DC:
You complain about MY make false presumptions about YOU when you began with nothing but false presumptions about ME?

Look, I know damned well that a black person in America AUTOMATICALLY faces inherent racism at first glance.  It’s (perhaps) America’s most fundamental sin. I KNOW that you can’t drive from New York to Miami without getting stopped SOMEWHERE (maybe that’s changed).  And I know that the “Black Tax” means you have to be twice as good to get half as far.  Yet while the long history of American racism was progressing, MY ancestors were trying to survive pogroms by Cossacks.  My grandmother saw her mother beaten so badly in one that she later died from it. In Russia, Jews were the ones scapegoated and murdered in the late 1800’s as “uppity niggers” were in the USA. (Yes, I know lynching continued on until the 1960’s, even the ‘70’s)

Racism goes both ways, too. Many black people are VERY suspicious of us for being white. But I can’t tell you how many black people have opened up to me and my family when they see our youngest (No, he’s not black—he’s Central American—Mayan, but not white.)

I can’t help being white, nor do I want to or feel I have to. But, as in another thread on the racist tea-baggers, there’s a difference between being white and being hung up on “whiteness”.

I have NO idea why you are so resentful of being adopted.  Somebody put themselves out to make you part of their family.  I KNOW they made mistakes—all parents make mistakes.  That has NOTHING to do with adoption but with being parents.

There are many unsuccessful parents. It doesn’t seem to matter if their kids are genetically theirs or not.  It never has.

By Douglass Cook, February 11 at 2:19 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Its just ITW’s way to welcome you to the website.

Your a racist, congratulations.

to Inherit The Wind

Please refrain from taking the name of Marx in vain…..
(LOL, so should you)

Hi Douglas,

Again, I totally understand where you are coming from. Thanks for the follow-up to further clarify your stance in this “discussion.” I am a techie….I love technology, unfortunately (as I am sure you know) when conversing with people utilizing technology (text, e-mail, IM’ing, etc.) our words sometimes can be misunderstood…..It is just my opinion, but I feel this is the case in your “discussion” with “Inherit the Wind.”

With that said, hope you are having a great day, look forward to reviewing your feedback as well on other topics/stories, and as one blogger to another, I definitely appreciate yours and “Inherit the Wind” thoughts/feeback!

bonito:

You are corect that Haiti used to have a very vibrant agricultural economy. The problem is that western nations have mired them in debt for nearly their entire existence. For example, they achieved their colonial independence in 1803 from the French following a 12 year slave revolt. Yet, the French were somehow able to coerce them into paying reparations for damages to the slave owners which resulted in the nearly 150 years of payments.(I think the final payment was made in the 1940s).

The US did its part too. Because of our tradition of slavery and our fear of a similar slave revolt in the American South, along with our desire to cozy up to the Europeans following our own revolution, we refused to recognize Haiti’s sovereignty from France until 1860. And throughout the last two centuries, there have been several US military interventions. 

Through the IMF, most of which were US financial interestes, the country was saddled with even more debt that froze wages and forced significant amounts of GDP to be siphoned away from their economy.

The result of all of this was severe deforestation and widespread political corruption. To pay off all of this debt, the Haitians began cutting down their forests and jungles. With the forests and jungles went the top soil and their ability to grow crops. To compound the problem, the US began dumping large quantities of heavily subsidized sugar onto their economy. Haitian farmers could not compete and were run out of business. Now their sugar is imported and much of that farming knowledge has been lost. The hope of a self-sustained agriculture in Haiti is probably impossible today and will require long term reforestation, time to replenish top soil and agricultural training.

Wonder if the same Baptists made a trip down to New Orleans and gathered up Bus loads of kids to take to Idaho after the Hurricane?

San Francisco seems to be like a Gay country, so maybe if after an earthquake the Baptists can go their and round up Gay kids?

Would it not be more productive, for these folks to ask women contemplating abortion to have the children and then seek homes for them, instead of killing doctors?

Why does this sort of remind me of the puppy mills ignoring the concept of animal shelters, something seems to be missing from the equation and does not add up?

After all is said and done, I must wonder how many
millionaires will have made their fortunes off the
backs of the Haitians in their time of misery.  Not
only selling them overpriced goods that were donated
by those touched by their plight, but also the
outright theft of much of the cash raised in drives
here and abroad. I read somewhere that at one time in
history, Haiti grew some 40% of the worlds Sugar.  I
would think that it would be prudent to assist them
in growing such a cash crop that would not only give
them meaningful employment, but also serve to reduce
the price of Sugar here in this country where it is
highly subsidized.

“Lets put the brakes on…please.” As a fellow blogger, I have had the pleasure of reading each of your responses (inherit The Wind and DC), now I am asking you two to put on the brakes…please.

