posted by Sam Richards
Believe me when I say that I don’t need another reason for wishing that Pat Robertson’s “savior” would just go ahead and call him home. And so why am I talking about this man who is posing as preacher who is posing as an asylum escapee? (Or is it the other way around?)
Here’s what he said about Haiti:
(CNN) — Pat Robertson, the evangelical Christian and host of the “700 Club,” says a “pact to the devil” brought on the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
Robertson blamed the tragedy on something that “happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it.” The Haitians “were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III and whatever,” Robertson said on his broadcast Wednesday. “And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, ‘We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.’ True story. And so, the devil said, ‘OK, it’s a deal.’ “
As lame as it may seem, my excuse for bring this up is that I want to make a point about the dangers of living in world of good and evil, black and white while remaining completely surrounded by others who see things just as we do. Seriously. I’ll admit that when I first read Robertson’s words I wanted to go for the jugular. Thumbs to windpipe. But then so many others have done taken up the cause that I decided that I just needed to make a sociological point.
Here’s Olbermann. Ouch. I don’t have to keep up in the ratings and so I don’t need to be so vicious. But truthfully, I can’t say that I’m offended by Olbermann’s attack on a “man of the cloth.” But those are not my thoughts.
Thinking that the “country of Haiti” made a pact with the Devil two centuries ago is probably a pretty good indication that Robertson is mentally ill. Did they actually sign something with ink and a quill? Was there some sort of referendum in which the entire Haitian population participated or was it just a single Haitian leader? I mean really, was the devil hanging out in the Carribean a couple of hundred years ago searching for an unwitting victim in the form of an entire country?
If you encountered someone on the street who told you that the devil is making a pact with, let’s say, Detroit to bring back the auto industry, you wouldn’t give them the time of day. You’d assume that they had gone off their meds and you’d probably be correct. But here’s a guy with a viewing audience in the millions who is saying a similar thing and nobody seems to be changing the channels. Moreover, Robertson himself is not saying that he was wrong in making such statements. This is largely because he doesn’t have people around him to challenge his thinking. The most dangerous position a person can be in, by the way, is that of embracing a black and white ideology of good and bad, right and wrong and not having people around us who think differently than we do and who can reflect alternative ideas back to us.
That the media put a voice to mentally ill people clearly says something about how the rest of us want to see ourselves as superior others or, in this case, be entertained by our own self-righteous indignation. Be clear that few Christians would agree with Robertson and, in fact, I can’t say that I know of any. But when he refuses to take his meds and makes his outlandish comments, then the rest of can feel better about ourselves and so we keep tuning in. “Well, now that guy really is a nut.” Sure, there are a million or so of us who listen to the guy on a regular basis, but even most of these people likely write off these sorts of nutty ideas as a slip of the tongue.
This all goes to say that Olbermann gives Robertson way too much credibility by responding as though the guy is living with a full deck. Let’s just move on.
As a final caveat, the crazy thing is that when I read Robertson’s comments for the first time I actually thought to myself, “Hey, I don’t remember reading this.” Seriously. I got suckered into the man’s insanity for a brief moment. LOL.
In case anyone is interested, here is Jon Stewart discussing these knuckleheads (and Rachel Maddow).
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
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I will admit that I have never watched the "700 Club" before, nor will I pretend to know what the show is about, but the fact that Pat Robertson is saying that one of the worst natural disasters in history is because Haiti had a 'pact with the devil' is beyond ridiculous. It makes me so angry and upset to see that so many people are suffering, and yet this man is discussing why the earthquake happened. I have learned since elementary school that an earthquake is a natural disaster, so why Robertson is taking his time to explain the reason behind this natural disaster baffles me. With all the death, disease, hunger, and thirst, now is not the time to discuss the reasoning behind the earthquake, but rather how we can help. Robertson is in a position to make a difference. He should be persuading people to take a moment out of their busy lives to help those who are suffering. He should be persuading people to take a moment of silence, or donate money. I do not understand how someone can be so heartless when so many people are suffering, and this man is just saying, "well you shouldn't have made a pact with the devil! That's what you get!" This just completely baffles me. Now is the time to figure out how to help those who need it, not "preach" about how it was always coming. I think Olbermann's attack is completely warranted and much needed.
I find it interesting that nobody speaks up on issues like these. How does this man still have viewers? As Dr. Richards said earlier, if we met someone on the street who said he was making a pact with the devil we would think he was crazy and walk away, so why are people not walking away from Robertson? I have mixed feelings about what should be done. Part of me feels like people should just boycott the show. Why should we give attention to someone who is not even paying attention to the important issues? On the other hand, I do not believe we ignore someone because it makes us feel better. This man is in a place of "power" reaching audiences across the nation. Why aren't people fighting back and speaking up? People get offended by comments made by this guy, yet no one is willing to do anything about it. People might be heated for a little, but then they get over it. It sounds like this is not the first time Robertson has made some kind of absurd remark so why haven't we done anything to get him off the air or lower his ratings? As angry as it makes me that someone would justify an estimated death toll of 200,000 by a pact with the devil, it may make me angrier that people are still listening and following this guy.
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It is sad to me that Robertson and Limbaugh can actually say these things out loud. Do they even hear themselves anymore? I wonder how a person can get to a point where they have such a level of insensitivity. And, especially for Robertson, who claims to be a “religious leader”. What kind of example is he for fellow Christians? Isn’t Christianity supposed to be about doing good in the world and accepting every person for who they are? It just irritates me that the people that we see in the media are always so extreme. No one wants to watch a rational person talk about current events. For some reason we, as the American public, are enthralled and entertained by extreme people. It creates separation among us as a society. It’s like you always have to pick a side. Are you a democrat or a republican? Christian or not? White or Black? The majority of us lie somewhere in between, yet we continue to listen to those who so strongly represent the poles. It’s constantly separating us and forcing us to have a “us versus them” syndrome. What is sickening/disturbing to me is that these people actually have followers.. people who listen to them on a regular basis and actually believe and respect the crap that comes out of their mouth. I wonder how many people Robertson gained or lost from these outrageous comments. And I wonder how many people can reassure their indifference to the situation in Haiti because they now believe that they got what was coming to them. How crazy is that? How can you continue to listen to a man and respect a single word that comes out of his mouth after he makes a comment like that? I don’t get it. I wonder what Robertson would say if a disaster of that caliber occurred here in the U.S. I doubt he would conclude that it was somehow our fault. Or maybe he would… This man seems to have no rationality. I also think he gives Christian’s a bad rep. I’m not too sure where I stand when it comes to religion, but I like to believe that most religions bring some good into people’s lives. It gives them a script to follow and a group to be a part of and a sense of security in life (and death). It is just a shame that a man who most likely has the right intentions and wants to do good in the world has gotten so far off the track. Someone should kidnap him and send him to Haiti. It might do him some good to see the human side of this natural disaster. I hope it would be difficult for him to maintain his beliefs after looking people in the eyes and seeing their unimaginable pain.
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I consider myself to be a Roman Catholic and I somewhat find the words of Pat Robertson borderline disgusting. I know everyone has different beliefs and different thoughts about what religion means to them, but in time of need, it's common for people to come together and support one another. Pat Robertson definitely missed out on that memo. Obviously, Pat Robertson is always looking for people and things to blame, but I really think the man should blame himself. All he does is offend people for no apparent reason and does not have any thought or proof behind what he has to say. People everywhere in the world are doing all they can to help these poor individuals in Haiti while Pat Robertson is making a complete and utter fool of himself. Does he really think that he is making this situation better? I think he should definitely get checked out because this is not the only time he has become a burden on disasters. Claiming that Katrina happened because of abortion policies in the United States is just senseless and inaccurate. He is just another reporter on television who stirs up controversy because of how outrageous and insignificant his claims are. Maybe he should take a trip to Haiti and look at the tragedy and devastation because he truly does not have a clear sense of what is going on in the world today.
The part that bothers me the most if the fact that he claims he is Christian and is still making these claims. Like I said before, I understand that everyone thinks differently about religion but don't you think if he was a true Christian, he would be trying to help those in Haiti rather than blaming them for signing a pact with the devil? In all honesty, do you really think the devil had anything to do with the tragic earthquake? Come on now. I personally believe that everything happens for a reason and we cannot control these things, but there is no way a natural disaster occurs because of a claim that a particular person stated that the Haitians made a pact with the devil. That is just absurd. My favorite part about this blog is the Daily Show video and the fact that Jon Stewart just made a complete mockery of Pat Robertson. I like how he referenced the Bible and showed how out of the numerous messages in the Bible, a major important one is helping people in need. It's kind of hard to miss that message if you read the Bible, so I'm guessing Pat Robertson definitely missed a few chapters. Pat Robertson should be old enough to realize that he makes a complete fool out of himself every time he opens his mouth. He should just shut up for awhile and let the world go on without his outrageous claims.
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Pat Robertson has always been a mystery to me. I've watched his show the 700 club a few times and can't help but wonder how in the world people watch it and take it seriously. I fully understand that I come from a bias angle because I have no religious background and tend to question religious topics frequently, but blaming Haiti for this disaster due to a pact with the devil… really!?? That is not only a dumb statement that I cannot imagine anyone believing, but its incredibly insensitive. While an entire population of people are suffering and going through things that are beyond the imagination of a majority of people, ESPECIALLY Pat Robertson who is probably richer than a majority of US citizens, Pat decides to blame Haitians for their own distress instead of giving supporting words.
I watched the Daily show clip and loved the part where John Stewart opens the bible and reads passages that would be of comfort. He's point about how Pat Robertson instead of lending those words of support through the bible which he preaches about day after day, he decides to say something about an "urban legend" again blaming the Haitians for there own misfortune.
I understand that a large part of religion is to help give answer to big questions that no one really knows; examples- What happens when we die? How were we created? Why are some people privileged and others not? And possibly, Why did this disaster occur in Haiti? So I can see why a religious figure might try and help out his religious followers by giving a reason for why this happened. But to come out in front of millions of viewers to say that this urban legend of a devil pact ( which I feel confident saying not many people have EVER heard of) is a "true story" and then overlook and forget to mention the horrible devastation, pain and anguish these people are going through is wrong.
It is unfortunate that there are people out there that lack the compassion and heart that they cannot for one day step out of their ways, mindset, and views to just lend a helping hand or word. That goes for all news coverage of this event. It would be nice to see a news station do a piece on Haiti with no political garbage attached. Is it so hard to believe that people are getting together to help out this country out of pure compassion and not because of some political agenda? No matter who the president of the United States is or would of been, the SAME efforts would be being made. It is not just the government that is sending help. There are so many other independent organizations that send their help and money.
