UrbanSwirl.com - Lifestyles of Color

Paul Shirley, an ex-NBA player of average talent and obviously intelligence, has for reasons only known to him, released a rambling missive on his thoughts about the Haitian earthquake disaster. In it he rants and raves about the Haitian people and gives several hair-brain reasons why the Haitians are at fault for their predictament...tops among the reasons, they didn't use enough rubbers.

I haven’t donated a cent to the Haitian relief effort. And I probably will not.

I haven’t donated to the Haitian relief effort for the same reason that I don’t give money to homeless men on the street. Based on past experiences, I don’t think the guy with the sign that reads “Need You’re Help” is going to do anything constructive with the dollar I might give him. If I use history as my guide, I don’t think the people of Haiti will do much with my money either...

Shouldn’t there be some discourse on how the millions of dollars that are being poured into Haiti will be spent? And at least a slight reprimand for the conditions prior to the earthquake? Some kind of inquisition? Something like this?:

Dear Haitians –

First of all, kudos on developing the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Your commitment to human rights, infrastructure, and birth control should be applauded.

As we prepare to assist you in this difficult time, a polite request: If it’s possible, could you not re-build your island home in the image of its predecessor? Could you not resort to the creation of flimsy shanty- and shack-towns? And could some of you maybe use a condom once in a while?

Sincerely,

The Rest of the World

File this under, "open mouth, insert foot" and "winner of the biggest asshole award".  Did he not learn the old golden rule?  Do onto others as you would want them to do onto you?  I suppose Mr. Shirley would love to be kicked while he was down, starving, homeless, dirty, and surrounded by death and disease. It must have warmed the cold, hard, black chambers of Mr. Shirley's heart to instead of helping the Haitian people or at the very least ignoring the issue, sitting down and writing his reasons to not help Haiti and then posting it for others of like mind to see and enjoy. 

It sure is easy for people like Paul Shirley to pass judgement on the people of Haiti from the warmth and comfort of his home.  His home with reliable on demand electricity, heat and air conditioning, a home with all the latest electronic conveniences like computers, TV and ...a large box full of food of his choosing. 

And now for the real message behind Mr. Shirley's message...colored people are stupid and undeserving of aid.  Read through his entire screed...if you can stomach it.  He mentions the earthquakes in Haiti, and the tsunami in Indonesia and of course the hurricane in New Orleans.  He uses these events of examples of human stupidity.  Why he asks, do those people insist on putting themselves in harms way?  He says that the Haitians should have known about the earthquakes and hurricanes that routinely plague their island, and should ideally not live there.  He says that the Indonesians should not live so close to the ocean where obviously there is a chance for a tsunami to strike.  He says that the people of New Orleans are stupid as well, for daring to live in a city below sea level.  In a nutshell, according to Shirley those people got what they asked for, and therefore the world should turn away, not waste their money and time...let them wallow in their own "mistakes".

I have news for Mr. Shirley, the earth is not a hospitable place for humans, in most places it is blazing hot or bitterly cold, either all year round or seasonably.  The earth is filled with other creatures that wouldn't mind eating us, stinging us, or spreading their diseases to us.  Humans for as long as creation have been making their enviroment livable with whatever means available to them. And let's face it, there are alot of people on this planet and there is a finite amount of real estate.  So that means that people are going to live on islands that are repeatedly hit by storms, places that are hit by earthquakes, floods, wild fires, mega snow storms and on and on.  If the people in Indonesia, Haiti and New Orleans shouldn't live where they are, I wonder where Mr. Shirley suggests they go?  Maybe they should live in Florida by the water where those non-colored people routinely are hit by hurricanes and also rebuild year after year, or maybe in California where those non-colored people constantly have to repair and rebuild after earthquakes and wild fires.  I notice he pointedly neglects to mention those examples in his train of logic.  Because if we follow Mr. Shirley's train of thought all the way through, then people should only live places that are human friendly and not predictably hit by natural disasters.  So that would leave out most of Florida (hurricanes, floods), California (earthquakes, wildfires), most of the north east of the U.S. (snow storms), Nevada (drought, heat, desert), and most islands (scarcity of natural resources, tropical storms).  Perhaps Mr. Shirley would like to invite all of the people who live, according to him, in stupid places, to live with him in his warm, cozy, modern home?

I am sure that if there ever comes a time when Paul Shirley needs help, he won't ask, nor accept if it is offered, because after all, he knows better.