9765: Re: 9749: Kozyn adds Re: Slavery - Democracy (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: John Kozyn <jckozyn@hotmail.com>

>From: MHeinl@aol.com
>----------------------------------------
>Chak bourik rani nan patiraj li
>(Every donkey brays in its own pasture)

That's the response that Saint-Vil's post merits? C'mon Mr. Heinl, you can 
do better than that. I thought Saint-Vil's post was more than appropriate - 
please indicate where he brayed :)

I have to agree with Saint-Vil that a "eurocentric" weltanschaung (pun 
intended ;) does prevail - especially on this list - and that history for 
Haitians does not necessarily reflect the same history for other 
nationalities. And, why should it? Thus, he is correct to call Heinl on the 
formation of his value system as it pertains to Haiti speciifically, and 
truth in general.

Saint-Vil also writes:

"Racial Slavery in the U.S. was institutionalised. It was a collective
«state» decision that Africans were to be systematically brutalised and
kept down while they were making the U.S. prosper. There is no comparison to 
be made between such a collective - institutionalised barbarism and 
Dessalines'act of «infinite justice» conducted during a time of war - indeed 
a war for survival!"

I agree. One can parrot the refrain that the United States was the first 
democracy in the hemisphere, but history is not  necessarily "truth." If 
what Saint-Vil wrote (above) _is_ true, then even a child will see that what 
prevailed in the United States at the turn of the 19th century was _not_ 
actually a democracy. Not if we define democracy qua democracy.

I also noted this: "No wonder Hollywood is not interested!!!!"

I was under the impression that Danny Glover was behind the movie project of 
the life of Toussaint L'Ouverture and the Haitian Revolution. Does anyone 
know differently?

Speaking of Revolution, there are one or two references to it in the 
President's remarks on the aniversary of the Battle for Vertières. Check it 
out at <www.haiti.org>.

John Kozyn
Embassy of the Republic of Haiti
Washington, DC



_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp