Dealing with desperation

David Sirota's "Our Addiction to Disaster Porn" appears to be concerned with the hype of TV reporters and their sexy attire. He seems to blame the U.S. for our handling of trade with Haiti. He talks of following the Bush policy with a quote from Bush, "You've got to deal with the desperation and there ought to be no politicization of that."

Haiti, like Cuba and other dictatorships, has seen that (in Castro's case) all money sent to Cuba found 80 cents of every dollar put into Castro's hands. The scenes you view of disaster in Haiti are not new scenes of poverty but old ones. This poverty is not caused by the U.S. but by a government driven by greed.

The people of Haiti have been successful at minimal survival. Their mountains are barren from using trees for firewood and charcoal. Their waters are fished out due to the use of nets to achieve any morsel of sea life for survival.

The early Haitian government has been said to have used the Haitian people that disagreed with them as prisoners and slaves. This is not unlike the present situation of selling orphan children in Haiti. This could be what Bush referred to when he said, "You've got to deal with the desperation and there ought to be no politicization of that."

Perhaps as naive Americans it is difficult to realize that dictatorship governments simply don't care about their people. We are so naive to be concerned about what TV reporters are wearing. We are so full of ourselves to believe that America has caused the world's problems. Perhaps it is past time to realize that America continues to help people in foreign lands instead of holding them under ... unless, of course, you listen to those countries being controlled by a dictatorship.

Rob Mixon
Sebring