Sunday January 24, 2010
Robertson and Limbaugh don’t speak for me
By Jim Taylor
Whatever Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh are, I don’t want to be.
If they call themselves Christian, count me out.
After the January 12 earthquake, Limbaugh heaped scorn on the Haitian people. “They produce nothing, zilch, zero, nada,” he fulminated, “and it’s been that way for the longest time.”
And Robertson declared that the Haitians brought this punishment on themselves because they made a “pact with the devil” to win independence in 1803.
The same Pat Robertson blamed the September 11 terrorist attacks, in 2001, on softening attitudes towards feminists, abortionists, and homosexuals.
Granted, there is a legend that Toussaint Louverture, the leader of the Haitian slaves who revolted against their French colonial masters, must have made a pact with Satan to have succeeded. But you can bet that legend didn’t start with the slaves themselves.
Rather, it started with the French slave owners, who could not imagine how ignorant slaves could possibly defeat their armies without supernatural help.
Mixed blessings
If indeed those black slaves made a deal with the devil, the United States was the primary beneficiary. Because in late 1803, Louisiana – with New Orleans controlling traffic in and out of the mighty Mississippi – was a French colony. The newly-formed States were still confined east of the Mississippi. To counter the potential of U.S. expansion into the midwest, France sent an armada of ships and soldiers to defend Louisiana.
But France considered Haiti, which they called the Pearl of the Antilles, a richer prize than Louisiana. They diverted 60,000 soldiers to the Haitian rebellion.
And lost.
The U.S. paid a paltry $15 million for Louisiana – which, at that time, extended north to the Dakotas.
France, however, coerced 150 million gold francs out of impoverished Haiti, the equivalent of $40 billion today, to compensate French slave owners for their loss of property.
Haiti did not finish paying that debt until 1947.
As investigative journalist Greg Palast put it, “Rather than enslave individual Haitians, France thought it more efficient to enslave the entire nation.”
Emotional ties
I admit to having an emotional tie to Haiti. I was there twice, in 1973 and in 1980. I spent time at Cap Haitien in the north, Jeremie in the far west, and Petit Goave almost at the earthquake’s epicentre. In Port au Prince, I lived in an orphanage and school for handicapped children, run by a remarkable woman I knew as Sister Joan, in the squalid heart of the city.
I saw first hand the dedication of missionaries and volunteers who sacrificed themselves in the hope of bringing something better to the poorest nation in the Americas.
So I’m angry that a country already suffering so much should get kicked in the teeth again.
I’m offended when right-wing Christian bigots blame Haiti’s misfortunes on their adherence to Vodou, caricatured as voodoo superstition. The people are 85 per cent Roman Catholic; most of the rest are evangelical Christians. TV clips demonstrated the intensity of their spirituality.
Yes, they have blended ancient African animism into their Christianity. So what? Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson blend into their religious beliefs a free market system based on greed that’s quite contrary to the founder’s focus on sharing freely.
Consider what the God of white Christians has done for Haiti:
- total extermination of indigenous tribes following Columbus’s landing in 1492.
- 411 years of slavery
- 144 years to pay off a debt
- 112 years of despotic tyrants
- 29 years of ruthless exploitation by the Duvaliers. Papa Doc Duvalier ruled the country like a Mafia godfather with a band of thugs, the Tonton Macoutes, who effectively replaced any semblance of a legitimate police force. Baby Doc, Jean-Claude Duvalier, ripped off international aid for his personal benefit.
- 19 years of occupation by U.S. Marines, from 1915 to 1934.
Continuing pain
In fairness, much of Haiti’s limited infrastructure is a legacy of that military occupation. Paved roads outside the capital, for example – although potholes often exceed the paving.
As the eminently quotable Greg Palast summarized, “What Papa and Baby didn’t run off with, the International Monetary Fund finished off with its ‘austerity’ plans… a form of voodoo orchestrated by economists… an irrational belief that cutting government services will somehow help a nation prosper.”
The last 20 years have seen a succession of quasi-democratic elected governments, plagued by corruption, incompetence, and at least two U.S.-supported coups.
And then we expect Haitians to have a functioning infrastructure that would facilitate distribution of international aid supplies?
And we’re shocked that Haitians without food or water would resort to looting or violence to survive?
Yes, I’m angry at the international community for ignoring Haiti until it’s struck by disaster.
I’m angry at nature, for picking on people who have already been picked on more than enough.
And I’m angry at God, for letting Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh co-opt her good name for their venom.
Like I said, count me out.
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Copyright © 2009 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups permitted; all other rights reserved.
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Your Turn
In last week’s column, I had commented that cats are the only domesticated animals that provide no tangible benefits to their owners. To which Steve Roney retorted, “Bah–city kids! Any cat on a farm has a serious job: keeping the mice and rats out of the grain.”
