Earthquake in Haiti

[Bullhorn7]

Although it is sad that American citizens in Haiti are experiencing this, Im wondering where are the Haitian police during all of this? Hiding? Probably. Stealing food and water from other less fortunate? Probably..

We need to cut off aid to Haiti see how long they last when they have to fend for themselvs, or is that being to harsh? I dont think so.

[verothacamaro]

the thing is EVERY country turns to china to make stuff. i just wish they went for quality or quantity

They do have quality.

Therein lies the problem:

The Chinese can produce LARGE quantities of goods that are also HIGH in quality for a very LOW price.

Can you imagine how expensive a computer would be if it were 100% American made with 100% American parts?

[wed3k]

Although it is sad that American citizens in Haiti are experiencing this, Im wondering where are the Haitian police during all of this? Hiding? Probably. Stealing food and water from other less fortunate? Probably..

We need to cut off aid to Haiti see how long they last when they have to fend for themselvs, or is that being to harsh? I dont think so.

well, in times like thier's i think cutting off aid would be pretty bad. then they'd just all die in 3 days. we dont want them to just die off because it would make us look bad.

[owequitit]

I wish i didnt agree with some of you here but as far as i know the government did a great job fucking that country up. I know it was a huge quake but if building codes were enforced there and they actually had a fire brigade instead of random people helping then maybe it would not be as bad. I also don't feel like it should always be up to us to fix this shit..hello...we have a lot of problems here and we dont have any money to give out

Those are all things that cost money. Money which you take foregranted because those services are provided for you...

population control indeed. there's too many people on this planet.

I am an asshole, and even I think that is a fucked up thing to say.

On some levels you are right though.

While we were reeling from Hurricane Katrina, what was the overwhelming international response?

"Those bastards deserve it."

But now that it is another country, if we DIDN'T help, we would be bastards still. Luckily, we will still do it because it is the RIGHT thing to do. Most of those people didn't create or perpetuate their squalor, much like most of us won't have contributed to the squalor we will experience in the future. As such, the ONLY human thing to do is to help them because it is what you would be hoping someone would do if it were you.'

It isn't the kind of thing you do for what you can get out of it. It is the kind of thing you do, because it is the right thing to do.

Easier said than done. As for us helping, it's the world's responsibility to help in situations like this. Part of being a civilized society. If you want to talk about our problems and debt... Afghanistan and Iraq. We can afford to help innocent people who are involved in the tragedy.

Our debt is attributable to far more than Iraq and Afganistan. As I recall, we were several trillion in the hole before those 2 wars, and we are now in the hole at a rate greater than what we have spent on wars. No. Most of our money goes to Social Security and Medicare, even WITH the wars thrown in there for good measure. In fact the $400+ billion (who knows where it will be when we get done throwing money at it) for Medicare alone will nearly outweigh the $700 billion we will spend on the war. Of course, those are both dwarfed by the roughly 1 trillion + we will spend on all of our other social programs.

"Help" comes in many forms. By us providing the money to allow our resources to work, we are "helping" more than you could imagine.

Besides, ultimately, if people just start pouring over the border to "help" they end up putting more strain on the system than they actually relieve. You still have to eat, drink, and sleep somewhere. Your mere presence there takes away from the resources being used to give victims the opportunity to eat, drink and sleep somewhere.

Not to mention that you aren't trained, so the help you could provide at this stage is extremely limited, and you aren't immunized for all of their issues, or potential issues, so you could get sick, and you don't have the equipment necessary to survive and help, so you aren't protected from the other problems that are going to occur like raw sewage in the roads etc.

It is noble to want to help, but it will do more harm than good.

At this stage of the game, it is important for the first responders to be trained, qualified, equipped and capable. It is also important for them to have a highly centralized and effective infrastructure, with both humanitarian and peacekeeping abilities, hence why the military responds first. You would not be part of that. Plus, all those people take resources with them to help themselves and others, so the sheltering an additional body isn't an issue.

The FAA has already canned all civilian flights to Haiti because they are clogging the infrastructure and preventing other aircraft from being able to get in effectively.

If you really want to help that badly, take the money you do have, and donate it to a worthwhile charity that will helping out. There is a website somewhere that rates charities A+ through F, based on how much money actually goes toward helping people, so you can do a search to find a good charity that you feel good helping out.

[Straight Success]

I really wish it was in my means to go to Haiti and offer my help. I notified all the Haitians I know that if I can help in any way, let me know.

Ways to help from the U.S.

Here are ways to help through texting:

Text the word "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5
On behalf of the Yele Foundation, the leading contributor to rebuilding Haiti founded by Wyclef Jean

Text the word "Haiti" to 85944 to donate $5
On behalf of the Rescue Committee

Text the word "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10
On behalf of the Red Cross in the U.S.

M. Haitian Charity - R & M Haitian Charity Center located in Little Egg Harbor, N.J.

You can also call:

(877) 940-6222 or
(888) 407-4747

Lord, please watch over and heal Haiti, as we know you are capable in every way. Amen.