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Like so many people safe in their own homes, I was horrified by the devastation in Haiti by the recent earthquake. I was also pleasantly surprised by the way the world responded in donating money, equipment and teams of rescuers. I think the military are making a pigs ear of it, but that's what they do best. Then I read this in today's Guardian and the joy I felt at the rescue of the little kid was put into a new perspective, by the disgust I felt for what happened to this child. Read it for yourself, and ask yourself, is this a proportional response or just plain murder?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/20/haiti-earthquake...
Comments
In Context
I am about to stick my head in the meat grinder for stating the obvious but . . .
Had this occurred in the streets of London or New York City, it would be murder in the first and I would be petitioning to be on the jury hoping to have a chance to hang the bastard who fired the shot.
The situation in Haiti, however, is about as catastrophic as you can imagine. I went into Kuwait City a day after Coalition Forces went in and the situation then pales in comparison to what is going on in Haiti. Exhaustion and fear is fueled by hunger, thirst and an all prevailing sense of helplessness. This affects those charged with trying to bring order to a situation that is beyond hopeless as well as those caught up in it.
Normal rules that govern civil society no longer apply when people are reduced to the state of having to behave like animals in order to survive. Was the shooter right in killing the girl? No. Can I understand how this sad incident came to be? Yes.
Pray to whatever deity you turn to in your hour of need that you never find yourself in the situation either the girl or the shooter found themselves. You just might be shocked by what you discover about yourself.
Nancy Cole
"You may be what you resolve to be."
T.J. Jackson
Omigosh I'm Agreeing w/Nancy Twice in One Day
Unimaginable. That word is used over and over to describe what is happening in Haiti.
Obviously no painting is worth a person's life.
Nancy's point, that the scales of justice don't apply, is well taken.
If I've learned one thing in business it is that every adversity is an opportunity to excel. Haiti has in many ways been a hellhole for a long, long time. Some might suggest that since the days of Columbus when he supervised the systematic extermination and enslavery of about five million this island has been cursed. Of course, Pat Robertson has another theory.
This huge adversity can be seen as an equally huge opportunity. Perhaps a much better Haiti can rise out of the ashes of this earthquake.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Tragedy
I'm often in the middle between viewpoints expressed by Angela and Nancy but here I'm going to say that they are both correct.
In Haiti's circumstances, tragedies happen. This is a tragedy. Not just for the girl and her family but for the person who shot her, all of Haiti's police and soldiers, all of the witnesses and, in fact, the world. Tragedy happens, it is the human condition. To pursue the person who did this would compound the tragedy.
The best response is to feel regret, remorse and forgiveness. We must forgive the girl for looting, the police officer for shooting her, the system in Haiti for failing them both and the world for failing Haiti. We must forgive ourselves for our own strong emotions of hate, fear, anger and grief.
The girl, and her killer, and everyone who has to bear up under the knowledge of what happened, all need forgiveness. And we all need the desire that this should not happen again even as we suffer with the certainty that, yes, it will. If not in Haiti then somewhere else. If not now, then tomorrow. But we must do better.
If you believe in prayer then pray for forgiveness and strength. If you don't believe in prayer then do that which will absolve you and atone for you and strengthen your resolution and your humanity.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
What Else Could One Expect?
Appoint blokes to be "policemen" and give them guns, and they will shoot and kill people. It even happens in the UK! Worst example I guess was the Met loony police who put a number of bullets throught the brain of a Brazilian electrician because, with their less than perfect eyesight and poor knowledge of anthropology, they thought he looked like he could be an arab terrorist.
And as you said, the (US) Military are making a mess of it all in Haiti - as one might expect. Medicins sans Frontieres were most upset when they were refused permission to land, and had to land in DOMINICA and bring badly needed medicines and relief personnel by what was left of roads, to Port au Prince.
But there are some good signs too - Doctors from the USA and Cuba working together as a team for example. Bless them! And in general, the Haitians have been calm and have been helping each other out, at least until international relief came.
I think all countries should be required to pay 5 % of their tax revenues into a UN International Rescue Organization, that would be ready to dash in and rescue people from natural disasters all over the world, regardless of political, cultural, religious or racial situations. In fact, I think all military should be disbanded and only this body and a UN Peacekeeper organization be allowed to carry on the military ceremonial functions and the occasionally necessary use of arms to halt trouble, world wide. Think of the HUGE sums that are wasted on developing and buying and training to use weapons, world wide, and the good we could do with half of that amount!
It may be ok to tolerate small boys fighting ( though a recent court case in the uk showed that even that has some risks attached) but grown ups should be above fighting. With no armies and guns, nations would not be able to carry on this expensive and disgusting hobby of making wars on each other. Wars always end with both sides negotiating a peace with another, so why not do that first instead of last?
A large part of our species is collectively criminally insane, I think.
Briar
Briar