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To be honest, before I read this article I wouldn't have been able to match Pat Robertson's face with his name. Sure, I've seen the first few minutes of The 700 Club when I forget to turn the TV off and it's late, but I never really thought anything of the show or its host. But now, after reading his explanation of the tragedy in Haiti, I am appalled that our country, which gets so caught up in political correctness and putting forth an image of acceptance and equality, could allow such nonsense to be broadcast nationwide. The outright ignorance of Robertson's statement actually made me catch my breath. It honestly sounds like the rambling of someone who's just not quite all the way 'there.'
As a Christian myself, and a Catholic at that, I've heard some ridiculous, ignorant, and counterintuitive things be said. These fanatics give the rest of us level-headed Christians a horrible name. They make us out to be god-obsessed, hateful, and closed-minded, where in fact, most of the Christians I know are quite the opposite. If Robertson is half of the Christian he claims to be, he would know that in times of trouble, our task is to come to the aid of our brothers and sisters in Christ, not to turn against them and accuse them of such fallacies. Perhaps Mr. Robertson is not aware of the many Christians of Haiti who would be cut to the core by his accusations. The Christian religion is based on forgiveness and love, not hate. The image that Robertson portrays of God and religion by making the remarks that he did is one of a punishing, harsh God. Instead, he should portray the fact that throughout the Bible, God forgives those who forsake him. Even when Jesus Christ, the son of God himself was betrayed by his own people, they were forgiven. So even if there was some satanic pact (which is ridiculous), it is rash to say that this disaster, this NATURAL disaster, was an act of a wrathful God.
The more I think about his words, the more my emotions change. At first i was shocked, then the shock wore into disbelief that such a ridiculous thing could be said. After that I felt angry that Christians were being misrepresented, but now I feel disgust. Disgust that in a time where other human beings need help, Pat Robertson feels he has the right to look down on them and make judgements. This is a time when man should be helping his fellow man, not when he should draw dividing lines. So many other people in this world have put their differences aside to come to the aid of the Haitians. Who does Pat Robertson think he is that he can speak in such a way? Who is he that he is above the Haitians? Someone needs to let Mr. 700 Club that he needs a major reality check. He is just a man, as are his brothers in Haiti.
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I find it slightly horrifying that there are actually people in America listening to the things Pat Robinson says. The man clearly has a few screws loose. At the very least, I am pleased to hear the outrage and disgust at the things that have come out of his mouth. As people are suffering in Haiti, I find it despicable to come up with reasons as to why, instead of attempting to help in any way possible. A tragedy has occurred and instead of trying to help, there are people placing the blame on those in need. I find it revolting.
The thought of someone who considers themselves a Christian, walking around, blaming a natural disaster on “deals with the devil”, makes absolutely no sense. I thought Christians were supposed to be understanding and loving of all their brothers and sisters. Instead, Pat Robinson is blaming them for the tragedy that has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths.
However, I do feel as though we are spending too much time focusing on the comments of others when it comes to Haiti. Simply by talking about their thoughts and statements, we are allowing their voices to be heard for far longer than they should be. By providing Pat Robinson with airtime and debates over his ridiculous claims, he is getting exactly what he wants; attention.
The main focus of our efforts should not be wasted on a man who is clearly searching for the attention of the nation. The focus should be on the people of Haiti and any ways in which we can come together to help them.
I have far more respect for the Americans actually going to Haiti to help with the devastation, or those supporting the people of Haiti through donations of any sort and kind. I am touched by the number military men and women who have already volunteered their time to go down to Haiti for the next several months. The destruction caused by the earthquake has already touched the lives of numerous people within Haiti and other nations of the world.
As someone who has been to Haiti myself and seen how beautiful it was, the thought of what it must look like now is horrifying. Also, at the time of my visit, they were the second poorest nation in the world, with many of them begging for money and attempting to braid hair and sell their belongings for American dollars. It is clear that at a time like this, they need our help more than ever. If every single person in the United States were to donate just one dollar to the cause, the thought of simply how much this would help is baffling. I just wish people would stop focusing their efforts on idiots like Pat Robinson and started focusing on the real issue at hand; the people suffering in Haiti.
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I remember when I heard about Pat Robertson's repsonse to the tragic event that happened in Haiti and I for one was really shocked to hear that someone in his stance would have the nerve to say something like that. Then I sort of back tracked and remembered natural disasters that have happened such as Katrina and how long it took President Bush to send troops over to help these victims, then I wasn't so surprised anymore. The world is heavily divided as Dr. Richards mentioned on the topic of black and white. Everything has to be grouped into these categories. Face it. People do feel better when they feel superior compared to others. Is this why Robertson said what he said? I have no idea, but he may have truly believed that what he said was correct because God was punishing Haiti for their "evil doings".
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(Continuation) But to question Robertson why would God want to punish the entire country? That's when people need to take a deeper look into what is going on. This probably has nothing to do with good versus bad but black versus white. The world will always be about black and white and how small minded and racist people can truly be. Why would Robertson make such a statement? Does it make him feel better? Does he feel like he's dilevering the word of God? I tought that loving God meant to love others and to help others a much as you can, to never pass judgment because the only one that can judge is God…etc. Robertson should've asked his viewers to help those people in Haiti. Instead he give some Americans, particularly white Americans, another reason to feel like people in that country are bad people whrn they're not. This is how people form stereotypes from people who make statements like this and make people believe that Haiti isn't a beautiful country when it is. .
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(continuation third part) I partially agree with Dr. Richards that thisshouldn't have been given much thought because millions of Americans are still reaching a hand out to help, but there are still a few million Americans who are refusing to help out because they believe the words of Robertson and that's when the problem occurs. I think people should continue to bring this topic up and not just sweep it under the rug. I think Pat Robertson should be confronted and put on the hot seat for once, and yes he did admit what he said was wrong but he still said it .I want to know if he really believes that what he said woule help the current state of Haiti
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This is really disturbing to me. I can’t believe that anyone would say something so downright cruel. I think that Pat Robertson must literally be insane. To say something so obviously untrue in a time of tragedy shows that he is not only vicious, he is mentally ill. Having said that, I should perhaps treat him with more sympathy and forgiveness, considering his condition. However, I find it difficult to forgive and forget his comments, because although I regard them as the ramblings of an idiot, other people do not. Pat Robertson is (unfortunately) a person in the media whom some others take seriously. I know that very few people would hear his crass and sick comments and take them as the truth, but the sad fact is, there probably are some nut cases out there who would believe what he is saying. So sad.
I find this upsetting partially because I am a Christian, and this guy gives my entire faith such a bad name. We make enough mistakes without having the musings of another nutcase added to our list of issues. I wasn’t raised Christian—it’s something I chose, which I think gives me a different perspective on certain issues than some of my Christian friends and acquaintances. People like Robertson challenge me to think about the basis of what my faith is built on—I mean really, if a guy like this believes in Christ and holds views like this, is that really something I want to subscribe to? But then I remember that this guy isn’t a Christian at all—he’s a nut job who throws around words like “God” and “Satan” to give his own skewed viewpoints more credibility. Like Olbermann said, this guy isn’t a Reverend. He’s a mental patient. Of all the things Christianity is about, the one word that should sum it up is "love." This man has only hate. My heart goes out to all the Haiti victims and all the people who had to hear their nationality accused of something so absurd as making a deal with the devil. Really, is this Faustus or what?
In the long list of problems I have with what this guy said, perhaps the most frustrating is the fact that he is taking attention away from the problem at hand. By using the tragedy in Haiti to spew his sick views, he takes the focus off of what we really need to be thinking about, namely how we can best help repair the damage there. Haiti never was in very good shape, economy-wise, and it’s only going to get worse after these horrific earthquakes. And the economy is the least of the problem—think of all the people who have lost family members and friends. How do we help repair that? I just think it’s ridiculous that of all the things the media could be giving attention to regarding Haiti, they chose to take even a few brief seconds to mention Pat Robertson’s cruel view of the matter. (Then again, I chose to write about how ridiculous he is when I could be researching ways to help, so I guess I am just as guilty as the media!)
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Hearing comments like these from Rush and Pat just goes to show how out of touch with the world that these people are. They are caught up in the lives they live and just look for ratings and will almost say anything to get people to listen to them. The fact that we are writing about this topic almost makes these two shmucks seem credible but in the end they are just two guys who will never get the world we live in today. I think it is hilarious actually that Preacher Pat used an idea that the Haitian people had made a deal with the devil in order to be free from the French. I know the man’s old and maybe I should give him a break but he's getting paid for this so I can’t let him off that quick. Also the girl Christie standing next to him when he is making those comments is looking at him with that strangest look as if to say are you for real. I hear this and to most I think Sam is right it goes one ear and out the other so it’s almost like this guy never said it’s like he say does not count or at least anymore. Then there is everyone’s favorite conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh I honestly think the man should be off the air all he spreads is nonsense and hates Obama. To actually turn the Haiti earthquake situation into a chance for Obama to gain voters and show how good his administration is. Rush get this Obama is the President of The United States and it’s his job to help nations in crisis and he goes and says this is want Obama wants as if Obama planed the earthquake himself. Then there is Olbermann, I thought I would never say a good thing about him since he left his post at ESPN, the man said it right good for him a little extreme but definitely understood why he did it. This goes to show that for every two idiots there is at least one guy out there to catch it and call them out. Also the people that listen to these two guys and take them serious are the ones people should watch out for. They guys are just part of the media circus and not everyone can be happy so they make sure to get there point out there for their listeners and viewers. Most people obviously don’t feel this way towards the situation and see it as a tragedy that these people are going through. When people hear things like this they know better and know what to do which is why so many people are helping Haiti out.
