I need more facts. Actually, I have enough facts NOT to donate. It's not hindsight insofar as if/when we get Haiti back to where it was, it will get blasted by hurricanes again. It will, at some point, have another earthquake for which it will probably not be ready. I say this in all sincerity: I'm happy that you feel good about donating. I know that might read as snide, but I don't mean to diminish your contributions. But... look at the attitude of everyone (except perhaps DC) in this thread. There is a lot of anger that someone would feel differently than you do, it seems. Ed O.
u do realize this stuff costs money? doctors need to be sent over there (it cost money); medicine is expensive; shoes and tents while relatively inexpensive, can be expensive when u consider the transportation costs. plus, there are logistical hurdles in delivering this stuff in place where roads have been made non-existent by the rubble that covers it. plus, long term- we need to build infrastructure so when disaster strikes, it wont be at the scale of this calamity. and i do believe its in america's national interests to be a partner in the reconstruction of haiti because if u not- florida could see boatloads of haitians come over in rafts over the next few years . i also think its in canada's national interest as well because a place like quebec suits them perfectly (french speaking province) but canada cannot handle a large influx of haitian immigrants over night.
u do realize that I suggested donating to Doctors Without Borders because you know they'll actually use the money for what the Haitians really need right now. I personally don't care if Haitians come here by the boatload. It's a free country. Supposedly.
That quote reads wrong which is my fault. I meant that we put those douche bags in power because they weren't communist and that these save asshats are the ones who have ran the country into the ground. That's what I get for writing a post in a hurry.
It might just be possible that Haiti would be far better prepared for such a natural disaster if we hadn't destroyed much of their infrastructure and deposed their elected leader. Haiti was a shit hole before the earthquake in part because the US made it a shit hole. THAT is why we need to be more involved in Haiti's recovery. It's just not a case of "They just didn't do enough to help themselves so fuck them.". The US prevented them from even having a chance to do enough.
so u must believe in welfare then? because someone has to support them. i honestly prefer that because i suspect they would vote democrat and florida might switch to a blue state permanently.
Nope. I don't believe in welfare. They can starve there, or starve here. Or they can take advantage of the many opportunities we have here to get ahead. It's up to them.
The problem with donating money is that you have no idea where it's going after you've donated it. Organizations like the Red Cross have complete control over the money once it is in their hands. I remember after 9/11 there was a huge uproar because people donated money to the Red Cross thinking that it would go directly to the families of the victims. It doesn't. The Red Cross is always quick to ask for donations after a major disaster (9/11, Katrina, Haiti) but that money isn't always used for what you think. If I remember correctly the Red Cross eventually gave the money to the families of 9/11, but they did so begrudgingly.
how exactly could a haitian migrant who probably doesnt speak english and certainly cant read or write english take advantage of the opportunities in miami? u do realize they need english language training, maybe some vocational training as well just to get job ready. plus the govt needs to help them subsist in this adjustment phase for them to get to the position where they can "take advantage of the many opportunities" u have over there.
The hard thing about this is the vitriol for someone speaking their mind. Having cogent arguments that don't get discussed, they get lumped into "he's a republican dick" grouping. I'd like to think that, instead of this being Paul Shirley, this was me or Denny or MrJ or any other of us, there'd at least be some discourse and discussion about it. maybe I'm being naive.
The Red Cross actually spent like half the money that was donated. They kept the rest in savings for the next time they might need it. But certainly the people who donated expected the money to go to help people in NYC after 9/11.
That is not relevant to me. That's nonsense. Again, though: not relevant. I don't agree with your assertion, but even if it were: I don't care. No. The US didn't cause the hurricanes or the earthquake. It did not single out Haiti and drive them into the poorest country in the hemisphere. It did not force them to have nine million+ inhabitants. Your argument is not only weak, but it's not the reason that we're donating money. No one I know (whether your argument is accurate or not) is donating money due to some sort of guilt over the country's plight due to US interventionalism. Ed O.
cubans have one of the highest literacy rates in the world. plus, there is a huge network of cuban exiles in florida that they can tap into for employment as well as charities designed to help assimilate cubans.
You just described how immigrants make it here. It worked for Vietnamese, Koreans, Cubans, Mormons, the Irish, etc.
That's nothing new. Where do you think Bank of America came from? They were the only bank that was open immediately after the San Francisco quake in 1906. Of course, they weren't called Bank of America back then.
And passive genocide of a nation's people simply because they are poor and diseased will never pass for anything other than fear and greed. You yourself could have been bitten by a rabid bat at the age of 9 at the summer camp your parents sent you to, and died an excruciatingly painful death. Guess that possibility makes your parents pretty self-righteous for having you.
I know 2 Asians who immigrated. This is how THEY made it. The Vietnamese guy is a landlord with about a dozen rentals in SE Portland. He was given, not loaned the first 2 rentals free and clear through a Federal program back in 1977. So much for the American Dream. My government would never give me a couple rentals to start my business. The other was adopted out of a Korean orphanage when he was young, raised by a religious family in Hillsboro, and grew up to become a dangerously psychotic swindler who has destoyed the lives of many good people. He preys on the uneducated, the poor, the weak, the defenseless. I have seen him convince people he's Jesus, and I've seen him convince himself he's the devil. He's quite wealthy, but barely escaped Federal prison for loan fraud and conspiracy in 2003. He's out there right now stealing from someone.
