...We’re all supposed to politely respect each other’s cultures. But some cultures are more progress-resistant than others, and a horrible tragedy was just exacerbated by one of them...
For those discussing what Haiti "Needs", please take care to include the other side of the picture.
There was an article in the NY Times a few years ago, where photos showed rotting bags of food on ships docked in Haitian ports. This food was unable to benefit those who needed it most because of government corruption.
What are the people supposed to do about that?
The only ones that were having a feast were the rats and other vermin who were eating food meant for humanitarian aid.
The political arena from the grass-roots level is controlled by small armies of armed thugs that are fed and are supplied weapons by local and national politicians.
So you expect a poor, unarmed population to fight off these hoodlums how, exactly?
As an American, it is easy to lay blame on their doorstep and say "Yes, these people are poor because they WANT to be poor. Poverty is a state of mind".
But let's go back into our own history and see how how the agriculture and manufacturing sectors benefited from slave labor during slavery, cheap labor washing ashore on Ellis Island from Western Europe soon after the Industrial Revolution, and the taking of land by Congressional decree from the native Americans.
This is how the United States was built. Unless you can disprove this somehow, this is how it was. You are welcome to contradict me with a book or essay from any esteemed sociologist and/or political scientist.
So if Barbados is going to be used as an example for what Haiti should be but is not, please educate us on it's agricultural and manufacturing sector-how dependent is their economy on foreign imports? How much of their GDP is dependent on tourism? What is the state of their educational system (public and private)? What percentage of their land is owned by natives? Where do the elites educate their children?
All these things make a difference and from these answers we can derive a clearer view as to where Haiti needs to go and how it should get there. That is, according to you.
Because what you are implying NOW is a bit different from what you were insinuating yesterday (or maybe it isn't and I was the one mistaken in giving you the benefit of the doubt). What you are saying now is that there is something innate about the Haitian people that allows for their present conditions, that it is their very Haitian-ness that is the problem.
I give you the floor to clarify your position.