#221: Protestant crusade in Bwa Kayiman : Simidor replies to Vedrine

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From:Karioka9@cs.com

Vedrine has said and I believe him that he's against religious
intolerance and the prospect of an evangelical holy war against Bwa
Kayiman, so this is hardly an argument against him.  At the same
time, Vedrine insists on the crusaders' right to worship anywhere
they please (Bwa Kayiman, Souvnans, Sodo, etc.) as long as they
come peacefully.  Yet the notion of a holy war connotes willful
confrontation on the part of the crusaders.  And we know from
Vedrine's own words and from reading the Corbett list that the
intended crusade has been long in the making (Boston radio
campaign, Nina Schnall's internship, etc).  Conclusion: the would-
be crusaders' are neither innocent, nor democratic nor peaceful.  

But consider the opposite, that Vodou practitioners had mobilized
a crusade of their own to throw the evangelical sects out of Haiti,
arguing not without reason that the sects in question are anti-
patriotic and violent, and therefore hostile to the culture and the
well-being of the people.  Imagine the international backlash and
the pressure on the Haitian government to act against the crazy
Vodouists.  Not a single peristyle would be safe from CIMO.  The
Haitian government would feel obliged at the very least to keep the
two groups apart, and to guarantee with utmost emphasis the
Christians' absolute right to worship free of intimidation.  

Something along those lines happened in Washington D.C. this past
week-end.  One internet neo-Nazi group called for a demonstration
in front of the White House.  Anti-fascist organizations mobilized
for a counter-demonstration.  The city of Washington and the local
sheriff's office spent $1 million to keep the peace and to insure
the safety of all parties involved.  The neo-Nazis didn't even
bother to show up!  But who gives a damn when Vodou practitioners
are threatened?  Who even takes time to consider the seriousness of
this well-founded assault against the fount of our Nation, another
instance of U.S. cultural imperialism in action on the eve of the new
millennium?  

Daniel Simidor
karioka9@cs.com