I saw this morning where the death toll could topple 500,000. It's been labeled "the worst natural disaster ever". Prayers sent for Haiti and the relief effort. - Og

 

These are truely sad days for the people of this small country.

I hope that the American people, and all people, will be as compassionate as we have been in the past. These people really need our support.

We should also be humbled. We are not immune from this type of occurrence. It could just as easily be us.

 

You know, you live at a very dangerous fault line. When the pressure released at Haiti, it can effect where you live.
Here is a link for you.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/

I know you've heard the stories of the Mississippi flowing backwards.
I just thought I'd remind you.

 

Man I had only heard "many deaths" 500G is un imaginable. Prayers are out and best wishes for anyone effected by the quake.

 

Done.

 

I was going to post this rant elsewhere's, but I'll giver a go here.

Excuse my ignorance, but pardon me If I feel that everyones sudden concern about the country of Haiti is nothing more then the next damn fad to try and make you look like ya give a damn. Haiti's been ****** up by more then earthquakes and hurricanes, and for a lot longer the 3 damn days. Regardless, my, yours and the rest of the worlds tax dollars are now funding "aid" to not only a country torn in poverty, violence and corruption for decades, but to a Haition city that sits ON an fault line. When was the last time the world went to rush to the aid of those who live in Kansas after a freak 72-hour tornado fest? No one, because we all sit back and say "**** ya stupid 'tards for living there in the first place!" The human civilization's demise will not be cause by climate change or nuclear war, but our own habit's of interfering with nature and natural selection.

I listen to the radio all day, and of course every celebrity is jumping on the band wagon to make themselve look better for the camera's. Along with radio stations competing to out-do eachother showing how much they "care".

My problem is that no one "care's" until something like this happens, yet a place like Haiti has been screwed up for the last 2-3+ Decades.

Please excuse the brashness of my rant, it was written after a full day of work, and my word's are always more raw at that time, I just put it up to see if anyone else ever feel's the same way.

 

^ well you have a very valid point there.

 

x2^^

 

That's true, but the innocent people are still suffering nonetheless and need help.

 

Stealth, I agree that it's very unfortunate, but these and all the rest of the 3rd world contries are chugging along only because of monetary and help donations, at what point do we say we've done all we can do?

The harsh reality is that constantly sending more and more money to countrys that have no means in providing for its citizens is merely a band-aid solution. And yet the families living in these places still pop out baby after baby even though they cant feed the ones they have.

And look at the Congo area, not only does it not provide for it's citizens, but the citizens are joing militia's and trying to take over ships, costing other countries time and money as well as military power. I watched an hour long documentary on the Danish warship that does nothing but police the waters where piracy is out of control.

Don't get me wrong, I also feel bad for the innocent in these situations, and we should all feel very blessed as well as proud of the lives we've been given and worked for but I just wonder if anyone running these charities/organizations actually has a plan and a bigger picture of what they're doing.

 

^^ i agree once again.

 

So let me get this straight...you're saying because we've closed our eyes to the situation for so long, we should just keep them closed? Is it wrong to use an eye-opening disaster to "care" about those affected in Haiti? Maybe I'm just joining the bandwagon here, but it makes me step back and realize that I put way too much value in material things. I mean, the day of the disaster, I dished out $250 for a tuner for my truck - not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but I definitely think I could be a little more unselfish and at least attempt to help out in sending some aid to those in Haiti.

 

Once again , The USA was the first on the scene for this disaster. I may have missed it if we were not. But the USA has never closed its eyes on any Nation in trouble. But there is no way to help an entire population, especially when the people in charge of the Nation are corrupt.

 

You're missing the point I'm trying to lay down, but you helped me at the same time. Haiti has be in turmoil for decades, and you only know about an earthquake. I'm not saying it's your fault, but the media only reports 'interesting' and fresh news, so no one cares until some event makes it 'news worthy'.

Now, since you don't want to keep your "eye's closed", what do you pretain to do to help the situation? Wanna send $20? That's great, I'm sure they need it, but what about tomorrow? Or the day after that? And is your money actually going to a solution, or is it just another drop in the bucket.

Point here is, they need all the help they can get, and will always need help.

 

Your point on the media is spot-on - they do only cover the "fresh" stories, but at the same time, the media is what has brought it to my attention. And as for the reason to why the whole world doesn't rush to America's side when we have a disaster (such as the tornadoes you mentioned in Kansas) is because America is not a 3rd world country! We have the means to take care of ourselves, while countries like Haiti do not. I think it would be selfish for us not to help out. Think about this - the death toll may topple 500,000. Haiti's population is just under 10,000,000. So 500,000 is a huge chunk of their population.

And as for my money (if that's what I choose to donate)...if it ends up just being $20, then what's that to me? Two meals? In Haiti, $20 could feed a family for a week (just throwing out a number there, but you get the point). If the whole country thought their $20 was just another "drop in the bucket" then we wouldn't have raised over $3,000,000 through the Red Cross.

I remember hearing a story that kind of pertains to my point (cheesy, I know lol)

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed
a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean.
The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?
You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish,
and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…”
I made a difference for that one.”