Undoubtedly, you are painfully aware of the devastating earthquake that shook the impoverished island nation of Haiti on Tuesday. To call this event a tragedy would be a gross understatement. But perhaps even more tragic are the reactions of two very affluent Americans who, instead of sending some of their money and using their media platforms to encourage others to help with the recovery, have decided to slam Haiti, Obama, and the relief effort.
The first offender is none other than the conservative mascot Rush Limbaugh. On his radio show Wednesday, Limbaugh accused the Obama administration of using the Haiti situation as a political tool to gain credibility with “the light-skinned and dark-skinned Black community within this country”, as if African-Americans are also classified into two sub-races.
Even in times of great disaster, Limbaugh still finds a way to spew pompous, insensitive, ignorant rhetoric.
Listen to the clip below.
The second idiot to weigh in on Haiti is televangelist Pat Robertson, who said Tuesday’s quake and Haiti’s historically bad fortune are because of a pact they made with the devil in order to gain their independence from France. Robertson’s strange story is rooted in folklore that says in 1791, Haitian voodoo priests sacrificed a pig and drank its blood to ensure that Satan would help them secure their independence from the French. And in return, the priests supposedly gave Haiti to the devil for 200 years. But even if this Aesop’s fable holds some truth, wouldn’t the devil have lost control of Haiti back in 1991? Just saying.
Watch Robertson below.
The best way to fight these crazies and those that think like them is to do something for Haiti. The Haitian people really need our help – prayers, money, and time. Below are some links if you’re interested in helping out:
The White House Site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/haitiearthquake
Wyclef Jean’s Yele Foundation: http://www.yele.org/
You can donate $10 to the Red Cross simply by texting “HAITI” to “90999” from your cell phone, and the charge will appear on your next mobile bill. I’m sure you’ve spent ten bucks on worse things. Just do it.