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I heard of this comment the day after it occurred from my roommate. We both formed our opinion on the comment as irresponsible of Pat Robinson to feel the desire to inform the country of his "belief." When I say belief I'm not talking about Christianity, I am solely speaking on his belief of why such a horrible natural disaster happened, that's right natural not the devil. Why did Haiti make a pact with the devil especially when you see that the country is majority Christian with 80% of the country Roman Catholic. Why pretend to be worshiping God when the country is actually worshiping the devil? This Pat Robinson guy is crazy and the network should take the responsibility of firing him for saying such things period, but also at such a hard time. Did the United States make a pact with the devil too to get rid of the British. Is that why 9/11 and hurricane Katrina happened? Is that why we are in a recession? I mean if we are going to report this as a cause for a poor suffering country such as Haiti, then why not report them on ourselves. If you think these comment Pat Robinson are anything but crazy then maybe you need to think about what you'd think if someone reported that, "the country of the United States has made a pact with the devil back in the Revolutionary War and now they are paying for it," the day after 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina. Some people would be pissed wanting this guy off the air, others would believe him and there always will be other nuts who follow the next crazy thought. This reporters comments on why the earthquake happened should not have been allowed to air and he should not be allowed to report for any news station or radio station again. Think of the families who live here that are from Haiti or have family living in Haiti. This is a huge tragedy for them for those who have friends there. This is not easy for people like that or for people who have a heart and care for general humanity. For this irresponsible newscaster to come on tv and report what his single belief is on a nation that is suffering. We should be focused on how we can help reporting that the nation needs food, water, health supplies and providing ways the public can help fill these needs not reporting false negatives about the country and their people. Things can happen to good people and this wasn't the devils doing. This was a terrible natural disaster that shouldn't be wished on any country. My final thought is on how he says "It's true." How does he know it's true? Was he there? That's the sad part about our public these days there are some that believe him.
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I believe that Mr. Richards is completely right in his belief that Pat Robertson was completely out of line with using the horrible event that happened in Haiti to his own benefit and lying to millions of people hoping that he can get them to become his followers and believe everything he says, thus increasing his ratings. For him to blame a terrible act of nature on a “pact to the devil” that he made up in his own insane head is astonishing and I am not quite sure how he still is on TV and has not been kicked off the air yet and sent to a mental hospital. Pat Robertson is basically blaming this tragic event on the people of Haiti themselves, making it seem like it was their fault that the earthquake happened. I would hate to be a person in Haiti who had just had to go through this catastrophic event and survived only to turn on the television and see this “preacher” preaching about how it was my ancestor’s fault. At what point is enough enough. These people just went through something terrible, possibly losing many of their friends and family, and definitely losing most of their property and possessions and then you have people in the United States sitting in their mansions and trying to use these people’s plights for their own benefit. The people in Haiti have been physically assaulted by the earthquake and now people like Pat Robertson are mentally assaulting them and their families. The fact that a man who is mentally unstable can have his own television show and has okay ratings sounds to me like Robertson was the one who made a “pact to the devil”. I feel like I have just wasted my time talking about Pat Robertson and how terrible a person he is. Hopefully, someone from Haiti would just come to the United States and punch him or something, because he deserves it more than a lot of other people.
Now dealing with Olbermann, I believe that he was doing the right thing by speaking out against Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh. When somebody does or says something that you one hundred percent disagree with morally it is your job to go on the air and publicly say the things Olbermann said. Some people believe that Olbermann was perhaps too harsh on Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh, seeing as how Pat Robertson is a priest of some sort but I believe that Olbermann was just saying what most Americans were feeling about Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh.
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After originally reading Pat Robertson’s comment I was stunned that in this day in age he can actually believe in what he is saying. I told my roommate, and she actually started laughing. Also, to make things even worse people in our nation and around the world agree with what he too is saying. Up to this point I understood that most of the world believed that the earthquake in Haiti was seen as a horrible, natural disaster. It was something that no one had control over, even the devil himself (if you believe in that). I do realize that there are individuals that believe that God controls every aspect of life here on earth, but I had no idea that people in such power held this opinion.
We are blessed and cursed, as a nation, because we have the write to free speech and free thought. With that comes the territory that individuals with outrageous opinions are too able to voice them. In this case that happens to be to millions of viewers that watch the show Club 700. I do not believe that Olbermann’s comments about Robertson were not out of line. If Robertson can make accusations about an entire nation making a pack with the devil, then Olbermann can certainly talk about Robertson’s possible insanity. Someone needs to stand up to a man that thinks that he has the divine right from God to say that a nation made a pack with the devil, and now God is punishing them. God is then punishing the entire nation with the recorded worse natural disaster in the western hemisphere.
Religion does not play a large role in my everyday life, I would say that I am still exploring and investigating what religion means to me. However, it is people like Pat Robertson who make these crazy “holy” statements that make me not want to join the religious community. What I do not understand is rather than focusing on just finding relief for the citizens of Haiti, these people are so focused on figuring out the reason why this earthquake happened. If they want to do God’s work then they need to spend more time concentrating on helping their fellow humans in their ultimate time of need. The problem with the statements is that they are taking away from the real tragedy that is occurring in Haiti. There are fellow human beings that are suffering, without food and water, and missing loved ones. Relief cannot come fast enough for these people. Robertson has the power to make his viewers aware of the problem and how to help; however, instead he is blaming the people of Haiti for this recent disaster.
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I want to start out this post saying that I am a Christian. Pat Robertson's personal brand of Christianity is not only giving millions of Christians around the world a bad name, but it is dangerous and down right cruel to say that the people of Haiti brought this catastrophic event on themselves. As Christians, we are called to love and care for the poor, hurt, and sick. We are called to be lights in the world for the love of Christ. If Mr. Robertson really is a Christian, he should understand that in this time of need, it serves no purpose to point fingers at whose fault a natural disaster is. It serves no purpose to further put down people who have already been through so much in their lives. A better use of his millions of viewers and millions of dollars, would be to ask his viewers to donate to any of the funds currently being collected for, or to donate some of his millions. Another use would be to even go to Haiti and personally make a difference and urge his viewers to do the same, to actually do something Christ-like. But no. He would rather sit on his pedestal that he has erected for himself and condemn the people of Haiti. Let's take a break from reality here and say that maybe Haiti had done something to bring this on themselves (a statement that I COMPLETELY DISAGREE WITH), he cannot possibly be serious to think that these people made a pact with the devil over two-hundred years ago, and this disaster is their fault. Pat Robertson has long since become a running joke and a problem for Christians today. His brand of Christianity is not only blatantly disrespectful and rude, but in this case, has become cruel as well.
Keith Olberman does have a reputation to uphold and I agree that his statements do give, both Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh way too much credit. However, most of what he is saying, at the root, I cannot disagree with. These men have taken a natural catastrophe and turned it into a political bargaining tool. How dare they use the suffering of millions of people to pursue their own sick and twisted view of logic. Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, a Christian or an Atheist, we are all human. And that humanity should allows us to, if not understand, at least respect the magnitude of what these people are dealing with on a daily basis. Do not misunderstand, I love America and I love that we are all given the freedom of speech. I just wish that someone would turn down the microphones on these two men.
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I don't consider myself a religious person and when I struggle with it, it is comments like the one Pat Robertson makes that makes me glad I am not affiliated or identify with a said religion. I realize that many religious people do not share his views or even come close to siding with his ridiculous comments, but at the same time apparently not too many people are challenging his crazy claims. I mean as Sam said this is quite possibly the worst natural disaster to ever hit the western hemisphere, and there are people like Robertson and Limbaugh that have the nerve to boil this tragedy down to political agendas and religious extremes. Even if you honestly do not care about the people of Haiti then just keep your mouth shut. People die everyday and disaster have struck in the past, but what good does it do to go on television and make negative comments and kick these poor people when they are already gone. I mean didn't Robertson ever see Bambi? Was it not Thumper who said "if you have nothing nice to say then don't say anything at all?" That's like going into a funeral home during a viewing and going up to the family of the deceased and saying well I'm sure your mother deserved to die because someone somewhere sinned. Where's the logic…where's the compassion? I thought Robertson was a Christian. If I were a Christian I would want this man struck down by God to reassure myself that this is not tolerated within my faith. But I think the most unnerving part of the whole issue is that this was tolerated. Someone mentioned earlier that Rev. Jeremiah Wright, President Obama's preacher, was too extreme and was probably a terrorist connected to al Queda. While I totally agree that that man was definitely off his rocker, I wonder why Pat Robertson is being challenged more or compared to an en-compassionate terrorist. Sadly It seems politics are the reason Robertson kind of just slips under the radar.
This brings me to my next point. Limbaugh has to bring politics into this tragedy. I mean really, you and some other Republicans are that bitter that Obama is President that you are angry this happened not for the suffering of fellow humans but because Obama will use this to his advantage to seek reelection. I don't think I have heard anyone so threatened by the President, may be Obama should take he comment as a complement. Then I think these Republicans that share this view point should rewind to 2005 and remember how diplomatically and responsibly President Bush handled Hurricane Katrina. I don't necessarily remember President Bush being anyone's hero then and those were people of his own country, people that helped get him elected. I'm not saying President Obama is handling this disaster perfectly (but then again is their a perfect way to deal with such a tragedy), but at least Obama is acting quickly on the matter and supports Former President Clinton and Bush helping with a relief found. I think Obama is scrutinized more heavily because of his race. I mean we have never before really strayed as a nation from our comfort zone in a Presidential election, it has always been the White guy with few variations in religion, wealth and age. Again, I am not saying Obama is perfect, but judging from Bush's last reaction to a natural disaster we should be glad and the people of Haiti as well that Bush is not still in power. And let's just remember, that the economy was suffering long before Obama stepped up to the plate. We need to forget our political affiliations just as we did during 9/11 and come together to help out fellow human beings!
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First of all this man is a complete idiot and any sensible person would not listen to a word that comes out of his mouth. Any person that would talk about such a tragedy in such a delusional way clearly has mental problems. This post also makes me think about my feelings about religion and the people it involves. As a child religion was a fairly big part of my life. I was never a very religious person but my mom wanted me to go so I obliged. The older I get, the less interested I am in religion. There are many reasons for this, one of which is that I find it hard to follow something so ambiguous. Besides that it is difficult to follow a religion led by people like Pat Robertson. He is obviously not right in the head but people still listen to him because he is a man of God. Simply stating that you are a man of God does not make the words that come out of your mouth true. It also bothers me that overall I think that religion, especially in the United States and Europe, is exploited for money by the people telling us how we should “follow the lord”. If I had to classify myself in a religion I would say I am an agnostic. I think that there could be a God, but clearly there was an evolutionary process and we all did not just pop up out of nowhere as humans. I do not think religion is all bad and it was probably a good thing that I went to church as a child. It gives us moral boundaries in some aspects, although some are arbitrary and useless, such as attending church every sunday is necessary in order to be a good Christian. If there is a God I am fairly certain he would not care if we attended church every sunday. I think he would be more interested in people doing good deeds and being a good citizens, rather than sitting in a pew and signing songs for an hour. I think that church was one of the main reasons that I continually became less religious as I grew up. I was forced to go to church on Sunday mornings. The last thing i wanted to do was get up at 8 am and be driven a half an hour into Philadelphia where I could listen to a old man talk for a while to fulfill my duties as a christian. I do not blame my parents. My Grand mom took my mom to the same church when she was a kid because it is just something people do, and that's the problem. People blindly follow an all powerful being by attending church every Sunday instead of actually doing some good for the world. Overall I think the institution of religion is only good for its promotion of good morals and having something to believe in, besides that I am not really a fan.
