Distasteful comments about Haiti from close to home
Ian | 20 January, 2010 | 21:55I’m not convinced about the structural integrity of wood versus cinder block, but BC premier Gordon Campbell thinks ultra-poor Haiti ought to have bought BC lumber:
“It’s interesting when you think, ‘what would Haiti look like today if that had been built with wood instead of cinder block?’” Campbell said in a speech to the Truck Loggers Association convention in Victoria. “And the fact is there’d be a lot of buildings that would still be standing.”
Meanwhile, a pastor in Surrey had this to say about the tragedy:
“Haiti is infamous for its voodoo spiritual darkness,” he said in comments tape-recorded by a parishioner. “I can’t help think that maybe God has shaken them, shaken them against the kingdom of darkness.”
Of course he claims the words our out of context, so let’s see a bit more of it:
Here’s the text transcript:
“We’ve got people on the ground right there in Haiti and it’s a wonderful way in which we can express tangibly the Lord Jesus in that situation.
“You know, just thinking about, ‘Why is all of this happening in Haiti, a very poor country?’ The country’s been shaken.
“Now probably some of you are aware that Haiti is infamous for its voodoo, its spiritual darkness, bleakness. I was kind of thinking maybe God has shaken that place, shaken that . . . shaken against the kingdom of darkness, maybe the light of Jesus will shine through and come out of the ashes.”
On the plus, his congregation did raise $6,500, although they don’t say who the money is going to.
Update:
DrPlatypusMan of YouTube has provided the context from the above talk. Seems like his case is pretty flimsy. Hatred, racism and bigotry are sometimes just that:
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I believe there is a “little bigot” in all of us, whispering in our ears, so to speak. The paster’s just happens to be a religious one.
As for the premier, he’s just a politician talking to an industry that depends on moving timber, he probably pissed off the cinder block industry though…
I guess the question is how much money did the Premiere ask the truckers to give, since that would be the only logical reason to make such a reference to Haiti,
Considering that most Haitians are Christians and that Christian churches and charities were flattened as well, I would think that the destructive hand of Jesus could have been a bit more accurate…;)
And what would Haiti look like today had more of their houses been built with low-cost earthbags or similar inexpensive techniques and materials? As in Canada, the ideas and innovation for extremely low-cost housing are out there. The money, alas, is not for them. It’s not for the alleviation of poverty in Haiti or at home. It goes instead to support business-as-usual.
Hello.
My name is Obi, and I was the one who uploaded the audio recording.
Because Dr. Dennison has been so anxious to say that he’s been taken out of context, I’ve decided to provide it for him and his defenders. I’ve just uploaded 10 minutes of audio that leads up to the infamous remarks. I would welcome any attempt to show how the context saves him from anything.
After storming out of the service, a friend had emailed me, asking me why I had left. She thought maybe I had another appointment. Let that sink in.
What bothers me most is that there are no apologies going around. Just defenses. Unbelievable.