Paul Shirley...Long write up about Haiti...(I'm speechless)

[man e]

What a fool.

You blame the government for their lack of regulation, not the people.

It's also the government's fault that Haiti is so poor, you can't blame the poor and uneducated, as they lack the opportunities that are needed to succeed in such a harsh & economically challenged country.

 

[calibeebee]

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

Originally Posted by Nktran001

He has points, good ones.

no he doesn't

i agree with dirty.

 

[mytmouse76]

This will niot end well but I will sit and watch.

 

[kickinheadz1010]

No point at all. Black/white approach to problem solving = FAIL.

 

[strongmind3]

Originally Posted by spsfinest212

It's worth noting that America has given this country around 4 Billion in the past and they did nothing with it.

cause obviously they spent it on the flashy homes and rides all through the country...

 

[dirtylicious]

^nope......they spent it on drugs, flashy jewelry and clothes.

 

[igotthatfire247]

... annnnnnd ... fired.

http://backporch.fanhouse...-haiti-remark/?icid=main|main|dl3ink7|http%3A%2F%2Fbackporch.fanhouse.com%2F2010%2F01%2F27%2Fespn-cuts-ties-with-paul-shirley-over-controversial-haiti-remark%2F

Paul Shirley,the globe-trotting journeyman basketball player, has attracted muchattention over the years for his considerable writing skills. Not allattention is good attention, of course.

On Tuesday, Shirley wrote a blog post for FlipCollective in which hesuggested that donating money to Haitian relief efforts was not a good idea.In his post, he also implied that victims of the 2004 Indian Oceantsunami and Hurricane Katrina were at least partially to blame fortheir situations.

Shirley anticipated that his comments would be controversial, openlyquestioning whether he was a "monster" for expressing the opinion heexpressed. I don't know if his opinion makes him a monster, but onething is for sure: It just made him a former contributor to ESPN.com.

In a statement released this morning(reproduced here in its entirety), ESPN said of Shirley, "He was apart-time freelance contributor. The views he expressed on another'ssite of course do not at all reflect our company's views on the Haitirelief efforts. He will no longer contribute to ESPN."

Paul Shirley is, of course, free to hold and express any opinion hewishes without fear of governmental retribution. The Constitutionguarantees him that right. Freedom of speech does not exempt him (oranyone else) from being criticized for any and all opinions he mayexpress. ESPN was well within its rights to disassociate itself fromhim over his comments.

People inclined to blame Shirley's dismissal on "political correctness"would be well advised to read his post carefully and consider thelogical implications of what he suggests. He doesn't seem to think NewOrleans ought to be rebuilt, since it could get hit by a hurricaneagain. He doesn't seem to think people should be allowed to live on thecoasts of Thailand and Sri Lanka, since there might be another tsunami.What he suggests for Haiti and Africa is even more extreme. DefendingPaul Shirley's right to self-expression is easy. Defending hisopinions, which amount to "starve the poor so they don't make babies,"is a little more difficult.

It seems that "the rest of the world" he invoked in his open letter toHaiti has also expressed its opinion -- not universally, of course, butloudly enough that ESPN couldn't ignore it.

 

[JD617]

 Courtesy of Deadspin commenters.

Haiti was able to raise $38,000 for the U.S. after Kartrina. A microscopic amount by our standards, but try to put that in perspective

Shirley does realize that the money donated doesn't actually go directly to Haitians, but rather to international charity/aid organizations run largely by well-educated Westerners, right?

Shirley suffers from the contrarian complex. It's when people who don't have a clue try to sound more intelligent than the chimp that they are by taking an obviously oppositional stance to what everyone else believes in, usually resulting in everyone concluding that said contrarian is, in fact, a dumb-#$*.

There is a way to say "there's a lot more disasters destroying Haiti than just the natural ones, and carelessly throwing money at the problem because it makes YOU feel good is not the proper long-term solution" without being a $#+!. Shirley did not do so by any means.

There are certainly problems in Haiti beyond this recent natural disaster. It's one of the most impoverished nations in the world, and it's social infrastructure is in shambles. We can't fix all that without a lot of concerted time and effort, and many people would rightly point out that it's not our place to fix it. I don't disagree with that viewpoint.

But that's not what this is about. This is about helping out fellow human beings who have had everything taken from them. The fact that they had very little to begin with doesn't make it any less impactful for them. I gave money to the relief effort after the earthquake hit, because I donate to the Red Cross a couple times a year anyway, and this certainly seemed like an appropriate time. This money will not be misappropriated. We're not handing the incompetent Haitan government a check and patting them on the back with a hearty "Have fun!"

