The thing the USA media seems to not understand about the missionary kidnappers in Haiti
The people of Haiti are tired tired tired of proselytizers coming to their home and telling them that THEIR Haitian religion is a pile 0f satanic crap and that they are damned damned damned unless they eat the particular pile of crap THOSE visitors are selling.
You think some people might feel a LITTLE BIT INSULTED when people they've never met, who usually have never even been in their country or speak their language, come in all puffed up and absolutely sure that the spiritual values that have been a comfort and inspiration to the locals for hundreds of years is evil? You think?
How would we feel if we can even imagine it -- if Muslims and Santerians and Scientologists and Voudon priests showed up in our darkest most stressful hours (like running amok in Manhattan in September 2001 screaming their creed at the shell-shocked survivors) to tell us we're wrong all wrong been wrong from Day One and doomed to hideous destruction... actually the Mormons have been doing that to Christians for the past 150+ years, which might account for the serious hostility Christians have for them.
I make no value judgments about the worth of any religion here -- this is purely intended to describe the reaction Haitians have when a bunch of white Gringos show up and abduct a couple dozen kids, intentionally skirting the legalities, to take them away and drill into them the glory of the Jew the Romans nailed to a cross. (The fact that Haitian Voudon actually incorporates Christian saints in their pantheon doesn't seem to register.)
I make no judgment about any difference in the value of any of those beliefs.
But there is immense value in having the decency to respect other people's lives --
EVEN IF THEY DON'T DESCRIBE MOONLIGHT THE SAME WAY AS YOU.
A bit of humility would be welcome.
You think some people might feel a LITTLE BIT INSULTED when people they've never met, who usually have never even been in their country or speak their language, come in all puffed up and absolutely sure that the spiritual values that have been a comfort and inspiration to the locals for hundreds of years is evil? You think?
How would we feel if we can even imagine it -- if Muslims and Santerians and Scientologists and Voudon priests showed up in our darkest most stressful hours (like running amok in Manhattan in September 2001 screaming their creed at the shell-shocked survivors) to tell us we're wrong all wrong been wrong from Day One and doomed to hideous destruction... actually the Mormons have been doing that to Christians for the past 150+ years, which might account for the serious hostility Christians have for them.
I make no value judgments about the worth of any religion here -- this is purely intended to describe the reaction Haitians have when a bunch of white Gringos show up and abduct a couple dozen kids, intentionally skirting the legalities, to take them away and drill into them the glory of the Jew the Romans nailed to a cross. (The fact that Haitian Voudon actually incorporates Christian saints in their pantheon doesn't seem to register.)
I make no judgment about any difference in the value of any of those beliefs.
But there is immense value in having the decency to respect other people's lives --
EVEN IF THEY DON'T DESCRIBE MOONLIGHT THE SAME WAY AS YOU.
A bit of humility would be welcome.
posted by Saintperle at
1:14 PM