You two sound like great people, and I love your responses to this story, and your “personal” comments on another subject matter….(smile)

“Inherit The Wind”.....I commend you and from listening to you, I feel you and your wife are great parents to “all” your children. Being in an interracial relationship, being a parent of a child who is of a different culture be it a child of African descent or who is Caucasian, does not in anyway mean you cannot be “wonderful parent’s.”  It does not mean as well that you are “unaware” of the ignorance out there, when raising a child of a different culture…..Again I commend you and your wife….Good show!

DC, as a man of color I (as well as “Inherit The Wind”) understand your “feedback,” and know and hope that you are not saying that because of “cultural” differences “Inherit The Wind” and his wife could not be great parents to their son who happens to be of African descent….that argument is baseless.

You both speak with so much conviction, I personally think the “lines” of communication got messed up.

I am just another blogger who feels that even though you two are speaking to each other…....“my goodness….WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. I hope each of you has a great evening, and are not at all irritated that I, as a concerned and fellow blogger interjected into your (personal) discussion.

God bless you both….

DC:

Fundamentally, you are racist.  You don’t believe I, as a white man, can raise a non-white child of mine without damaging that child SOLELY by the crime of being white.

It’s not an “experiment”, it’s a family. My wife and I are HIGHLY concerned that our child will wonder about looking “different” so we do things to off-set that. All parents need to be concerned about ANYTHING that can affect a child.  It’s not just skin color.  His older brother was bullied at one point. To focus SOLELY on race as an issue is to limit yourself as a parent, because ALL wise parents know that kids had LOTS of issues, and every kid has different ones.

I’ll bet you’d never say the same thing to my friend at work.  He’s black, his wife is white, and their kid is…mixed race. He’d do anything for his child. As would I. That’s what being a PARENT means.  Would you say the same things to him you say to me? Or do you ASSUME, because both my wife and I are white, that the issues are “different” (Never “assume”. It only makes an ASS out of U and ME)

We are not unaware of the questions he may ask and the issues he may face. Sometimes, we play a game of how each of us is different than the rest.  For example, “Dad” (me) is the only who does NOT have brown eyes. “Mom” is the only one who is a girl. “Big Brother” is the only one whose hair isn’t straight.

But I’ll tell you this, and EVERY parent of a child who isn’t the same race as him (or her) will tell you: In the house and in the home and in the family, skin color becomes irrelevant rapidly.  It just does, because that’s what “family” means.  It’s not that you don’t see it—I know damn well my brother is bald—it’s that it doesn’t mean anything in the family, just like his baldness means nothing to me—he’s my brother.

You judge without knowing. You assume ALL whites must think the same and be insensitive and unaware.

You don’t know SHIT about adoption, period. It doesn’t matter whether the child is the same race as the parents or not, from the same country or not, you just don’t know SHIT!

Adopting a child is one of the most personal and deeply reflective decisions a person can make.  You have to examine your strengths and weaknesses, your biases and you preferences, and who YOU are at your core.  What the Catholics are supposed to go through in Confession, and what Marxists are supposed to go through in Lenin’s “Ruthless Self-criticism” is what you MUST go through before you adopt a child, if you have any brains at all in your head.

I can tell you this: The awesome humble feeling I felt when my first son was placed in my arms for the first time was EXACTLY THE SAME when I held my second son for the first time. No difference.  One is my genetic child, the other is not.  It doesn’t matter to me, or to my wife, or to the brothers.  They play, fight, argue, laugh, annoy and stick up for each other.  Just like all normal siblings do.

I’m sorry you are totally incapable of understanding this, but that’s what racism does to a person: Gives him a million ways to rationalize his lack of understanding.

DC:

I stand behind EVERY word! To you, it’s clear we “bought a baby.”  That’s BS.  Just because some rich celeb can hire a team of lawyers and paralegals to handle all the tons of paperwork doesn’t mean EVERY adoptive parent can.  And there is a BLIZZARD of paper work you must submit, more than you can imagine.  And it all has to be right, and it all has to be in the correct order or….you wait even longer. Even if you are meticulously careful, double-check EVERYTHING, and do it all correctly, it STILL takes 14 months at a minimum to adopt.  It only takes 9 months to grow a baby.

Yes, I RESENT that it’s very tough for a white family to adopt a non-white healthy baby when there are SO many who need homes.  But I also resent the idea that my matters a good goddam to my brown-skinned child, or that it matters to YOU! 

And your assertion that rather than adopting this child, I should have given the money we used to political causes to change “the system” is morally offensive.  Because it raises the OBVIOUS question: What about THIS child? What about THIS child’s life and future?  Clearly, you don’t give a shit about that.