Donations made to respected and established international relief organizations (like Red Cross) will be used to feed hungry people and provide basic essentials for survival. My 50 bucks can't save the country, but if it feeds even a few people for a day it was well worth it.

Haiti is a mess, and will continue to be a mess. All these relief efforts aren't intended to fix everything that's wrong over there. It's intended to help people get through a terrible time. Hopefully the country will regroup and embark upon a more productive path. I have doubts about that, but I don't have any doubts that helping a fellow human in any way you can is a worthwhile effort.

And lastly,

Dear Paul Shirley, I only wish your father had taken your own advice and worn a condom. Go to hell.

 

[raptors29]

Originally Posted by Blazers21NTNP

This man is a complete fool.

Hopefully he wrote this to just get some attention. Sadly, I think these are his true feelings.

I don't even really think it's for attention. He's been writing for a while. 

 

[blazers21ntnp]

Originally Posted by raptors29

I don't even really think it's for attention. He's been writing for a while. 

Haven't heard about him much since his trash book received all that praise a few years ago.

 

[spsfinest212]

^

people went in on him. I've never even heard of this guy until now

 

[tommy wong]

good lord, this goober is still writing these horrible blogs?

 

[sirius lee handsome]

It's basically along the lines with what Rush Limbaugh said a few weeks ago, which I disagreed with. It seems like opportunism on his part to take somewhat of a sociopolitical slant on this story and skew it in a way, which blames the victims.

The system is corrupt from top to bottom over there, but what kind of empowerment does a person living in some shack with little financial or social resources have to battle that kind of corruption? They're most likely just trying to get by and figuring out how to get their next meal. That average individual is not only a victim of a natural disaster, but also a victim of the poor leadership and usurpation of the country by both domestic and foreign sources - two things that are basically beyond their control.

It seems like display of poor taste and/or arrogance if not downright contempt to blame those who suffered loss of life and property in a situation like this one.

 

[tacc4]

bilingue23 wrote:

Unfortunately Catholicism is rampant in haiti 

i understand - and actually agree with - what you're saying but of all the words you could have used, "rampant" is probably one of the least appropriate.
how someone with little-to-no resources can bring a child into the world and subject them to a life of futility is beyond me. that being said, i wanted to agree w/mr. shirley but i can't. his argument is terribly flawed. i believe the united states' foreign aid programs should be re-evaluated and we should make some philosophical changes that take us out of the role of being a rich uncle to the rest of the world. however, i do recognize that our humanitarian efforts have economic and military benefits down the road.

the caveman analogy was horrible. for starters, it made no sense and he laid this hypothetical story out there like it was painfully obvious how cavemen interacted after natural disasters.

 

[kix4kix]

still no such thing as white privilege?

 

[lazyj10]

Originally Posted by JD617

There are certainly problems in Haiti beyond this recent natural disaster. It's one of the most impoverished nations in the world, and it's social infrastructure is in shambles. We can't fix all that without a lot of concerted time and effort, and many people would rightly point out that it's not our place to fix it. I don't disagree with that viewpoint.

But that's not what this is about. This is about helping out fellow human beings who have had everything taken from them. The fact that they had very little to begin with doesn't make it any less impactful for them. I gave money to the relief effort after the earthquake hit, because I donate to the Red Cross a couple times a year anyway, and this certainly seemed like an appropriate time. This money will not be misappropriated. We're not handing the incompetent Haitan government a check and patting them on the back with a hearty "Have fun!"

Donations made to respected and established international relief organizations (like Red Cross) will be used to feed hungry people and provide basic essentials for survival. My 50 bucks can't save the country, but if it feeds even a few people for a day it was well worth it.

Haiti is a mess, and will continue to be a mess. All these relief efforts aren't intended to fix everything that's wrong over there. It's intended to help people get through a terrible time. Hopefully the country will regroup and embark upon a more productive path. I have doubts about that, but I don't have any doubts that helping a fellow human in any way you can is a worthwhile effort.

So simply put but often overlooked, especially by guys like Shirley.

 

[josebronx]

Afterthe tsunami of 2004, the citizens of the world wailed and donated andvolunteered for cleanup, rarely asking the important – and, I think,obvious – question: What were all those people doing there in the firstplace? Just as important: If they move back to a place near the oceanthat had just been destroyed by a giant wave, shouldn’t our instinct beto say, “Go ahead if you want, but you’re on your own now.

