a127: Haitian journalists: Chamberlain replies to Smith again (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

Robert Smith <lakay200@yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> those who are taking advantage of the 
> current politcal situation in Haiti in order 
> to get out of the country should be denounced

Why?  Is it a crime now to want or try to leave 
the country, as in Cuba or North Korea?


> My people are not mobs! 

Indeed not.  But groups of people in _any_ country 
who chop the heads off passers-by, as I believe 
happened to Brignol Lindor, or burn people in the 
street could fairly be described that way.


> the journalists who claimed that they are being
> attacked. 

Well, they have plenty of witnesses.


> Who are they?  How do they present their stories?  
> Who do they work for?  

What on earth is the big mystery here?


> it is obvious that they have another source of 
> income.  

Very few journalists in Haiti or any similarly poor
country can survive on just their miserable 
journalists' pay.  Most work at several other jobs.
They are trying to get by.  That doesn't mean 
they're all on the take, fergodssake.


> Because the media has establish itself as 
> a functional institution does not mean we 
> should not question the behavior and motive 
> of certain journalists.

Of course not.  But perhaps the questioning 
could be approached in less of a guilty-before-
proven way, which is what you're doing.


> THEY SHOUL BE DENOUNCED WHEN THEY 
> ARE SPREADING PROPAGANDA ON BEHALF 
> OF CERTAIN SECTORS--BE IT LAVALLAS, 
> THE ELITE OR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY.

Information is quite a complicated affair.  We can
all claim that whatever we don't agree with is 
propaganda.  Easily said.

 
> The Haitian people need food, education, health 
> before you can talk about "democracy" which so 
> far has been nothing but a pretext to continue to 
> undermine their self-determination. 
 
Never mind the paper democracy of the politicians
which leads to very little of the real thing.
The free flow of information is what's required
before you can get food, education and health.
It doesn't guarantee it, but if you don't have the
free flow, the end result tends to be pretty flawed,
because you simply have to do as you're told and
take what you're given.  Hardly desirable for any
human being..


> White man like you have no place in judging 
> my people, judge your own because there's 
> plenty to judge.

Please, none of this nonsense.  You are free to
criticise "my" country as much as you like and
indeed, there's plenty to criticise.  We are 
anyway simply discussing a plain social and
political issue here, not a whole country.


        Greg Chamberlain