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Pat Robertson is clearly out of his mind. How could anyone possibly legitimize a devastating national disaster by calling it the result of a ‘pact with the devil’?? Even if he does not whole heartedly believe in this ‘theory’ of his, it’s sickening that he would even have the nerve to say something so delusional in the wake of tragedy. He must not have any morals or any regard to the effect of his words. People may not take his disgusting comment seriously, but the message it gives is definitely heard by people around the world. This saddens me because it takes attention and focus away from what is really going on. There shouldn’t be conversation about how ridiculous it is that Robertson is suggesting Haiti had a pact with the devil, there should be proactive conversation about how people can continue to help the relief efforts, and if there is an inability to provide aid either financially or materially, then spend your time praying for the people of Haiti, please. It’s disgusting that Robertson had the nerve to divert attention from the heart of the problem with some ridiculous comment. The people of our modern society are attached to the media, but not wrongly so. It is our source for information and debate; something that keeps our society moving. So I don’t blame people for tuning into his message and debating it’s faulty foundation, I blame Robertson for using his spotlight in the media so immaturely as taking away from the people of Haiti who desperately need attention in our media to get all the help the can, not skepticism about a pact made with the devil forever ago. While there are ongoing debates about this comment of Robertson’s, there are children in Haiti sitting helplessly without parents, nursing their broken limbs with the bare minimum of supplies, and not knowing what direction their lives will go in next, if they live to see it. There are countless stories of shattered businesses, families, and communities, and unfortunately there are also apparently stories that belong in fiction stories surrounding the people of Haiti. Every nation has had horrible happenings in their past. Take the U.S. for instance, we killed off the Native Americans and claimed the land to be our own. So what if there was some sort of beef between France and Haiti? So what if a few people were so desperate they began to worship the devil? That doesn’t mean that an entire nation signed a pact with the devil. That is nonsense. Grow up Robertson, or go write the next Harry Potter series if you want to make something up. Don’t make up stories in a context that will seriously hurt others and hold them back from getting aid.
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Pat Robertson is clearly out of his mind. How could anyone possibly legitimize a devastating national disaster by calling it the result of a ‘pact with the devil’?? Even if he does not whole heartedly believe in this ‘theory’ of his, it’s sickening that he would even have the nerve to say something so delusional in the wake of tragedy. He must not have any morals or any regard to the effect of his words. People may not take his disgusting comment seriously, but the message it gives is definitely heard by people around the world. This saddens me because it takes attention and focus away from what is really going on. There shouldn’t be conversation about how ridiculous it is that Robertson is suggesting Haiti had a pact with the devil, there should be proactive conversation about how people can continue to help the relief efforts, and if there is an inability to provide aid either financially or materially, then spend your time praying for the people of Haiti, please. It’s disgusting that Robertson had the nerve to divert attention from the heart of the problem with some ridiculous comment. The people of our modern society are attached to the media, but not wrongly so. It is our source for information and debate; something that keeps our society moving. So I don’t blame people for tuning into his message and debating it’s faulty foundation, I blame Robertson for using his spotlight in the media so immaturely as taking away from the people of Haiti who desperately need attention in our media to get all the help the can, not skepticism about a pact made with the devil forever ago. While there are ongoing debates about this comment of Robertson’s, there are children in Haiti sitting helplessly without parents, nursing their broken limbs with the bare minimum of supplies, and not knowing what direction their lives will go in next, if they live to see it. There are countless stories of shattered businesses, families, and communities, and unfortunately there are also apparently stories that belong in fiction stories surrounding the people of Haiti. Every nation has had horrible happenings in their past. Take the U.S. for instance, we killed off the Native Americans and claimed the land to be our own. So what if there was some sort of beef between France and Haiti? So what if a few people were so desperate they began to worship the devil? That doesn’t mean that an entire nation signed a pact with the devil. That is nonsense. Grow up Robertson, or go write the next Harry Potter series if you want to make something up. Don’t make up stories in a context that will seriously hurt others and hold them back from getting aid.
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Robertson is actually making a claim that the people of Haiti brought this devastation upon themselves. I’m not sure what purpose Robertson believes he is serving by making these types of comments when all people need right now is help and hope. How can someone that claims to be in touch with a higher power, and that preaches from the Bible, really make these claims? Maybe this man actually believes what he said about a pact with the devil. But shouldn’t a “leader” know when people need to hear compassion instead of blame? It seems like this man is less in touch with G-d, and more focused on making controversial comments on television. There were millions of other things this man could have said relating to faith and G-d, but he chose something that would cause hurt and anger.
Also, I think that it is very easy to make such ignorant comments because so many of us are so far removed from the pain and loss that people are truly suffering in Haiti. Some people see Haiti as an entire country experiencing this situation- we hear numbers and statistics. But in each of those numbers there are real people, each one experiencing different types of pain and loss. If this man actually knows a mother in Haiti that is missing a child, or a family that is going to sleep hungry- do you really think he could look them in the eye and say “You did this to yourselves!” ? Robertson needs to think about what meaning his message would have on a personal level to people in Haiti.
The sad part is that this man is actually on television. And he has an audience that most likely includes plenty of people ignorant enough to believe him. When people like him make statements that have no basis or truth behind them, there are always people who will buy into it- especially when it involves placing blame on a group of people. We’ve seen this happen over and over again throughout history.
Obviously Robertson’s comments need to be discussed. However, it almost makes me feel worse that people are taking the time to respond to him. Responses to this man show that he is in some position of power over other people- where people care what he has to say. So really, he deserves no response because what he says holds no meaning.
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Anyone who has the nerve to say something like that does not deserve the shirt on his back. Let alone a massive audience. But as far as the media's concerned, the man did exactly what they wanted him to. And that is to strike up a scuffle with the viewers in order increase the number of viewers. "Lets piss everybody off so that our network will be talked about on every other news channel for awhile" kind of mentality. Its ridiculous, i know. But this is more of an issue with all the different media sources or at least those not aiming to strictly entertain— i can't hate on the comedy central guys, they're hilarious. The media's got the deal with devil, who are they kidding? The media's got evil blood in every seat. Yet we continue to watch and let them get under our skin. Why give them the time-of-day at all, you know? I can get the facts from the headlines in the newspapers and the rest I can pretty much figure out for myself. Some old dude on a shitty TV show has nothing worth while to say that I care to hear. But, now that I have a chance to tear this phony a new one, I'm in there like swim wear. Nothing makes me angrier than a person who thinks themselves to be "holy" when everything they say and really everything about them points to the opposite. If you're going to call yourself a Christian you better freaking act like one. In my mind, only the greatest of Man is worthy to preach their beliefs to others. And lets be honest, the average guy on TV is probably not living their lives as say, I don't know, Jesus would have. As Ghandi would have. So they shouldn't even be allowed to talk. Put someone on there in street clothes with something real to say and I will watch for hours. Put Sam Richards on there and I'll watch. Or John Bardi from Mont Alto. These guys talk to you not at you. And they're speaking the truth. It's refreshing. I wish the phonies of the world would take a day off every now and then, for the sanity of the general population. Quit running your mouth about nothing and do something for the people of the world screaming at the top of their lungs for help. Not going to happen though is it? These fat old white men will get in their expensive cars, go home to their expensive houses, and do I don't know what, sit around and eat probably. It might be possible if there's a national boycott but that's a pipe-dream. It's way too ingrained now. Given the chance, I'd have two words to say to that guy, or any other media-man….. shut up.
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My biggest thing with dealing with what Pat Robertson said of the natural disaster that struck Haiti is that I know he is not the only one to believe this. No matter what one person believes you can find someone with the same beliefs. It scares me that I walk among people who believe that the Haitians deserved the earthquake. No one deserves that kind of disaster, independent of what you personally have done. Even if I do not understand why he would make such a calloused remark, he obviously has some reason. I think it is important to learn of the basis of his comment. While I was thinking of how I was going to respond to Sam's blog, I talked with one of my friends. He shared with me that he read that apparently back in the day the Haitian rulers did make a pact to be free from the French. Who said it was with the devil? Pat Robertson? …Because he is clearly the authority on the matter? Not. I think it is far from the truth that God was punishing the Haitians for what their ancestors may have done. That's ridiculous. Maybe, the earthquake happened because of the fault line underground and it was only a matter of time before something catastrophic was bound to happen. Natural disasters happen all the time and everywhere; this earthquake was only especially devastating because it hit a people while they were already down.
The only thing we can do is to do whatever we can. Giving of yourself to others is what living is all about. Maybe you do not have money to give, but do you have a way with words (for instance)? Write to everyone (including legislators and people who hold public office) even if you don't get a direct response, someone is listening and when they hear from multiple Americans of what we want done, someone with power will act. If you do have money, give it. Who is it helping while it sits there or feeds your frivolous desires? THESE PEOPLE HAVE NOTHING ANYMORE. I can guarantee you will not be a happy person unless you are able to let go of material possessions that you have.
Overall, we may not accept what Robertson says, but his views are a way we know we are doing something right by disagreeing with him. Maybe Robertson just did not want to feel obligated to give to Haiti, so he brought up old and irrelevant "facts" to justify himself. I was happy that a blanket wasn't placed over all Christians to say that we all agree with him. I definitely do not support much of what this man has to say. Anyone who says things like that has to be extremely sad on the inside.
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I agree with you on this comparison. When I was writing my blog I was looking for comparisons like wondering why he didn't comment about our country making a pact with the devil to win the revolutionary war and that is the reason for Katrina. How does he know what went on during that war was he around? Did he witness this pact? I liked your comparison to Obama's preacher who was crucified by the news for his comments, so why is this preacher getting a free pass. He made a terrible comment on the news and should be getting his due pay of criticism and what I think would be fair. I also feel he should be fired from the news because of his irresponsible reporting.
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Oh, wow… I have been pretty out of the loop on the recent news but this seems serious. I have always been changing channels as soon as I see 700 Club is on. I honestly never listened to any of the preaching done by Pat Robertson, so I cannot judge him or his shows. However, given his quotes to Haiti disaster, I do think that he is wacky. I do not care if he is a true believer in Heaven, Hell, Devil or Angels he should not have the right to voice his strong opinions on a national television, especially when it involves the feelings of so many of us that have been influenced by the tremendous loss in Haiti. I always hated when politicians as well as the hosts of night shows argued issues without proper facts to back up their words, nor do they ever give two sides to a story. That said, Olbermann although right in the sense, had no right to bash Robertson that critically. However, it all comes down to publicity and media. Media’s number one goal is to get as many viewers as possible. Unfortunately, by creating tension/argument among individuals the viewing rates for specific channels are sky rocking.
