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| Home Front: Politix |
| Former NBA Player Dropped as ESPN Writer for Haiti Comments |
| 2010-01-27 |
| Ex-NBA player rips Haiti, compares country to 'homeless men' Updated Jan 27, 2010 1:35 PM ET Paul Shirley has probably become public enemy No. 1 in Haiti and elsewhere. The former NBA player posted a long column online in response to the earthquake disaster in Haiti in which he criticized Haitian citizens and said he won't donate to relief efforts. "I haven't donated to the Haitian relief effort for the same reason that I don't give money to homeless men on the street," he wrote. "Based on past experiences, I don't think the guy with the sign that reads 'Need You're Help' is going to do anything constructive with the dollar I might give him. If I use history as my guide, I don't think the people of Haiti will do much with my money either." And he didn't stop there, even writing a letter to the people of Haiti. "Dear Haitians," he wrote, "First of all, kudos on developing the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Your commitment to human rights, infrastructure, and birth control should be applauded. "As we prepare to assist you in this difficult time, a polite request: If it's possible, could you not re-build your island home in the image of its predecessor? Could you not resort to the creation of flimsy shanty- and shack-towns? And could some of you maybe use a condom once in a while?" He also asked what's being done to prevent this tragedy from happening again, using New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina as an example. "We did the same after Hurricane Katrina," he said. "We were quick to vilify humans who were too slow to respond to the needs of victims, forgetting that the victims had built and maintained a major city below sea level in a known target zone for hurricanes. Our response: Make the same mistake again. Rebuild a doomed city, putting aside logic as we did." Shirley has been dropped as a freelance writer for ESPN for his comments on Haiti. |
| Posted by:logi_cal |
| #6 What BH6 said. sorry those folks got the short end of the stick when the quake hit, but there didn't seem to be a lot of self directed effort in looking for survivors and such; just wandering around and wondering about when is the help gonna get here? Comparisons to post katrina N.O. are warranted, no self support, just looting, chaos and hands out for help whining. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2010-01-27 23:38 |
| #5 I disagree Mike. He doesn't blame them for the earthquake although he makes a wrong assertion that a 7.0 quake could be prevented like NoLa being built in a known flood plane. Different issues. Comparing this guy to Kos or fat Moore is way off the mark. Matter of fact his basic points are what I hear many well thought out people say every day. Haiti is a cesspool, I blame both its leaders and its people and their culture or lack there of. I also blame all those well-intentioned but foolish folks who keep enabling them with blind donations and no accountability. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2010-01-27 20:11 |
| #4 Haiti was a deeply messed-up place long before the earthquake. That's far more the fault of a long series of kleptomaniac tyrants than of the people unfortunate enough to live under their misrule, but let's be generous and say it's a debatable point. This is not the time to be saying what he said in that way. Whatever flaws Hatian culture may have did not cause the earthquake. This earthquake caused 200,000+ deaths in a population of 10 million--that's over 2% of the population wiped out in less than an hour. Total casualties, of course, are much higher. Holding your tongue at a time like this is not "political correctness," it's simple decency. Remember Michael Moore complaining that the 9/11 terrorists should have attacked a city in a state that went for Bush? Remember Kos cheering the murder of Americans in Fallujah? Remember all those sick bastards who cheered 9/11 and said we deserved it? Disgusting, weren't they? No class, right? This is just as bad. |
| Posted by: Mike 2010-01-27 19:47 |
| #3 Never heard of him. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-01-27 19:14 |
| #2 Truth can also be sad. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-01-27 18:28 |
| #1 Definitely NOT Politically Correct. |
| Posted by: tipover 2010-01-27 18:07 |