> "Third, it is time to put the thorny issue of culture at the center of
> efforts to tackle global poverty. Why is Haiti so poor? Well, it has a
> history of oppression, slavery and colonialism. But...
What Haiti has that no other country has is that it was the site of the only successful slave revolt in history. For which it was punished mercilessly ever after. Beside being the worst site of slave oppression in the first place.
> Haiti, like most of the world's poorest nations, suffers from a complex
> web of progress-resistant cultural influences. There is the influence of
> the voodoo religion, which spreads the message that life is capricious
> and planning futile.....
A) Holy shit. Pat Robertson in tweeds is even more disgusting than in his native garb.
B) It's hard to be this ignorant and smug at the same time. Brooks clearly knows nothing about Voudon and yet thinks he's an expert; and
C) Can't wait until he realizes that you could -- with as much justification -- say the same thing about Catholicism and Judaism, and use them as explanations of say, why Italians accept a mafia or Israelis are so bloodthirsty for revenge.
But of course not -- those would be racist things to say. Where this of course isn't.
Michael
^^^^^^^^^
CB: Ditto