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UkieKru Reply:
January 22nd, 2010 at 11:24 pm
If the people do actually care about Haiti, they should just turn off their televisions and instead try to find organizations or maybe even friends in Haiti through whom they should send in donations to assist with the catastrophe. Here is an example of a website with a list of charitable organizations active in the nation: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34835478/ns/world_new...
Moreover, us arguing which person on TV is right or wrong is not going to help Haiti in any form or shape. However, if the people actually stopped watching those shows, the ratings of those channels would go down and the directors of those shows would be forced to move on to a different topic.
I believe that what happened in Haiti is no one’s fault. Not for a minute do I believe that history, people, God or any spirits were involved in this horrendous disaster- only the nature is to blame. Although, even that statement is too controversial; given the facts that human beings did influenced the nature to some degree.
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UkieKru Reply:
January 22nd, 2010 at 11:25 pm
My point is read the news and become familiar with current facts and not opinions.
The Haiti facts that people should know are:
• Population of nearly 10 million people.
• Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
• 80% of the population in Haiti is living under the poverty line.
• Most Haitians live on less than $2 a day.
• USGS: USGS called it the strongest earthquake since 1770 in what is now Haiti
• The quake struck on January 12, 2010 at 4:53 p.m.
• The 7.0 magnitude quake's epicenter hit just 10 miles west of Porte-au-Prince and its 2 million inhabitants
• 3 million people in need of emergency aid after major earthquake
• The major quake sent 33 aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 4.2 to 5.9
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,582940,00.htm...
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I was outraged to hear about Pat Robertson’s comments in regard to the earthquake in Haiti. It is unfathomable to me to think that somebody could be so closed minded and set in his beliefs. The amount of dead is outstanding and countless people lost their children, parents, brothers, sisters and friends in this unspeakable tragedy. To think that Robertson can’t even find a morsel of sympathy in his heart disgusts me. How could anybody suggest that this NATURAL DISASTER was brought on by the people of Haiti?
I’m pleased to know that most Christians don’t follow the same thought process as Pat Robertson. In fact, I’m sure the majority of Christians have offered aid to the people of Haiti in a number of ways, either by donating their money or their time. After all, I’m sure most Christians would find that to be the “Christian” thing to do.
It is my understanding that shows like the 700 club exist for the sole purpose of spreading God’s word. I don’t believe that’s what Robertson did here. His unsubstantiated beliefs are not in line with any of the bible’s teachings or the teachings of the Christian religion. It’s scary to think that people like Robertson can take a piece of literature and manipulate its words to make it fit their own beliefs. If you ask me, Robertson decided on his own that the Haitians were being punished “for making a pact with the devil” and decided to go on air to spout his own conclusions as if they were the word of God.
I don’t necessarily agree with Sam that Robertson is mentally ill. Rather, I just think he is a scary religious zealot, who is uncaring, unfeeling, and heartless, as John Stewart suggested. I don’t think you have to be mentally insane to make the comments Robertson made. I do, however, think you need to be an idiot. I actually take issue with Sam’s remark that Robertson must be mentally ill. I agree there are definitely a few screws loose upstairs, but to say he is mentally ill gives him too much credit. I don’t even want to say I think he’s brainwashed. I truly believe he is just some heartless jerk who goes on pointless diatribes about complete and utter nonsense. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made the comment purely for shock value. Stewart was dead-on in his commentary, and I think I would even go so far as to agree with Olbermann that Robertson is worth less than every single one of those people who suffered the heartache of that earthquake. I only hope that somewhere down the road, Robertson can understand how wrong he was with his comments and show even the slightest remorse for making them.
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Listening to the comments by Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson simply amazed me. Limbaugh has always been a “shock jock” radio DJ, but he clearly doesn’t know when to shut his mouth. Instead of wasting his breath on public radio, he should have made a phone call to help with relief efforts. Look at the dozens of celebrities who will hold a live television event on VH1 this week to help raise money for the relief efforts in Haiti. They will actually use their fame to help resolve this tragedy that has struck Haiti.
This brings me to my next point however. I hope that those who donate money to Haiti relief funds don’t overlook the situation and assume that $10 here or even $1,000 there will help. People need to realize that it will take years or maybe even decades for Haiti to return to its previous state, a dilapidated one at that. The infrastructure of Haiti was, and will always remain, far worse than that of the United States.
But look at New Orleans. That once great city is just now returning to what it once was but it still has years of recovery ahead. Many people in this country, myself included, gave money to help the efforts and soon turned their backs to the catastrophe assuming that everything was back to normal or close enough. But, in actuality, I have heard numerous stories since then that the bayou has still not recovered and the money sent did little to nothing to help the recovery.
I hope history does not repeat itself in this way again. I believe that anyone who can help in anyway besides throwing money at the situation (a very American thing to do) should do just that. Don’t get me wrong, I am sure every penny helps the relief effort. However, no currency can replace the value of volunteers willing to provide a helping hand.
I believe everyone needs to sit back and view the situation on a humanitarian level and try to find something they can do to help. If it is only donating money, that is fine but we should never pass an opportunity to help in the future.
We should all use this situation to realize how lucky we are to be dealing with a bad economy, rather than not having food and shelter, the basic needs of life.
As Sam said, Pat Robertson is simply insane. Limbaugh needs to put his own agendas and money making comments to the side for once for the betterment of humanity. Hopefully, the overwhelming support of Haiti can overcome the unbelievably pathetic comments those two men made. I have confidence that recovery efforts will succeed, but the loss of life can never be replaced.
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It just seems foolish and selfish to talk about such relatively meaningless things after such a traumatic event. Thousands of people were killed by this earthquake and countless more affected by it, and some people on the news ran with it in the wrong direction. While I’d like to see what others had to say immediately after the quake, there is no excuse for such horrible misjudgment on the part of those on the news.
It’s times like these that the news should be focused on all of the good things happening there. It is necessary to tell the people around the world of the devastation, but why not talk more about the relief efforts and the money being donated from all over the country and the world. There are countless sad stories to be told, and some should absolutely be told, but there are few stories of survivors which would blow people away. Why not tell those stories as well? I know we can’t focus on the good and pretend the bad didn’t happen, but these stories should be told as well.
I’ve always loved watching Jon Stewart because he calls out everyone on the news when they say “stupid” things, and he doesn’t hold anything back. He is absolutely right when he says that it is just the wrong time for this kind of discussion. Whether or not what they are saying is true it is just not the time to talk about it. It makes me sick to think there are people in the world that in the midst of such tragedy can see an opportunity to advance themselves or attack their opponents. To say this plays into Obama’s hands is one of the worst things I have ever heard. It is narrow-minded and heartless, and I hope the rest of the world is more sympathetic than to think about such meaningless things.
It is an interesting warning you give about not having others around you who think differently to challenge your thoughts, and that having only those who think the same way as you. It would seem that a group of people would be smarter than one individual person, but this oddly is not the case. For some reason people in groups seem to make more bad decisions than a person would make by themselves.
I truly hope there are no more comments about Haiti like this going around the news right now and that these are only a few radical individuals. It is a time for compassion and the media should know better than to be so cold. I hope they were punished in some way for such outrageous comments, whether it be through poor ratings or an immediate fine, and that this is an example to others broadcasters moving forward of how not to respond to such a situation.
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I am glad to hear that Olbermann responded to Robertson the way he did. Robertson’s view on the Haiti disaster is completely preposterous and I do not see how this idiot, as Sam put it, has his own show on TV. I believe that Robertson is more than an idiot as was mentioned by Sam and I feel that Olbermann got it right when he made references to Robertson as being heartless, and the like. I believe that you should be allowed to make references to current events with spiritual events. But to take it as far as to compare a disaster such as this as being one that was brought upon them is completely insensitive to human life. I do not even believe that this Robertson person even has a thought process because if he did than he would understand that this is a disaster and not something that he should be comparing with devil worship, communism, and racial gains. Sam says it right when he said that this man is an idiot. How is it that Robertson says that Obama is worried about Haitians because he wants to appeal to blacks of all different shades? If this Robertson guy was not such a dick; he would be able to see that we have a president that is very hands on to a real life world tragedy.
Another sad part is that this Robertson probably has a shit ton of money that he could donate to a good cause such as the Haiti Relief Funds, or the Red Cross. I can tell from the way he speaks of the situation that he probably will not donate a penny. But then there are people in our country who lived on very fixed incomes; who are just trying to make monthly payments; who are donating money because everyone can see that this is not the result of a deal with the devil. The earthquake was a terrible event that happened naturally. I think that this guy needs to crawl into a hole and make his own deal with the devil to die, because in my mind someone who is that unsympathetic deserves to be lying underneath the rubble of a building in Haiti, and not the poor souls who unfortunately were the target of his idiotic, selfish, and unsympathetic speech. I am not sure if I am responding to this assignment in the right way or not, but I feel that that man is a complete and heartless idiot. I hope he still does not have a show on TV after those comments he made. And I do not see what faith he can believe in because I do not know of any faiths that teach people to be unsympathetic to tragedy and make irrational comments such as the connections he made to communism and Obama’s part in the entire ordeal.
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It’s really unfortunate that we as Americans, look up to somebody like Robertson for words of wisdom. And I say WE because although we are seen as an individualistic culture, we still have parts of collectivism in us. Robertson has proven time and time again that he needs to be removed from the public eye (anyone remember him calling for the assassination of Hugo Chavez?). This latest comment just keeps adding on to his worthlessness to Americans. I’m so confused as to why people continue to turn into his antics. Maybe it’s because he is so far out there that people just need a good laugh? Whatever the case may be, Robertson needs to realize how detrimental he is to all of us.
I just can’t understand how he can even say that what happened in Haiti was due to a “pact with the devil.” Was Robertson there? Seriously, where does this guy gets his information from?! If what happened to Haiti was because of a pact, then what happened to the people affected by Hurricane Katrina? World Trade Center? Or the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami? I’m sure back when Haiti was making their deal, all these people were next in line trying to get a good deal with devil.
I truly believe if we needed a mascot for ethnocentrism, Robertson would be our #1 draft pick! He is so quick to criticize another country’s turmoil but when it comes to our own, he blames pagans, abortionists, gays and lesbians for the reason why our country has so many problems. Our real problem is letting somebody like him continue to infect us with his inane comments.
