Buffalo Boy's Blog

No, the earthquake was going to happen no matter what anyone did or said, regardless of the countries history or "pacts with the devil", earthquakes happen its part of the scientific world.

What could have been avoided are the deaths. The more I watch the tragedy unfold, this wasn't a tremendously powerful earthquake, we have seen 7.0 quakes in California before with relatively few causualties.

The difference between California and Haiti is the poverty. Haiti is the most poverty ridden country in the western hemisphere. How, with the US and Canada and other wealthy countries close by is that allowed to happen?

No one should be forced to live like the people of Haiti anywhere in the world. We moan and groan when celebrites like Bono of U2 step up and use what voice they have in this world and try to get countries to act but maybe Bono has a point here. Eliminate poverty and you avoid deaths. Maybe the buildings that fell in Haiti if properly built to sustain this type of quake many wouldn't be in this situation

Maybe if the country had enough doctors/nurses and health professionals to deal with this kind of thing there wouldn't be truck loads of bodies being dumped into mass graves right now as I type this.

There are some like Rush Limbaugh who want to politicize this and criticize Barack Obama and try to crap on Obama, but this isn't about politics, this isn't about religion, Gods or devils like Pat Robertson thinks it is. Its about humanity, altruism and giving a shit about the tragedy that just happened there and then waking up to the poverty that exists not just there or in Africa but in just about every single country in the world.

Louisiana and that area of the Gulf Coast struck by Katrina wasn't that bad totally because the Bush Administration had a guy whose only life experience was running horse shows prior to that tragedy, it was because the Louisiana Gulf Coast is one of the poorest areas of the US.

There is poverty of the Haitian magnitude right here in our own country. Don't believe me? I dare anyone to pick up a book by an education hero in this country Jonathan Kozol, he has a book entitled "Savage Inequalities, Children in America's Schools". It talks about the massive poverty in American cities like St. Louis. Right here in the middle of our country.

Most of us pretends like this doesn't exist or we play it off like these people in these situations are lazy and should go and get jobs. We are talking poverty and environments so poor that these people don't even know where to start to recover and pull themselves out of it.

Most of the time when networks like CNN and MSNBC do the 24 hour coverage they over do it, but not this time. Not for this. I hope they continue, I hope that they don't stop with Haiti either.

Instead of focusing on and over hyping celebrities on news networks and devoting time to bimbo's like Lindsay Lohan or Brocoli Spears or 24 hour coverage of the unfortunate yet eventual death of Michael Jackson maybe they should ask themselves can we educate not just the people of the US but of the world on another area of the world be it in our own backyard or overseas about another poverty stricken area of this world we live n and how can we make it better?.

Watching the coverage in Haiti it makes you realize just how misplaced our resources are, billions are spent on sports and entertainment, materialistic goods yet how much do we really put towards healthcare and education and helping our own poverty stricken citizens nevermind Haiti.

Its time we open our eyes and realize how bad many have it in this world and recognize that poverty if relieved will result in a better world for all. This clip from 60 Minutes made me sick to my stomach that in 2010 there can be this kind of situation that requires desparate measures like this.