To be fair...

So.... it's been in the news. I don't watch the news very often because it's boring, but you can't avoid it sometimes. Haiti. Apparently there was an earthquake.

And apparently the world is supposed to care.

I would say I don't understand what the hell is going on here, but I do. There's been a big disaster and everyone thinks that if they donate two dollars by texting on their cellphone, it makes them an upstanding citizen. Riiight...

Am I the only person who didn't know much about Haiti until this happened other than the fact that they were a poorly represented minority that all have bad Jamaican accents in movies and games? Oh, and apparently they love selling drugs. Now, the earth decides to swallow half the country and everyone is up in arms about how this is a 'horrible disaster that has killed thousands!' Where were these people a few months before this happened? Were any of them eagerly keeping track of Haiti's economic and political status to make sure these poor individuals that just got squashed like bugs were doing alright? Probably watching the new season of Lost. Right. An earthquake hits and suddenly the Grinch's heart grows 3 times larger? Why is it that it always takes a natural disaster for people to care about other people?

You know, I'm not racist at all. I have nothing against the people of Haiti and I don't think what happened there was a joke. But I'm going to be honest. I didn't care about Haiti before this happened, so suddenly caring about it now makes me feel like an inconsiderate twat. If I actually cared about these people I would have been keeping tabs on the country long before any of this happened. But in order for some people to feel like they're not a complete waste of resources they feel like they have to jump on every single crusade there is and throw their money at it because it makes them feel like they're being a part of something they don't even really care about. Everywhere you go there's things saying, "Would you like to make a donation to the Haiti Relief fund?" I have to say no. If I didn't, I'd be a hypocrite. And broke.

I'm sure some of you would say, "Well if you had family that died there, you'd care!" and the answer would be yes, I would. But I probably would have cared before the quake hit as well, because they're my fucking family. I'm not a heartless individual and if I could stop the quake from happening I would have. But suddenly pretending to give a damn about a bunch of people I didn't even know existed suddenly because CNN told me to feels kind of evil, in all honesty. You know, like that McDonalds Scholarship sort of evil. The kind they hide in fine print below the table-top ads for the new McStupid they have on the menu for $0.89. You know why McDonald's offers a scholarship? Not because they care if people are smart enough to find employment beyond their fine establishment. It's because they can offer that money up, not pay taxes on it and at the end of the year they can simply go, 'Oh? No takers? Well, if you insist...' and put it back in their pockets. It's that kind of evil.

Do these people need help? Yeah, but they obviously needed help way before this happened as well and no one gave a shit. I feel sorry for Haiti, I do.... but on the same token I really didn't care before and I really can't say I care now. Call me an asshole, but at least I'm an honest asshole.

Update:
There's another thing I have to say after reflecting on this post for a bit. It's not like I don't appreciate the sacrifices the men and women who have uprooted their lives to physically go over to the country and dig these people out of rubble with their bare hands. These people I respect, and I will gladly agree with their efforts. The one's I'm ranting about are the ones who sit in their BMW's in the middle of rush our traffic, hear a notice on the radio about the Haiti disaster without even knowing where Haiti is on a map, punch a few numbers in on their cellphone between sips of their non-fat soy chai-latte with no whip and think they're just as useful as the people pulling the chunks of debris off the victims. It's these people I'm bitching about. If you want to donate money be my guest, I'm sure they can use it, but don't go flaunting around the fact that you're suddenly Mother Teresa because you decided to get a Tall instead of Venti to help support the suffering of the Haitian people.