 

[blaxoid]

I agree with when he says that the cycle of aid/rebuild/break repeat needs to be broken, but the rest of his comments are short-sighted

 

[nktran001]

Originally Posted by calibeebee

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

Originally Posted by Nktran001

He has points, good ones.

no he doesn't

i agree with dirty.

I was referring to Dirty.

 

[mytoasterspeak]

This is what's wrong with alot of people in our society. They look at things from a view of how their life is and what they would do. 2pac said it best, "No one knows my struggle/They only see the trouble/Not knowing it's hard to carry on when no one loves you/PICTUTE ME INSIDE THE MISERY OF POVERTY/NO MAN ALIVE HAS EVER WITNESSED STRUGGLES I've SURVIVED/. Those people over there don't have the education, the parenting, the mindset, the ambition, the infastructure, the nothing. They DON't KNOW WHAT TO DO, cause they DON't KNOW. So to blame them for their shortcomings, and their inability to escape and protect themselves from the quake is ignorant, and cold-blooded. I do agree with him on one thing, and that's the fact that this provides a chance to educate the people of Haiti in how to help themselves. That's probably the silver lining in this disaster. Show them how to PROPERLY build their town. They live by the water, show them how to make that a valuable resource. Teach the men and women of Haiti a trade. Set-up a disaster team that can operates within it's own disaster. The disaster can provided that chance

 

[sreggie101]

Originally Posted by ChampionEdition

im black, and i agree.
we're throwing millions of dollars into a country that was worth bout.... a million dollars.
i mean it should be peanuts to get them back to atleast where they were before and then leave them to do what they want to do.

can u really complain about US throwing millions of dollars to help a country amidst a huge natural disaster, when we have spent billions sending soldiers to die in Iraq for nothing? at least the money to Haiti is for the purpose of HELPING people
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In response to dudes long @ss letter
Paul Shirley is ignorant imo, if not racist. Its outrageous to expect Haiti to take on the burden of aid and relief to its people alone. Sure the country is poor but not because of the people who live there. History will tell you this is not so:

Haiti isn't any different than any other Caribbean nation, except that it's the poorest nation out of them all. However, the question must be asked, why? Why is Haiti so poor? Who is responsible for leaving the country with such a deplorable economy?

Do the research and you'll find that the United States has been the main culprit behind Haiti's plight. Since their independence, Haiti has never been acknowledged as a country in the eyes of United States. With their invasion under President Wilson, in 1915, the United States took over Haiti's economy only to protect their investments and assets and essentially assumed control of the government for many years.

Can't feel me? check it out http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwi/88275.htm. There's more info out there but just wanted to cite a bit of it.

Shirley writes:

"The sentiment expressed is one of outrage at the government. But, ultimately, the people in a country have control over their government. One could argue that in totalitarian regimes, they do not have much control, but in the end, it is their government. And therefore, their responsibility. If the government is not doing enough for the people, it is the people’s responsibility to change the government. Not the other way around."

Since the occupation the United States has established through the State Dept., dictatorships, and corruption that leaves the Haitians to suffer and the people in power to profit. The amer. govt has ALWAYS been pulling the strings in the Haitian govt. so really the people of haiti can't do much.

word to democracy now...http://www.democracynow.o..._for_destroying_haitian.

This kind of behavior from the US is the same story for Cuba, which I will not get into, since I'm just tryin to keep this response simple.

As for the condom statement, well, it's all about education. Lack of it will result in small usage of condoms. It is true that catholicism is huge in Haiti, but i feel like a diff could be made with sex education (this can be argued for any poor country with an AIDS problem, no? )

 

[oo718oo]

maybe america should take off its white hat and look in the mirror.

there are plenty of poor people, without water or food living in our great nation.

i dont know if its white guilt or what it is, but this country and its president sucks.

 

[Methodical Management]

It's no secret that, while we were tapped out after the 10th anniversary gift, we're saving ad revenue to make a contribution to a charity offering relief for Haiti.  We're also working with some very talented community members on a special fund-raiser.

At this moment, I'm strongly considering making at least one of those donations as a tribute in Paul Shirley's honor.  He'd be sent a card to notify him of the community's donation on his behalf. 


Anyone with me on that?

 

[gtek]

Originally Posted by Mr Kuter

Can't believe he wrote that. He expects them to have condoms? THey didnt even have food.

Thread should have been / after this comment.
Fam doesn't even realize the extent of the situation.

 

[djprestige21]

He is basically telling the country to man up, get off their feet and gain stronger work ethic.

Considering Haiti wasn't doing so well before the earthquake, I don't see what is wrong with that.