That child napping upstairs is, for all you moralistic statements, no more than a pawn in your political game.  A pawn, where a foreign-born brown skin is worth LESS than an American-born black skin.

You are attacking MY child and MY family. Nothing is more important to me then they are. Not “society”, not the “marxist utopia”, not the conservativees’ “city on a hill”, nothing.

Our founding fathers understood this: That what they were building was to safeguard freedom and prosperity for ourselves and “our posterity”—our families.

The IMF is a root of Evil.  Like christianity, it has done far more harm than
good.

As the father of an international, interracial, and intercultural adopted child, I can say that Douglass Cook truly doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground in Cleveland.

Adopting isn’t easy.  Restrictions are placed on you left and right.  You can’t be too old, you can’t be the wrong race.  What? You don’t want a 6 year-old special needs child?  You don’t want to spend the rest of your life as a nurse? What’s wrong with you????

And, in America, you can NEVER be sure that your adoption is final, that some woman 5 or 6 years later will find some imbecile judge (either a “Family Values” moron Re-thuglican or a “do-gooder” PC liberal) who thinks “Oh, the child should be with his natural mother”—a complete and total stranger who knows NOTHING about your kid, your kid who you’ve read to, taught to walk, taken to the Planetarium, helped raise a dog, rushed to the hospital when he/she took a tumble, stayed up all night nursing a fever, and loved with all devotion of a mother bear.  Yeah, it’s really in the best interest of the child to take him away from all that to give him to some stranger who’s caught up in a spaghetti bowl of guilt and unrealistic dreams of motherhood, who loves HERSELF more than her child so much she’ll hurt that kid irreparably to assuage her guilt.

Yeah, that really is a better reality.  No, that’s NOT better.

That, and our age, more than anything drove us to adopt internationally.  We didn’t pay one bribe (that we know of) and we went through the MOST respected agency—the one ALL use for home inspections.  I don’t love my kid less for being brown and not white.  We have another older kid, biologically ours, and we love them equally. They are our kids. Period.

But self-righteous a-holes like Douglass Cook, who sit in judgment on other people who act in good faith makes me sick. Just like “celibate” priests telling OTHER people how and when they can have sex, or like the anti-abortionists who NEVER adopt the children they “save”, it’s really easy to say “You really ought to….” what ever it is.  And I really resent your wanting to use MY child as a political pawn to advance YOUR political agenda.

NiaTrue, depicting Sambo dost not seem a worthy assumption, though NiaTrue’s comments may be accurate of white Europeans, though a stereotype of almost seemingly bigoted nature.

The cartoon seems a very clear depiction of the attitude of the action taken by the missionaries.

Sambo NO!

NIATRUE:

You could be right, but I think intent is important here. The depiction of the children is in direct contrast to the big white arms in business attire shaking the tree. It could very well be that the “sambo” depiction is considered cute in that part of the world, but if you’re trying to use emotion to get your point across, then depicting cute children being shaken out of a tree by big white hand is an effective approach.

Nor do I think the children are being depicted in a subhuman fashion in anyway. Usually, if there is a racist undercurrent to a depiction, the target of the racism is given distorted or animalistic features, which would be consistent with Social Darwinist theory that racism tends to justify itself by. As for the tree, I think it is meant to contrast directly with the business suit. Environmental issues are a big deal in Germany so it doesn’t surpise me that they would show the big hand of business, rattling the tree of nature.

Just my take though.

I can certainly see why it is offensive to American audiences though. Its a touchier subject here. However, I think its useful when dealing with other cultures not expect them to place the same weight on the things that we do and vice versa. For instance, American media often shows things that don’t seem like a big deal to us that Germans find quite offensive, such as public depictions of the “Seig Heil” Nazi salute, which are both offensive and illegal there. To us, its both a way to remind ourselves of an event that helped shape our culture and psyche in a significant way, as well as feeling perhaps morally superior for having defeated it. The point being, that is cuts both ways.

Thank you Jo and NiaTrue…..the cartoon depiction is despicable! It is another clear example of “how far we (people of the world) still have to go” in our fight against “ignorance, the pathetic attempt to cover up the vileness and historical weakness of some, and inbred stupidity.

The following is not even a simile of what happened in Haiti but it demonstrates some unintended consequences from, in that case necessary, “saving” of minors even with the consent of their parents in that case.
The “whisking away” of Jewish children to “safe families” during WW2 often resulted in some bitter, bitter infighting after the war when surviving parents demanded the return of their children and the “saviors” refused to comply.
The fact that the Haiti “savers” obviously did not consider this aspect, nor the angle that it would have been very unlikely for American “parents” to legally adopt any of these “stolen” children shows how deeply naive but also utterly brainwashed these persons were. Indeed, brainwashed is the only adjective that comes to my mind.

