Monday, January 18, 2010

Help Haiti

Funny thing about learning the skills to survive, you gain an new respect for the things that you take advantage of every day. We need health, shelter, water, food and above all of that we need the will to live. If you live in a developed nation it's easy to forget that, because most of the time we don't even think about how fortunate we are.

Then one day something terrible happens and it robs thousands of people of the basic requirements to live.

I've never donated to a disaster before, partially because I was student who had his budget stretched...but also because I never really understood what it would be like to not have access to clean water, food or shelter.

That being said, I'm not longer a broke student and I can afford to spare some extra money to help. I urge as many people who can to do the same...because where would you turn if your home was destroyed, your water tainted and undrinkable and your family was hungry?


https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/donate.aspx?EventID=43149&LangPref=en-CA


(Note: The Canadian Government is matching the donations of people like you and I when we give to eligible charities. The link to the Canadian Red Cross is one of them, so your donation of $10 is suddenly $20, $20 is $40 etc...)

10 comments:

  1. I say... survival of the fittest, man.
    People die every minute... you can't help them all. The only people I'd be moved to help are people who I actually know.

    And I was thinking in the car: should third-world countries impose a more "responsible reproduction" policy? Humanity is like a plague to the earth.. we consume and destroy, and we spread. It's like in the movie Pandorum, when we eventually overpopulate our planet and effectively "kill" it.

    ~kax

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  2. I'm sorry that you feel that way. Primarily because it is apathetic views such as yours which are what cause humanity to be a "plague" as you call it.

    There isn't anything about you that makes you more "fit" than any individual who was affected by the earthquake, because a disaster that hit you the same way would put you in the same situation.

    Being that you are a school teacher, I find your perspective incredibly hypocritical, because you'll undoubtly be asked to have you class participate in a fundraiser for the people of Haiti. What will you be telling your students? That they shouldn't help?

    I'm sorry, but my view is that the lack of compassion and the lack of willingness to live harmoniously with our surrounding is the REAL plague that is killing the planet.

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  3. The fact that there are so many countries and organizations helping out in this tragedy here is remarkable. This is not just some "fad". It shows how moved we are to help people out in their time of need regardless of their geographic location.

    "responsible reproduction" policy? This is more of a case of plate tectonics causing a natural disaster. Responsible reproducton has nothing to do with this, and would not make any difference as a prevention of this event. The people of Haiti did nothing to cause this to happen. We need to at least be more understanding of people going through real life-changing problems, it is the least one can do even if they aren't planning to contribute in any way.

    Justin C.

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  4. lol. First of all, i never said my "responsible reproduction" idea has anything to do with earthquakes. I'm just thinking of the over-populated third-world countries, where people can barely sustain themselves, but chose to have kids. Then you see people on tv telling you to donate to these poor, starving children.

    Secondly... We're not doing any fund raising for Haiti. My point is, lots of people are dying, every minute. Why don't you go donate to cancer? Then donate to AIDs victims? Then donate to orphans? And the list goes on and on.

    You chose to help the people in Haiti because
    they happen to be in the news. What about the poor starving man on the streets of toronto who aren't in the news? Why aren't you helping him?

    I'm not saying not to feel compassion... but i'm saying it would be impossible for me to be compassionate for everyone who's in need, so I'm choosing to only help those who directly come into contact with my life, not some stranger I see on tv. And for the rest of them... tough. That's life man. That's survival of the fittest. Don't start getting "I'm so much higher and mightier than you" on me please.

    -kax

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  5. I have given to cancer rsearch, I have given to to the sick children's hospital charity drives and just last saturday I gave a couple bucks to a homeless guy on St. Clair west and I watched him walk into a McDonald's and buy some food right after.

    The point of the post is not about how much money I'm giving or who the "flavour of the month" is, and clearly you're missing that.

    Toronto is not immune to disasters and if a tornado hit us like it did last fall, you could be equally dependant on other people for your own survival as these people are. Third world country or not, everyone requires the same basic requirements to live and I am appealing to those who want to help.

    If you don't, this post was not for you.

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  6. loool.
    Somebody's been watching too much George Carlin.

    I think Kax's point is... there is a type of thinking going on in people's heads when a major disaster occurs.
    Yes, hundreds and thousands of people die everyday. But MOST ppl are like 'meh' to this death and suffering, and then, all of a sudden, when shit like this happens in Haiti, everyone busts a gut and wants to be a hero because its like they've never seen something like this happen before (Not you, Chris. You're a hero 24/7 <3) and they start caring all of a sudden.

    It's like when the war on "terrorism" started. Everyones likes "support the troops" blah blah, "I like chicks with machine guns, yaaaay!"
    And now? Death of soldiers is expected... It's an everyday thing. It's just not big news anymore. Right now, big news is Haiti.

    -The Delicious Pink Taco

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  7. BTW, going to donate blood in a few weeks. Wanna set up a thing so we can all go together.

    You down, Kax? lol

    -The Pink Taco
    "Blood. It's in you to give."

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  8. Yeah, Pink Taco sums up my feelings pretty accurately. thx.

    We should debate this stuff in-person, that would be a lot more fun.

    -kax

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  9. LOL sums up your thoughts? I think you're just agreeing with his opinions because he takes your side of "for" or "against" even though his actual opinion of it differs from yours.

    JC

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  10. I never thought highly of the war on terror though. I thought it was always a conspiracy theory. Never support something that stupid. As for Haiti, again it's a natural disaster. The war on terror was a man made thing. Everyone suffers in natural disasters. That's why we should feel sympathy. If Canada had a natural disaster (and we weren't protected by the Canadian Shield) and it was on such a high level, you'd probably see aid coming in from other countries.

    JC

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