Elizabeth Reid – who first got me into the Editors’ Association of Canada almost 30 years ago – wrote, “I wouldn’t normally promote my employer’s product through Sharp Edges, but coming up on February 3 at 10 pm ET, TVO is airing Tiger Next Door, which looks at these issues from south of the border…”
If you happen to be in a place where you can receive TVOntario programs, you might want to watch this special presentation, about our fascination with big cats, and ‘the near-epidemic of wild animal keeping in the United States.’”
Suzanne Edgar had thoughts about two columns at once: “Regarding the Christmas Day bomber, I have a friend north of London, ON whose son told her the flights heading to Detroit start down through the clouds over where she lives. I’m grateful for many people’s sake the terrorist wasn’t successful. Increased and well-coordinated, properly-done vigilance I will give a big yes to, along with a hope for its success.
“As for cats — domestic cats not big enough to eat us can be trained — but we humans miss respecting diversity over and over! Cats have a wonderful amount of independent self-esteem. That can be unnerving to you if you think you have to dominate them. If you work with them, cats can be great friends, and have been much prized in our history for helping us keep rodents under control. (I recall your cat is somewhat challenged in this area!) The big cats are beautiful and alluring, but it’s cruel to cage them — and they are wild animals.”
James West also connected my column about big cats with the column two weeks ago on the Christmas day “underwear bomber.”
“As a former resident of Detroit, I was always impressed with what I considered the parallel universe of at the other end of the Ambassador Bridge,” James wrote. “No guns in Windsor and, in comparison to the world that I had left behind for a few hours, no crime. At the time, the only exotic animals I knew about were pythons, true population unknown. I was pretty sure that the only tigers played in Tiger Stadium. That was in the 1980’s.
“Now I live in California. Again, I have no idea of the population of tigers and leopards, but I am quite sure that the guns outnumber the animals by a factor of at least ten if not a hundred thousand to one. The quote that reminds me of the almost infinite qualitative difference between Canada and the U.S. was that of Melissa Mallow, comparing the relative danger of a tiger and a loaded gun. We have a wild animal park for the big cats. We have homes with arsenals to keep us warm. I’ve even heard the argument that if we interpreted the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (the right to bear arms) the same way as we interpret the First, citizens would be required to own guns.”
My apologies to Rob Brown. I described him last week as cynical. Rob replied, “Except that Rob is not cynical. Rob is just sad; sad about the inherent dishonesty. And puzzled. Too many years reporting the news, maybe. Or trying (very trying?) to be ethical and prophetic. SIGH!”
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About My Books
Over the years, I think I have written (or ghostwritten) about 17 books. Several of them (mercifully) are no longer available from any source. But here’s a listing of those that are still available. The ones marked “WLB”, you can order from Wood Lake Books, either on-line at http://www.woodlakebooks.com, or call Wood Lake Books directly at 1-800-663-2775 in Canada, 1-800-654-5129 (Pilgrim Press) in the U.S. The ones marked “JT only” are now available only directly from me — as collector’s items, I price them all at $25 Cdn.
- Everyday God: Insights from the Ordinary
- Worlds in One
- Chance
- Seeing the Mystery: Exploring Christian Faith through the Eyes of Artists,
- Surviving Death
- Everyday Psalms
- Everyday Parables
- Letters to Stephen
- A New Understanding of Virtue and Vice
- Precious Days and Practical Love: Caring for an Aging Parent
- for Beginners
- Spirituality of Pets
(1981 and 2005, WLB, $19.95)
(1985, JT only)
(1989, JT only)
(1990, with William S. Taylor, JT only)
(1993, JT only)
(1994 and 2005, WLB, $19.95)
(1995 and 2005, WLB, $19.95)
(1996, WLB, $17.95)
(1997, WLB, $19.95)
(1999, WLB, $19.95)
(2001, WLB, $11.95)
(2006, WLB, $39)
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TECHNICAL STUFF
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You can access several years of archived columns at http://edges.Canadahomepage.net.
I write a second column each Wednesday, called Soft Edges, which deals somewhat more gently with issues of life and faith. (It’s also included in Ralph Milton’s e-newsletter Rumors.) To sign up for Soft Edges, write to me directly, at the addresses above, or send a note to [email protected]
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PROMOTION STUFF…
If you know someone else who might like to receive this column regularly via e-mail, send a request to [email protected] Or, if you wish, forward them a copy of this column. But please put your name on it, so they don’t think I’m sending out spam.
For a lighter look at life, faith, and the lectionary, I recommend my friend Ralph Milton’s weekly e-newsletter Rumors. You can subscribe to it by sending a note to [email protected]
For other web links worth pursuing, try
- Charlene Fairchild’s United Online site,
- David Keating’s “SeemslikeGod” page
- The Canadian Centre for Progressive Christianity home page
- Dan Strizek’s Gathering Place for Creation Spirituality
- Alva Wood’s satiric stories about incompetent bureaucrats and prejudiced attitudes in a small town are not terribly religious, but they are fun; write [email protected] to get onto her mailing list.
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