I don’t believe that he is a voice of the mentally ill, I’m pretty sure I would believe their stories about Armageddon coming soon over ANYTHING Robertson has to say. Robertson cannot be compared to them, because he is in a category all by himself and I think he likes it that way. Yes, we’ve had people with their own radical views, but they are not on T.V. accessible to millions of people.
I tend to avoid the politically-based shows simply because I don’t think I could handle somebody’s beliefs that are so far from my own. That is not to say that I am close-minded, but when you have somebody like Robertson out there, I think it’s safe to say that there are some channels/shows not worth watching. In this case, and this case alone, I would probably say, “Ignorance is bliss.”
I truly hope that before Robertson meets his maker, that somebody can knock some sense into him. If he wasn’t so far into his own extreme beliefs, then he might actually be worthy of listening to, but since that’s clearly not the case, somebody…ANYBODY needs to get through to him before he goes. It might be too late, but a girl can dream, right?
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I truly believe that Pat Robertson is a Christian extremist and should not be allowed to represent all of Christianity on television. Much like we classify many terrorist groups as Muslim extremists, whether true or not, Robertson has taken his extreme views too far with these recent comments. As a Christian it is easy to try and look for God in any hard situation, however, as a religious person Robertson should be looking for some type of good coming out of the situation in Haiti, such as the good will of men and people banding together for a singular purpose. However, he is instead using his extreme religious views in order to blame the innocent peoples of Haiti for a natural disaster. By doing this Robertson is giving people who are also extreme or not as quick to recognize the craziness of his comments an excuse to not donate or help out because they are tricked into thinking that it is Haiti's own fault. It is unfortunate that Pat Robertson and other insensitive members of the media are able to use their ability to be seen all over the world to represent American's in such a poor manner. The media of today is so bias and ridiculous that it is hard to even watch the news. I agree with John Stewart when he says that the news should be simply reporting what is going in Haiti and instead they use that situation to discuss how these people's suffering will somehow benefit Obama and other types of political conspiracy. It is a shame that the media feels the need to turn a nation's hardship into someone else's reward, when it is clear that all most American's really care about is what is actually happening and how to help out. As far as Olbermann's comments go I feel they were a little harsh to be said on television, however, his reaction is justified and I’m sure many people were thinking pretty much the same things. I think that more television time should be spent on giving people information on how they can help in the relief effort and less time on bickering between what is right and wrong. Using God or the Devil to blame this event on is simply irresponsible and wrong, as well as reporting political propaganda and how this terrible disaster could potential benefit anyone. Overall, the situation in Haiti is one of the worst of our time along with hurricane Katrina and 9/11, and the most important this for us as fortunate American's to do is block out the media bias and focus on giving relief to the struggling citizens of Haiti. We need to realize how lucky we really are and give what we can to those who never will have the chance to be as wealthy as all of us.
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Wow. Statements like the ones made by both Robertson and Limbaugh never fail to blow me away. Both of these individuals are well known for their ridiculous comments and opinions, and yet people still tune in to listen to their overwhelming ignorance. Limbaugh especially intrigues me, because, like sam pointed out, Robertson at least has the excuse of being a 79 year old man who seems to be losing his mental capacities. Limbaugh on the other hand has no such excuse, and his comments must simply stand on their own. Lets keep in mind also that its not like his comments were somehow taken out of context as so often is the case when dealing with the media and elected officials. On the contrary Limbaugh seemed addament that Obama is secretly doing flips somewhere in the white house because of the opportunity for him to be looked at as some great humanitarian. Now I’m sure nothing keeps Rush Limbaugh up at night more than knowing that America elected a black man into the white house, but it surprises me that he is somehow still allowed to say this kind of ridiculously racist dribble and remain on the air. Lets not forget, Don Imus received so much scrutiny for reffering to some black female basketball players as “nappy headed hoes”. Not that I’m condoning Imus’ comments, but certainly reffering to someone as a nappy headed hoe is less sinister than thinking that the president of our country is cherishing the day that a devastating earthquake hit a neighboring country whos inhabitants happened to be the same color as Obama. Its all just too good to be true for Mr. Obama I guess. I’m sure he can’t wait for the day now when a massive asteroid hits Toronto so that he can be liked by the white community too. I’m sorry the light and dark skinned white community, whatever the hell that means.
I’m not sure if I can fully dismiss Pat Robertson’s comments though, even if he is getting up there in age(we do have a pretty well known 83 year old football coach who isn’t making any excuses about his age after all). If it truly is the case that Robertson is losing his grip on reality, than shouldn’t one of the shows producers try to step in and maybe try to eleviate some of Robertson’s work load, so that if he does still have something intelligent to say he can do so without sandwiching such comments between fanciful tales of devil worship and secret collective agreements between the 10 million people of Haiti and the devil. I think John Stewart put it pretty well when he discussed Robertson’s failure to try to deliver some kind of comfort to these people in such troubled times. I think someone at CBN should remind Pat that Jesus is the champion of the poor and dispossed and for Pat to shut the hell up.
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What's most sad about this story is that there are tons of people across the U.S that actually feed into this and believe it wholeheartedly. This Sunday in church there are probably lesser known evangelical preachers in the Deep South and elsewhere who don't have the platform Robertson does, but are still preaching similar things. A pact with the devil? That's about as far fetched as saying that Pat Robertson is not a nut case. I personally am not offended by his comments or even outraged, because I just think he's completely off his rocker and what he says holds no value. So, even though what Olbermann said was pretty funny, Robertson isn't even worth a response. It's not like it will make a difference anyway. I also wanted to touch on the comment about seeing the world in 'black and white'. A view like that in itself can hold major consequences regarding ones perception of reality, but it can become even worse if a person becomes entrenched in these ideas without being challenged. By arguing or debating about ideology, we can not only perhaps see some flaws in what we believe, but also our eyes can be opened up to new thoughts and ideas that we may not have ever taken into consideration. By having comedians like John Stewart rag on Robertson (though I do think Stewart is brilliant), perhaps more important religious figures should be coming out and shooting down his comments, in an effort to propel such a horrific tragedy away from a discussion on religion. In the end this disaster was simply an act of nature, one that has completely debilitated an enitre nation. Interestingly enough, I was in the Dominican Republic about a week before the earthquake. As a neighboring country, I saw first hand that they are not very prosperous themselves. What if the Dominicans were struck by this earthquake instead of the Haitians? Would Robertson have another story about devil worship for those people? In the end, we all should be turned off by his comments, but to be outraged and disgusted I think is giving him too much credit. He's just another crazy old guy, who happens to be on TV.
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I believe Pat Robertson when he says Haiti made a pact with the devil. I also believe pigs can fly, Barry Bonds didn’t knowingly take steroids and that Bill Clinton really did not have sexual relations with that woman.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I believe I’m about to be sick.
Just to be clear, I don’t believe a thing I’ve heard Robertson say about Haiti and the devil – and I’m an evangelical Christian too, by the way – but I think I have a reasonable explanation as to why he said what he did. Sam says this demonstrates Robertson is mentally ill, which isn’t out of the question, but I would argue that the God of television shouldn’t be left out of the equation: ratings.
I find it hard to believe that Robertson could say what he did and legitimately believe it. Maybe he did, and I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. If that’s true, I guess that’s the beauty of living in America with the ability to freely express ourselves. But after hearing Robertson’s comments, I really started to wonder: does he actually believe this, or is this just something done for publicity?
I look at it this way: I’m not big into politics, but I think I have a decent grasp on the major issues and people in political America. Before I heard Robertson’s comments about Haiti, I couldn’t have told you who the guy was. But I know now. I even searched his name on the Internet and browsed his personal Web site to learn more about him. Based on his comments, I can’t say I have a favorable view of him, granted I don’t really know much more about him, but now, at least he exists to me. Not favorably, but he does exist. And when it comes right down to it, isn’t that the bottom line? They say the only bad publicity is no publicity.
Think about it though. Likeability aside, after those comments, he could have only become more well-known. I don’t know what his television ratings were like prior to his comments, but something like this sparks interest. Sure, he probably lost viewers after saying what he did, but he probably gained viewers, too. If I came across his show while flipping through channels, I wouldn’t have stopped before, but I would now, just for the possibility that he might say something else outrageous, if nothing else. He’s controversial, and America seems to like controversy.
Why are ratings for Bill O’Reilly and Keith Olbermann so high? Controversy, at least in part. Why do Americans like sports talk radio and television shows like ESPN’s Around the Horn, on which sports columnists yell their opinions at each other?
As a senior journalism major who has studied media, I can vouch for the importance of ratings in television. High ratings mean viewers, and viewers mean more money. So I don’t think the idea that Robertson needed to boost his ratings should be ruled out quite yet.
Either that, or Sam’s not the only one who can talk to God.
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Everyone has plenty to say about Robertson, and they very well should. However, what about Mr. Limbaugh? While Robertson may be able to plead insanity, what’s Rush’s excuse? For someone to actually use such events to their advantage, and to try and make a point using them is disgusting (a word that always seems to come up when Limbaugh does). To make the claim that the Obama administration is actually looking at the process of aiding Haiti as an opportunity to connect with the “dark skinned” and “light skinned” black communities (don’t even get me started) is very obviously a fabrication. The scariest part about Limbaugh is that a lot of people actually listen to Rush. That’s not to say Robertson does not have legitimate followers, but I believe it is within reason to assume that Rush Limbaugh has a larger and more serious following than the crazy preacher. Yet I think Limbaugh is in the same situation that Sam describes for Robertson, making him that much more dangerous. Limbaugh’s views are sometimes so extreme that it sometimes borders comedy, and as Sam pointed out, I’m sure he surrounds himself with people that think just like he does. The combination of the volume of followers Limbaugh has and his blatant unchecked extremism makes Limbaugh much more than a joke.
In regards to Sam’s comments on just why it is that we watch people like Robertson, I am in full agreement. It really is the same principle that reality TV operates under. Think of the Real World or more recently Jersey Shore for a moment. These are people with issues, whether they are real issues or MTV’s creations has little to do with what we actually view. Yet we watch and laugh at these issues, almost as if to say, “thank god that isn’t me”. I’m guilty of watching these shows and occasionally enjoying them, similar I’d imagine, to almost everyone else. When Rush Limbaugh comes on I sometimes leave it so that I can spend my time yelling at a man that can’t hear me.
