Someone please tell me why I have such mixed feelings about all these white folk adopting the Haitian orphans? God knows I am happy for the kids. I truly am. For some reason I cannot get pass my hesitation to be 100 percent happy. Not sure what it is...I do know when I see the white to-be-parents loading up to go get the kids I somewhat get irritated because we (blacks) are not lining up to go get 'the dark ones'. When will blacks lead the charge to 'save a life' for a change? When I was in Haiti years ago I had the same feeling as I walked around noticing all the white people there trying to 'save lives'.... -MuataThe statement above opened-up an interesting dialogue. Read more by click on the Comments icon.
14 comments:
Reader Response:
My heart is still too heavy to respond to this. You can, however, look me up on FB (Yolanda Jacobs) to see what I've been having to say about the outright kidnapping of my people, your people. It's kidnapping and it doesn't make me happy. At.All. In fact, it makes me very angry, because they do not care that these children may not be orphans. All they care about is the image that they care, when they really don't.
For most of these children, they will never see their families again, and their cultures and traditions will be lost to them forever, as they become europeans in black skin. *sigh*
-NAY
Reader Response:
What does it matter? The kids are being taken care of. I think you should look beyond the color of the peopel helping them and look at the end result. I think it's great that anyone is trying to do this. If we hadn't just had our first we'd adopt.
Though I do think we need to take care of home. We are like therapists in the sense that America is all messed up and to cope with that we try to resolve other's issues.
In this case I think it's a worhwhile endeavor.
-LS
Reader Response:
It all boils down to money and resources. Many Black people. as I stated before, are still in survival mode. Dress it up with a home in the suburbs and a nice car with a college "educatioin" and most of us are still in survival mode.
-PM
Muata responds to PM:
The white folk adopting these Haitian kids are mostly middle class. Blacks...I guess we are not in the middle class in numbers?? Come on. We are. Survival?? Still...Why can't it be that black Americans are so 'caught-up in America' that we do not see past the United States. Again, I am happy for the kids. By the way, black kids are the last to get adopted in the US. Us blacks who finally get past the "survival" mode still do not adopt abandoned black American kids.
-Mujata
Reader Response:
One more thing: I would take as many of these children into my home as I could and care for them, while I sought their family, but as Black people we were never told that option was on the table. Many of us did not know until we say europeans on TV at the airport waiting to collect their new accessory.
-NAY
Muata responds to NAY:
Black people in America always seem to step up when it is too late: when the media embarrasses us. Shame us. Then we get mad because white people do what we SHOULD be doing. Over 96 percent of the Peace Corps volunteers serving all over the world are white. Largest area of service: Africa. Where ya at black people? As I approached the service area on Monday for MLK, Jr. Service Day I saw a sea of white people cleaning an ALL black neighborhood. Thankfully, that changed as we drove more into the service area. I did also see mostly black people entering the area to be ENTERTAINED by the parade and speakers...Perhaps, I should stop seeing what I see? One thing is for sure in my seeing: We ain't doing what The Ancestors charged us to do. We ain't, and I challenge anyone to convince me otherwise. Help...
-Muata
NAY responds again:
What proof is there that these children do not have families to care for them? Once they're taken from their homes, who will ever try to find out?
I see this as nothing more than continued American selfishness. They're bringing them here to rip them from their cultures and traditions and everything they've ever known. They're attempting, as they have for centuries, to break the spirit of my people. That's why they would have us believe that it's fine to take the children, but adults are not welcome here.
This is NOT a good thing. Ayiti does not need this country in that way. It is an American concept and practice to take the young--without permission--of vulnerable populations and raise them to be Americans and wipe away the memory of their peoples. This is not the first time this has happened. Doesn't anyone see something wrong with that?
My heart is still grieving for my people and I didn't plan to respond to this, but felt I needed to do so.
-NAY
NAY responds to Muata:
That can only be attributed to the disconnect of many from reality. There's been an almost thorough deterioration of the minds of Black people in Amerikka. Wish I had a few million pins and the hands to go with each, because I'd burst each of their damn bubbles and force them to face the reality of our situation. Our people seem to only come together when forced into similar negative predicaments.
-NAY
RS agrees with Muata:
Agree 100%!
-RS
Muata continues:
Came across this story about a woman who is adopting a child from Haiti. I am actually happy for her, and pleased the child will have 'a chance' for 'more'. If I believed that Haiti would get better as a result of black people around the world contributing/giving back/sacrificing I would want the orphans to stay in Haiti. We all know the odds of that...
Perhaps, some of these white-to-be parents of Haitian children are 'caught-up' in White Guilt? I am at a point of saying/believing SO WHAT in this particular situation. No matter how I feel I have to find, acknowledge, and support the good in this Haitian orphan situation. Glad I am here...
Thanks for the dialogue earlier today. I gained so much. Can't you tell?
Peace
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://kimrhodes.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/100_0143.jpg&imgrefurl=http://kimrhodes.wordpress.com/its-official-were-adopting-from-haiti/&usg=__fj2tADUh5YEcDM-e-4D9oWSrZ0s=&h=2460&w=3280&sz=1281&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=4VRiXzacOEKM1M:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3DWhite%2Bpeople%2Badopting%2BHaitian%2BKids%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den
-Muata
NAY responds to Muata:
That's all good. Just remember that there are Black people around the world contributing that we will never hear about. Why? Because he who owns the media controls the images. When we start owning more and portraying more of our everyday people doing extraordinary acts, we'll see something different. Until then, we'll continue admiring the acts of those who own the media and control the images.
-NAY
Reader Response (white lady):
Honestly, I think about adoption alot at this point in my life, and I have thought most likely I would adopt black/bi-racial children. It's really not about white women's guilt (at least consciously) but more about need. Minority children outnumber white children by ALOT, and bi-racial children are the least adoptable in the foster/adoption care system. My thoughts are that I know I can love a black/brown/green/purple baby as much as a white one, so if the need is greater for color, why not? Yes, there will be many challenges that come with it, and it will force me to raise me game in other ways, but I'm okay with that as well.
just my thoughts, it breaks my heart to see the #'s that they are generating about current orphans in Haiti, and I don't know how much generiosity is going to generate parents. NOt sure how I feel about it, but I do wish that the Haitian children could stay if possible, but also want them to have real families as well.
-SN
NAY responds to Muata:
It is an insult, I do agree that many Black people are disconnected from the fact that they are anything other than of Afrikan descent. When it comes to this mentality, Blacks living in Amerikka are the worse. But when it comes to that also, Blacks in Amerikka experienced and still experience the worse types of degradation by their oppressors. So much so, that they've been conditioned to function in ways that make it known to their oppressor that they're not only detached from the plight of Blacks abroad, but at home, too. And because this has gone on through generations, we now have youth who believe it is ludicrous to even consider going to another country to aid their people, because, for one, they don't see them as their people.
-NAY
Muata shares:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/7086466/Haiti-earthquake-orphans-for-sale-for-50.html
Blacks selling blacks...nothing knew. Forced/uncontrollable desperation eats away at morality! Still no excuse for this alleged crime against humanity!
-Muata
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