Great article and sooooo on point !  Had these “missionaries” wanted to help the
Haitian children they could have provided necessities and funds to care for them
in Haiti.  That would have provided relief and work in country.  And, as one
blogger pointed out the immediacy of the situation gives pause.  To take children
from parents, without parents immediately following such a disaster, hmmmm.

This is a perfect example of chickens coming home to roost for the
evangelical right in this country. For years, they have sought policies and
supported politicians for the express purpose of deregulating the market
as though it was something Jesus himself was calling them to do. Their
efforts paid off last year when the economy collapsed. Now, they are
seeing their homes foreclosed and their businesses bankrupted and are
being driven to acts like this. I truly believe that Sisby was acting out of
desperation from the position she found herself in. Not that I think her
actions were justified, but it is no small coinicidence that we are seeing the
edges begin to fray.  While this story is a bit sensational given that it
involved Hatian orphans, it is neither the first nor the last act of
desperation we will see.

I would aslo expect to see a rise vigilantism as our situation worsens.  Just
today it was reported that a string of arson attacks against babtist churches
is plaguing texas. I have no idea what the motive is at this point, but for
some reason someone decided they needed to burn. We are also seeing
fringe beliefs being accepted into the mainstream, as we saw with
congressman Tancredo’s racist, nationalist rant against immigrants and
“multiculturalsim.” (I didn’t realize having a multilingual society was an
“ism”). And, like a batch of keystone firefighter’s, Tancredo’s teapartiers are
charging forward to put out the fire with a tank full of deregulatory
gasoline.

Ironically, it was a 2007 wall street journal report that illustrated what we
are seeing the best. The report covers a study of the world’s most peaceful
nations, which found Norway at the top of the list. According to the report,
“peacefulness” is most affected by the levels of corruption and GDP per
capita. Given that the US has decided to institutionalize its corruption and
codified it into law, that leaves only our high GDP per capita holding the
house of cars together—a per capita GDP that is both concentrated toward
the top and dropping.

Take notice everyone. Missionary Sisby will prove a fitting metaphor for our
immediate future. I have a depressing feeling that this will not be the last
“good person gone bad” story we will hear.

Isn’t our government guilty of kidnapping everyday
Eugene?  Doesn’t your man Oh?Bama sanction this?
Great for our media to focus on this crime.

Men with hoods over their faces,  holding down
mothers and fathers by their throats with the heel
of their boot while they wisk away their teenage
sons to torture prisons.

Investigate that Eugene Robinson !!!!

Bring them back here and put them in prison.  Now, more then ever, Haiti
can’t afford to keep them there.

“Christianity might be a good thing if anyone ever tried it.”  ~George
Bernard Shaw

I totally concur with you Eugene! It is surprising “anyone” would be “foolish/idiotic” enough to take the side of these “so called” Christians.

History lesson 101:

Jesus never called his followers Christians (term is then man made..). “I was brought up with the meaning of Christianity to be “Christ like.” 

What idiot believes what these “so called” missionaries did was in any way, shape or form….“Christ like.” What they tried to do was criminal and wrong…plain and simple. I further concur with you Eugene, in that “why did these so called “missionaries” not just do what others are doing there to help provide relief (get food/water to the people, help get the roads clear, “my goodness why not just “pray” with the people”, etc. What they attempted to do was wrong, and because of their country of origin, “label” of belief, color of their skin, etc. their actions should not be pushed aside as “they were just trying to help” because they call themselves “Christians or missionaries.

It is said that one should watch for the “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” I say until proven other wise, this is a good example of the “wolf” hiding behind sheep’s (missionary, Christian labels) clothing.

“Where does the “mindset” come from that a group of people can go to another country supposedly to help the people there in their time of need, and take it upon themselves (saying it is Gods will…) to kidnap children….....“I say no, someone is a being fooled here, and fortunately all it takes is for one would read American history (as well as others..)to see where this despicable mindset comes from.

“History will teach us nothing, if we do not learn from it (historical atrocities….slavery, crusades, inquisition, etc.)we are bound to repeat these mistakes.”

They may have had the best of intentions, and I must admit to sympathy for these misguided folks sitting in their Haitian jail cells, but after all, the road to the Hot Place is paved with good intentions.

These “missionaries” are like the jesuits of old, just plain opportunists.

I hope they have a fair trial.

You’re right, Gene. Throw them back into the rubble and let them fend for themselves. Nobody could have worse intentions for those kids than a bunch of busybody, CHRISTIAN NO LESS!!, white ex-slave owners.

God, you progressives are insufferable!

The govt of Haiti cares nothing about these children Robinson. This stink is over somebody not getting his bribe. I never knew you were this naive until you composed this column.