Pat Robertson is an idiot and how we can help Haiti

So let me get this straight; because a few Haitian slaves promised their souls to the devil if he helped them expel their captors and become free, 200 years later an earthquake is God’s punishment? Do I have this straight? Well according to the evangelist Pat Robertson this is in fact the reason why Haiti just experienced the nation’s worse natural disaster in over 200 years. As a former Christian and religious scholar I can tell you dear readers this is not the type of sentiment shared by Jesus ( but possibly by the god I read about in Genesis, now there is a guy who holds a grudge!). Seriously, please do not believe Robertson’s statement. The idea that the slaves made a pact with the devil comes from 1700 propaganda put out after the successful slave revolt. How else could god fearing slave owning Christians account for such an act?

Thankfully the Christian Science Monitor has come out with an article denouncing Robertson’s statement. They call him laughable; I call him a dangerous idiot. Just once I would like the Christian god to come down and strike people like Robertson.

Last night I was so enraged over Robertson‘s statement I researched charities who are helping in the Haitian relief effort. I wanted to see how much of our money really goes to the needy and how much goes to “administrative costs”. Both the Red Cross and United Way have large over head costs yet the Red Cross says on average .92 cents out of every dollar goes to relief effort. I want to believe them, but since the CEO makes almost a million dollars a year, I have my doubts. The United Way does not say how much goes to relief and reading their financial statements is like reading about government bureaucracy.

“The Board of Trustees helps strengthen the United Way system’s leadership role in nonprofit accountability practices by providing thought leadership on numerous strategically-focused committees.

Finance, Audit and Compliance committee members are charged with fiduciary oversight, including overseeing internal and external audits, and ensuring compliance with financial procedures and federal/state legal requirements.

Community Impact and Resource Development committee members are charged with developing strategic partnerships, including strengthening donor relationships and identifying priority public policy issues.

Governance committee members are charged with the board nomination process, including identifying and nominating individuals representing the diversity of society and overseeing performance and evaluation of current trustees.”

Sounds top heavy to me. I want to know how much of my money goes to relief, not how they are structured.

Over at The Clinton Foundation I found that 98% of all money donated goes to relief. I had to do some math while looking at the tax return and financial statements. I was really impressed by the transparency of the foundation (after all, we are talking about Bill Clinton). It so happened that as I was looking NPR had the former president on. He talked about what Haiti needs most; water, lots and lots of water. The infrastructure has collapsed so the water is not flowing. People will die due to lack of water. The former president promised that a $10.00 donation will supply a lot of water. So I decided to donate some money; and did so in part because of what the idiot Robertson said. If we all donated $10.00 we will not only help the Haitians but we will show Robertson that his words have the opposite effect. Let us show him he may be the one who made a pact with the devil.

Author: sarij

I'm a writer, lifelong bibliophile ,and researcher. I hold a Bachelors in Humanities & History and a Master's in Humanities. When I'm not reading or talking about Shakespeare or history, you can usually find me in the garden discussing science or politics with my cat. View all posts by sarij