However, with all of the anger I have towards these two gentlemen, I honestly don’t think to highly of Olbermann either. He’s just as bad as Rush Limbaugh sometimes, and I think he does just as much harm to the political state of our country. We don’t need so much extremism in this country; it never seems to do us any good. Even with his comments on this issue, Olbermann just adds fuel to the fire. If we wish these remarks to stop, then we should just stop watching them (hard as that may be), instead of giving them the media attention that crave so much.
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I thought this was really interesting. I can't stand shows or people like Pat Robinson who shove their insane beliefs and theories on people. One of my biggest pet peeves is people who force their personal opinion about topics onto other people. I don't care if its an argument about abortion or that my favorite lunch meat should be bologna, I have my opinions for a reason and they are not likely to change if you are forcing your ideas on me.
On the note of protest, I am actually fine with it, as long as it is done in a manner that allows the other individuals to form their own opinions. Take a few months back when a group of anti-abortion protectors stood outside of the forum in the University Park campus of Penn State, I was furious. I was not angry with the fact their they were out there voicing their opinions, but the way they did it was borderline moronic. I still can't believe that they had photos of unborn fetus' and compared abortion to that of genocide. In fact, it reminded me of something a certain "preacher" might talk about on his show, Pat Robinson.
That sort of extreme view on life kills me. Do you really believe you are going to change people's opinions with your crazy ideas Mr. Robinson?
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I would like to use this blog post to talk about how ridiculous I think the apparent conspiracy that Pat Robertson, likely with others, came up with. Seriously? A deal with the devil? I mean, come on. I’m a Christian, and I believe in God and, and perhaps the devil too, as according to The Bible, he exists as well. What really bothers me initially is how serious Pat Robertson is when he is trying to explain this deal. He says, “It’s a true story” as if anyone would believe that.
Honestly, I think ideas such as Haiti’s pact with the devil come from the liberal minds of people who will buy pretty much anything that other people are selling. 911 was a conspiracy? Sure, let’s believe that because there are a group of extreme irrationalists who claim that they have all of this proof that the United States government would destroy their own buildings and kill their own people. On the same note, one piece of evidence that the 911 conspirators rely on that I know of is the folding of dollar bills. Apparently, since you can fold up dollar bills in such a way that it kind of looks like the two world trade centers burning to the ground means something. I think it’s ridiculous, and it reminds me of the movie 23, with Nick Cage. It makes no logical sense that since you can construe things in any way you want to, you can give meanings to the mixed up combinations of meaningless things. In that movie, Nick Cage (and I’m recalling from memory here) takes the number of his house, multiplies it by the last digit of his phone number, adds the number of kids he has, and suddenly, the fact that it adds up to 23 is a huge deal, and some kind of death omen.
Personally, I think most conspiracy theories are ridiculous. For some reason, people just don’t accept was has clearly happened in front of them, so they go searching for clues that don’t exist, and when they don’t find any, they make obscure things up.
On another note, after listening to Keith Olbermann’s video, I was shocked. First of all, I don’t think he had to be such a dick to both Limbaugh and Robertson. Sure, they had horrible opinions and stories, but comparing their lives to those of Haitians still stuck in the rubble doesn’t seem right to me. Olbermann’s angry rant reminded me, and probably other people, of the comment made by the judge of the academic decathalon in the movie Billy Madison, where he stated that everyone in the audience was now dumber after hearing what Billy Madison had to say. Sometimes people are just a little too harsh in my opinion. Thank God I’m now at 470 words.
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I loved what Olberman had to say. I feel exactly as Dr. Sam does in the fact that Olberman expressed exactly what I would love to say to a person like Pat Robinson. How can that guy call him self a preacher or even a religious person when he is basically saying that this horrific and terrifying tragedy was caused by Haiti itself. Really Robinson? Really? I'm sure the first thing they said while pulling the rubble off one another and trying to survive was "Crap we shouldn't have made that deal with devil for freedom!" I mean is that really his rationale in explaining things. I'm sure this guy would tell a kid who has cancer that they asked for it. I really think this guy is a moron and I am so glad that Olberman ripped him a new one the way he did!
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Growing up, I never believed in the Devil. I never really had a good reason not to, I just never have even though I believe in a God. Perhaps I owe it to my mother’s Catholic religion and my father’s atheist views. In any case, I’ve never believed in the red man with a firey pitchfork. So for me to hear someone say that the Devil caused those devastating earthquakes in Haiti, I simply can’t believe it. Then again, I can hardly stand even the thought of watching the 700 Club for a fraction of a second. Anyways, the fact that no one is really throwing a fit about Robertson’s comments is indeed disturbing. On the other hand, this, to me, this may signify something different: nobody really considers him to have any actual standing with things here in the real word. I personally don’t know anyone who does, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t people out there who do. Either way, I don’t really see people considering him as an influential figure in the media… perhaps a more a punch line for jokes. To me, this is a good thing because Robertson’s black and white ideas of good and evil are disturbing, and seeing that people don’t respect comments indicates to me that there are more people who understand that everything has shades of grey between the good and bad. A man steals from the street market to feed his pregnant wife and young children. An unlawful act committed with good intentions: definitely a matter resting in that grey area.
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I believe that the comment by Pat Roberston is ridiculous. How could a Christian say that people suffered a tragedy so horrific because of something they did. “Pact to the devil”? Someone that hosts their own television show that is watched by a thousands of people can actually believe in something like this. The other thing is how do people follow his program while he states such unbelievable things. He has no fact in his statement along with absolutely no truth. If he was put in front of a judge and had to prove what he believes, he would have no idea where to start. No one has the right to blame a country of people that just suffered something like this. It makes no sense to say something this stubborn. I agree with Sam that Pat Robertson sounds mentally ill.
Pat Robertson really needs to think about what he said and apologize to the people of Haiti. I really feel sorry for someone with his beliefs. They need to understand what a natural disaster means and how no one could have ever prevented it. Does that mean he believes all things that happens in nature is to punish the people affected by it? Like the devil makes pacts with people for favors and souls or something. I went through years of religious education and I have never heard anything like this before. I will be honest though, I do not watch CNN everyday and I know I probably should.
So many things happen in the world everyday and we should have a voice about it. Letting people say crazy things like “pact with the devil” does not make any sense and only hurts the people more after losing everything they had in a natural disaster. I wonder if Pat ever thought that with all the money he makes on television that he could really help out the suffering people in Haiti. I also would like to know how his audience can still watch him after he says such a terrible thing about the current situation in Haiti. If we do not challenge Pat on his stance in Haiti, his comment will be overlooked and forgotten. I am very surprised this hasn’t be brought to my attention by anyone I know. This makes me want to watch CNN more than ESPN so I am more informed about the current situations all over the world and not who the Lakers beat last night.
I guess I will leave you all with a final question that has been running through my mind since I started writing this blog. If you had the chance to speak with Pat Robertson, what would you say to him? Would you challenge his statement or let him fill your head with talks of the devil?
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To be honest, the first time I had ever heard about Robertson was in this article. And my first impression was far from good. It blows my mind that someone can be that ignorant about something so cataclysmic. I mean honestly. I was furious when I read about what he said. Even though he is a devout Christian, it does not make any sense that he would turn to such a religious story saying that the devil was the reason the country of Haiti is in such a horrible catastrophe. I understand how many religious people believe that everything happens through a biblical sense. But saying natural disasters are to punish a people of a certain area? Really? That just makes Roberston look like a jerk who does not care about anyone else. Just because he is the host of a tv show does not mean he can be so closed minded and disrespectful to a suffering country. It is confusing where Robertson even got that information? The all-knowing Wikipedia? It is a tragedy that so many people watched him make this statement
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Like most people, I am obviously disgusted by Robertson’s comments. However, what I find truly disgusting is that fact that this is not the first time I have heard a comment like this in my life from an extremely “religious” person. I attended a rather conservative Catholic High School and I will never forget there was one teacher I had in my sophomore year who’s “holier than thou” attitude would give even Pat Robertson a run for his money. Following the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami that occurred in 2004 and devastated the countries in Southeast Asia this teacher had the audacity to remark that she was “unsure what these people had done, but they obviously deserved it” and further that she hoped “they were praying as they died or else they wouldn’t be going to Heaven”. It’s these kinds of people who turn thousands off to the idea of organized religion, and most likely make atheists of many others. They do all harm and no good with their remarks. In my opinion, in times of great world tragedy people should be able to look to religious leaders, teachers, and friends as a source of comfort and hope. And I like to think that for the most part, the religious can provide this. But those who parade around and show off their righteousness are hypocrites against all that they stand for. It’s ludicrous for anyone to claim that they know God’s thoughts and motives behind any of the events that occur in this life and it is shameful for people in positions of power- whether as a teacher or as a preacher who broadcasts to millions- to spread their outrageous ideas to impressionable people. Far be it for anyone to judge others, but when you are preaching to a classroom or a nation of people, the situation is far more extreme. Particularly in the case of Pat Robertson, who broadcasts to millions of people, he has the ability to use his power for good- I’m sure his followers would be more than willing to donate to Haiti relief funds if he set one up or pointed them in the direction of already established programs to donate through. If he had spoken of the tragic earthquake as an event that allowed his followers to show their love for God through showing their love for fellow human beings, this situation could have turned out very differently. Millions of dollars could be raised and hat would go extremely far in helping Haiti right now. But instead, he chooses to belittle the nation of Haiti, spread outrageous lies about them, and make a horrible situation even worse by his harsh and crude attitude. If he simply made the choice to help instead of judge, he could have saved many people. I think that Olbermann was completely justified in making his remarks. Though harsh, someone needs to stand up against evil men like Robertson and challenge the garbage they are spreading through their words. Someone needs to fight back so no one feels justified in making comments such as these in the future.
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As I further my learning here at Penn State, I am forced to question whether I am in the right field or not. My major is broadcast journalism, and it saddens me to see which direction media coverage and journalism is going; down the tubes, in my opinion. For people to even give Robertson the time of day irritates me because his opinion is wacked. There’s no logic behind it and I find it that for someone who believes in God (Christian) those words should not even had came out of his mouth, let alone even think of such a thing. He is quite the opposite of Holy. His disturbing comments towards Haiti aren’t helping the victims of the island, nor is it providing me with useful information, which is ultimately what journalism is supposed to be. The media disappoints me sometimes; Robertson should not have even been given the opportunity to get air time.
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I especially like Sam’s point about living in a black and white world. At this point in my life, as my own beliefs strengthen, so has my two sided vision of the world. I have gotten to the point in my undergrad experience where in nearly every discussion or dialogue I can immediately pick out a person’s ideals. I see most arguments as left or right, with the in between not far from one side.
