Haitians need our respect and rapid aid, not our guns and racist fear.

Let me be blunt. The militarized response of the US and UN to the disaster in Haiti is racist.  People who need food, water, shelter, and medical care are being treated as a security threat.  If you are seeing media coverage that emphasizes security, crime, and “looting” step back and think about it.  Remember Katrina.  It is not a crime to take what you need to survive under such circumstances.  What have Americans accomplished in electing an African American president if this kind of systemic racism continues unchallenged?

I’m disturbed by the silence.  Write your senators and rep’s.  Write your news outlets.  Write the president.  If you aren't an American think of somebody to write. We need to make noise, folks, the lives of millions of people are at stake.

Security for Haitians is a legitimate concern, but the US and UN should support the community organizing that is already addressing that issue.  If we don’t get proper and humane aid to people, there will be a rise in violence.  We are worse than fools if we think anything different would happen in our own home places under similar circumstances.

For on the ground, humane coverage see http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2010/1/19.