Looting? Seriously?

What better way to confirm our suspicions of “the poor”, “the underdeveloped”, “the savage”? What better opportunity to reaffirm our condition of “civilized” than to look at Haiti after the earthquake? Make no mistake, because according to the Associated Press, “looting” is what Haitians are doing. We, “the developed”, obviously know better, because when our houses are destroyed, food and water are scarce, and our families lie dead on the roads, we wait for someone to come, rebuild, and officially re-open the stores so we can go in and buy toothpaste to cover the smell of death.

There is looting in Haiti alright, and there has been for longer than history cares to remember. Looting is what France did to Haiti for over a century, looting is what the USA has done to Haiti since the early 1900s, looting is what the Inter-American Development Bank continues to do to Haiti.

So the lesson here is clear: the audacity of freedom, the gift of Haiti to the world, is the greatest offence a nation can ever commit, and those who dare to take their own path, will be despised, abused and ignored, as will be their children, and their children’s children.