This is a major problem, especially in the realm of creating change. When a person or a group of people are trying to change a problem it quickly comes down to what side a person is on and how to get them to the “right” side. This is the problem, how can the world ever expect to see real change if we are living in a black and white society with little gray. Basically our entire world is based on sides.
In response to many students negative comments about Robertson and Limbaugh are reinforcing Sam’s point of our two sided society. I agree these claims are insane . . . clearly. Some students have suggested that these obscure comments shouldn’t even be recognized. Again, I think that shows how real our two sided world is. If we continue to make excuses or ignore these types of comments and remain surrounded by people with similar beliefs the sides remain.
Pointing out the idea of power, in the play of these sides is even more important. Throughout history, any change in society, has occurred during differences in the sides of people in power. Or, in the instances of politics, are the sides a good thing, because it exposes people to different viewpoints?
Overall, differences are good, in regards to learning, it would be a boring world if everyone agreed, and seeing and hearing differences in opinions is important, but dividing the world is dangerous. Going beyond sides and reaching towards more of an understanding of differences is important.
Learning about the history of our differences is even more important than the differences alone. To truly understand different points of view, understanding what lead someone to that belief is crucial to ever understanding the difference. If more people were willing to learn more than just others viewpoints, but further the reason or causation for the belief, the world could move towards becoming a more accepting society.
Hypothetically, if Rush or Pat truly have these beliefs, and it isn’t just for the sake of entertainment (which is highly unlikely), maybe we should take a step back and explore what type of life experiences lead them to believe such hateful thoughts. Instead of feeding into this hostile world culture and claiming another argument or saying hateful things about them has anyone considered or tried to understand their thinking?
When our world is constantly shaped by battle like metaphors, and even those claiming to be on the peaceful side are waging arguments, how constructive can one ever expect to be?
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I cannot fathom the idea of any human being listening to and then believing one word that Pat Robertson has to say. Why would any person, let alone an entire nation, make a pact with the devil to escape being ruled by the French to in turn go through one of the worst catastrophes of all time? Wasn’t the high rate of poverty and the enormous amount of heartache enough for Haitians to experience, without there being a magnitude 7.0 earthquake? Obviously not, according to Pat Robertson. Americans should collaborate together as a nation to ban Pat Robertson from broadcasting his bogus through all forms of media. Also, why does Pat Robertson put a number at the bottom of the screen to send money to such “devil believing” people? I heard on another Christian broadcast yesterday “that God did not create death, the devil created death.” I was raised and remain a practicing Catholic so I do not understand the previous idea. If Christ died for our sins, then how was death not created by God? Also, what about the idea of loving thy neighbor as thyself? Do Christians really only love thy neighbor if that neighbor believes in the same God as we do, or if that neighbor does not believe in the devil?
Next, the issue of Rush Limbaugh saying how Obama will be able to connect to the light-skinned and dark-skinned black community through this tragedy. Are we really that self-centered of a nation that all we are getting out of this tragedy is that our President will be able to gain public ratings from the black community? And, are all black people connected to Haiti? No! Many people have gone to Haiti to provide aide to such a poor nation through means of teaching in schools, with no particular discretion to their race, religion or skin color.
What we need to get out of this tragedy is that this nation was experiencing great suffering even before the earthquake hit. The people of Haiti are friends and family members of many in the United States and even without these two titles, they are just people in need in our World. Americans should focus their attention on how these people will need World aide for a long time until they will be able to live even as the poorest Americans live, which would be a pretty elite status in Haiti. The focus in our news reports should be REPORTING THE NEWS ON HAITI and how Haiti is being affected by this earthquake day to day, not how our President is going to please black Americans when he sends aide to Haiti or the beliefs of those in Haiti.
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It is religious people like Robertson who remind me to ask myself why my weary belief in organized religion still slightly exists. Where does he get off making assumptions about Haiti's pact with the devil? Was he there when they signed their contract that doomed their future? For someone who is supposed to be holy and a speaker of the Lord's word he really needs to take a look at some qualities expected of religious people. Accusing innocent people and their ancestors for this disaster is the word of a crazy man. Olbermann's detailed description of Robertson was indeed extremely harsh, but in my opinion on the money. Maybe if Robertson used his brain instead of his religious theory, which has absolutely no proof backing it up, his statements would not have been bashed in the ways they were. Did he ever consider science in his blame for the disasters? Haiti is always subject to natural disasters. It is located in the hurricane track. The tectonics of Haiti are a disadvantage. Poverty leads to poor infrastructure of buildings, hence they are unable to withstand natural disaster. Deforestation of Haiti has also been an issue. Let's face it, Haiti is extremely poor and consequently one of the worst places in the world a natural disaster can hit. As a Christian, you would think maybe Robertson would feel bad for the Haitians because of their poverty. The guy is definitely possessed by religion and he is corrupting the minds of those who take his words for the truth. He has the perfect opportunity to have his "prayers" reach possibly millions of people and encourage their spiritual support with a side of some money, however he turns his loyal followers minds away from the issue. He defers people from helping out and donating by putting garbage about some made up "deal with the devil". You know his followers would call in and donate if he encouraged them to. Congratuations to Robertson, he has made himself more famous by being a mentally ill unsympathetic so-called Christian with a bunch of youtube hits. While people in Haiti are still missing, going hungry, or losing their lives due to lack of medical care, Robertson is blaming them. He should be taken off the air for that comment. If the Haitians can be blamed for an earthquake destroying their country, what is his rationality behind what happened in the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina? Or the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka? Does he have an opinion for every disaster that has ever taken place in the history of the world? Maybe he made a pact with the devil to claim all of the crazy things that come out of his mouth.
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It seems the fact that Pat Robertson is officially off his nut (well, okay, I guess he has been for a while) has been well-covered by the posters before me. I would like, however, to reflect on something Dr. Richards put in his post that I just loved.
A few paragraphs in, he mentions that the most dangerous position a person can be in is one where they are not surrounded by people who think differently and might provide alternative points of view. I agree with this idea completely, and I’m sad that it seems as if our society is becoming less and less interested in listening to the other side, particularly where American news media is concerned.
Instead of trying to hold intelligent debates that reach the core of important issues, modern cable news personalities only seem interested in furthering their own thoughts. Chris Matthews will speak over a guest to get his own thoughts out despite the fact that he gets to spend 40+ minutes, 5x a week saying whatever he wants; Bill O’Reilly’s response to any eloquent guest that disagrees with him is to have his or her microphone cut.
While this might make for good entertainment, the truth is that I don’t think a lot of these figures are as innocuous as some of the people in the comments think (I could be wrong, of course). These pundits routinely do well in the ratings, their books hit best seller lists, they even can often be seen grooming and growing “grass roots” efforts to inspire political change (here’s lookin’ at you, Beck).
Of course, you could easily say in response that these figures probably hold little sway in changing peoples’ minds—let’s face it, if you’re watching O’Reilly or Beck, you probably have a conservative slant; if it’s Matthews, or Olbermann, you’re probably more liberal. And I would agree that this is true. The problem is that what these people do accomplish is to polarize people even further. They do nothing to encourage viewers to even consider alternative positions, and often even go so far as to demonize prominent figures who disagree with them (Just look at how happy Olbermann gets every time he gets the chance to put O’Reilly, Limbaugh, or Beck on his “worst persons in the world” countdown!).
And this kind of thinking tends to cycle downwards. Fairly soon, instead of just trying to associate (“obviously flawed!!”) alternate viewpoints with the people who hold them, they’re making the association in reverse—O’Reilly feels obligated to disagree with everything that comes out of Olbermann’s mouth, and vice versa. We’ve got some of these pundits on record, on tape, saying that they hope our president fails. Awesome. They’ve got their heads stuck so far up their own asses that they would rather see people die, economies fail, and a nation fall to shreds than admit that maybe, just maybe, that guy from the other side of the aisle did an okay job.
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To rpd501, I absolutely agree with what you said regarding the comments made by Robertson and the example related to Don Imus. I don’t know where Robertson gets off spewing so much pure drivel and placing a burden like this on the Haiti people and Haiti as a nation. I feel like Pat Robertson has abused his freedom of speech and I am not surprised by what he has said because he used the same approach towards Hurricane Katrina. I don’t exactly remember but I’m pretty sure he blamed George Bush and at the times a lot of people felt the same way which was completely wrong. Like previously stated Pat has to realize that just because people will listen doesn’t make it okay to spit in the faces of a nation already in desperate need. Me personally wouldn’t wish anything negative but anyone but when someone opens their mouth and shows this kind of ignorance it makes one think twice. I do appreciate what Keith Olberman did but he could’ve done it in a different manner.
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If I was in Keiths spot I would probably have done the same thing knowing that I could get my word out there in a positive sense. Keith has said plenty of controversial things as well but not on the level of this and it was nice to see him take a stand like he did and saying what many Americans felt after what was addressed.
To what Don Imus said, I feel like he completely missed the point because he believed that he hadn’t made a mistake and that he didn’t owe an apology. I feel like Robertson has this same regard that he can do no wrong and he doesn’t owe anyone anything. Even if he does apologize It doesn’t make it alright. And as rpd501 said I wouldn’t let Robertson back on radio until he recognized who he hurt and what needs to be changed so it doesn’t happen again. It worked for Don Imus so it could work for him. The station needs to show some backbone and openly discuss what has been said and they are truly sorry. I would hope they would do this because Robertson represents the network as well. When you deeply think about it,
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This is the first time I have heard about Pat Robertsons comments and I must say I am very disgusted. It takes a lot of nerve for someone to make such an extreme and irrational statement as he did. I’m sure that he has lost a lot of respect after making these comments. Thankfully Keith Olbermann called out Pat Robertson and stuck it to him.
Personally, I am someone who is still struggling to find my faith. I have mixed feeling about many different issues. Hearing someone say that this terrible disaster has anything to do with religion is just horrible. If in fact anyone did make a pact with the devil, I don’t believe that it was all the Hatian citizens. It would probably just be the leaders of their nation. I thought that Jesus forgave people for their sins anyways? It was a ridiculous statement for Pat Robertson to make. Something is obviously wrong with Mr. Robertson if he is going to blame over one hundred thousand deaths on a religious mistake.
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I am truly disgraced to be put in the same group as Robertson because I am a Christian as well and disgraced that a fellow person in this country actually thinks and says these things. I tried putting myself in the shoes of Haitians or anyone that has lost friends or family in this disaster and I couldn’t imagine what would be going through the heads of someone who was personally affected by these unfortunate events.
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