surprise surprise
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a haitian-american "prophetess" (who is apparently also a miami businesswoman) is taking advantage of the earthquake in haiti to spread her wacko message among the emotionally vulnerable haitian people. apparently even the government is "taking her seriously." she had a public meeting with the haitian president. all because in 2007 she tried repeatedly to warn that haiti was headed "for a disaster." so far i haven't read that she actually specified the date or nature of the imminent disaster. now she has thousands of people fasting and is keeping a sketchbook for of god's plans for the new haiti. here's the link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100223/wl_time/08599196730100
note how the tone of the article is clearly sympathetic, and it's from fucking TIME, for chrissake! the media jumped all over wyclef jean's charity for its questionable bookkeeping, even though it was committing SUBSTANTIAL aid to haiti, while this bitch gives NOTHING but pie-in-the-sky fantasies and delusions of collective guilt, clearly playing on people's frailties, and she's hailed as some kind of fucking giver of hope.
my stomach turns at the thought of exploitative jackals like her. even if she isn't benefitting financially, she's clearly getting off on her messiah complex.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
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then again, as i let the red clouds of outrage disperse, i wonder: is she really giving nothing? i have often read posts from other atheists on this site extolling the efficacy of religion as a survival tool. we all know that immediate material aid, regardless of how generous, is only a stop-gap. ultimately the haitian people must raise themselves up out of their plight and, hopefully, to a higher standard of living than they had before. we all know this requires some form of ideological or "spiritual" motivation, be it supernatural or mundane. collectively, the human race has yet to reach the point where it can rationally find the "best of all possible worlds" for itself, and i for one question if it ever will.
now, some people (myself included) would be inclined to counter with "fair enough. obviously some form of ideal must be instilled in people in order to raise the spirit of self-sacrifice necessary in order to create a new and 'better' society out of a tragedy of this magnitude. however, what about just good old-fashioned 'think of your grandchildren'? why throw in some supernatural mumbo-jumbo?"
i suppose it's all a question of the degree of idealism necessary to produce the maximum possible altruistic motivation in a society struggling to rebuild itself. i think history shows that this depends on both the level of overall cultural development in the pre-disaster society (i.e., how "backward" they were) and the magnitude of the disaster itself. considering both these factors, at this point in time, can anything motivate the haitian people not only to "bounce back" but eventually achieve self-sufficiency better than a spiritualized eschatology? i wonder if this "prophetess" serves a beneficial purpose in the survival and well-being of the haitian people?
well, now that i've argued with myself, i'd like to hear what others think.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson