qatzelok January 23rd, 2010 1:11 pm
I think Laura embarrasses herself and pseudo-left-wing media with this show.
"Haiti" isn't a mass media meme that needs to be analyzed in terms of which narratives it helps construct. It's a country of people who have been abused by the colonial thinking and behavior of rich countries and their business elites.
This post-modern gab-a-thon about "comparitive disaster narratives" is an affront to reality and to the rich/poor and broadcaster/viewer divide.
Rich broadcasters - both left and right - tend to present the world in terms of which texts are the most amusing - most stimulating. There are no real people with real needs. The world - from the vantage point of the broadcaster - is made up of abstract political actors with strategic reactions to measure and compare for media points.
UNITY PROGRESS
True, and notice that not one mention was made of how the Haitian government installed from without (repeatedly) has been killing its opponents in substantial numbers.
GUEST COMMENT TWO
redballoon January 24th, 2010 2:09 am
"...a country of people who have been abused by the colonial thinking and behavior of rich countries and their business elites."
This is also a narrative that has been constructed. Narratives are constructed because they contain the meaning of events. Narratives are important because they are the basis of belief and action.
Some call them history; some call them myth. But they drive interpretation and agency.
What the "broadcasters" are presenting is a false narrative, with false meaning, intended to misdirect.
It is entirely appropriate to ask how Haiti and New Orleans are similar or different, and to find disturbing parallels there. It's a little narcissistic: no matter what happens to others anywhere in the world always goes back to Americans worrying about themselves - Can it / Did it happen to us? to me?
What was missing from the discussion was the similarity of the deployment of heavily armed military forces, the application of a military solutions to humanitarian problems, the criminalization of self-help, especially by Blacks, the heavy-handed use of force by those who do not understand or care about the local situation (shooting first and asking questions later), and the treatment of Blacks as vermin. Further parallels will emerge as time goes by- you watch. Ultimately, the basis of the similarities is the issue of how the moneyed elites can enrich themselves even further by intervening. Like New Orleans, Haiti is merely another "opportunity".
The above was in response to this article and video.
-----------------------
Comments are very appreciated. Comments are moderated but all comments will be approved except for those that do not belong on Unity-Progress. For example, comments that contain any commercial advertising and ones that contain objectionable hatred will not be approved. Many comments that appear will receive a return comment by Unity-Progress.
The email address for Unity-Progress is
unity.progress.mail at gmail.
Use this address for all communications, including requests for link exchange if you have a good economics or political site.
No comments:
Post a Comment