys.