The U.S. government's brutalization of Haiti
When the slave colony Haiti overthrew their French slave-masters and became free, the entire world, outraged that they would have the nerve to shake off an imperial power, embargoed Haiti, with the French demanding staggering reparation payments that have left Haiti socially and economically crippled ever since.
In 1915 America occupied Haiti to protect its interests in the area, and stayed there until 1934, in which time over two thousand Haitian civilians were slaughtered. Their next move was to pressure Haiti to remove all their tariffs so American rice could be dumped there--Haitian dependence on imported food has led to a chronic shortage today, with fairly recent riots. The States then turned Haiti into a giant sweat shop to service global capitalism.
As if all that weren't enough, in 2004 the U.S. intrigued an overthrow of Haitian president Aristide and whisked him off in the night....see, Aristide had had the nerve to double Haitian minimum wage (thereby rendering them incapable of corporate exploitation), trying to nationalize things, and demanding France compensate them for what they'd done to them with the reparations.
My question, then, is....WHY THE FUCK IS THE WORLD OKAY WITH THIS?
The U.S. government's brutalization of Haiti
Because this crap is happening in almost ebery country on the planet and people have become desensitized to it.
The U.S. government's brutalization of Haiti
Quote:
Originally Posted by killerweed420
Because this crap is happening in almost ebery country on the planet and people have become desensitized to it.
You're right, of course...I just hate that it's considered acceptable for global corporatism and its allies (including the U.S. government) to take such advantage of the Third World...I call for an international minimum wage! Let's try and see them crush regionalism and the Mom and Pops then.
The U.S. government's brutalization of Haiti
Be nice if it was that easy.
We're all some what at fault for a lot of the problems. We're addicted to material wealth. We all like these little toys to make our life easier and more fun. So companies try and find desolate countries to provide cheap labor for our toys so they can maximise there profits. And on down the line it goes.
The U.S. government's brutalization of Haiti
The main problem in Haiti is that it has yet to have a free and democratic government that is responsible to its people Aristide was a petty dictator.
The U.S. government's brutalization of Haiti
Quote:
Originally Posted by killerweed420
Be nice if it was that easy.
We're all some what at fault for a lot of the problems. We're addicted to material wealth. We all like these little toys to make our life easier and more fun. So companies try and find desolate countries to provide cheap labor for our toys so they can maximise there profits. And on down the line it goes.
Or maybe its because the average John Q Public doesn't care about anything else except for keeping a roof over their head and food on the table. If you ask the average person on the street (especially recent college grads) they are gonna ask Whats a Haiti?? Oh??? Its a country?? where is it??
The U.S. government's brutalization of Haiti
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iguana
The main problem in Haiti is that it has yet to have a free and democratic government that is responsible to its people Aristide was a petty dictator.
Aristide was elected, unlike the majority of U.S.-friendly puppets, like Papa Doc, who was FAR more brutal but who was accepted as a buffer against communism. I cannot stress this enough--the U.S. has no moral problem with tyranny, only with economic or ideological threats. As I've said, Aristide was only disliked (and therefore condemned in the media, which amounts to eternal condemnation in the eyes of the public), because it was vital to the U.S. agenda that their despicable actions be seen as righteous, that their ousting of a man who tried to double minimum wage and end his country's use as a sweat shop be seen as a heroic victory for democracy and global capitalism. The world honestly sickens me sometimes.
