When you see the word “looting”, what comes to mind? Storefronts being smashed open 
as wild and immoral vandals make off with valued goods, big and small, right?
When we think of looting, we think of crime- we think of stealing- we think of taking things that don’t belong to us.
Looting usually happens in times of chaos or war- people take advantage of the lawlessness around them to take what they want by force.
So ask yourself this: your city is destroyed by a natural disaster. Your home and place of employment are gone. The banks are all closed, there is no electricity. The grocery stores are closed due to heavy damage. Water is scarce. Food is nearly non-existent; your children haven’t eaten for days. You come across a huge pile of packaged dry pasta behind a grocery store…what do you do? Do you take it? Is that “looting” or is that something else?
We saw this during Katrina. Sure- looting did happen. You don’t need 6 flat screen tv’s when you’re in that kind of situation, on this we can certainly agree.
We also saw during Katrina, clear instances where the media portrayed White people taking food off store shelves as “fighting for survival”, while they portrayed Black people doing the same thing, as “looters”- a clear example of racism in the media.
And here, just a few years later, it seems the media has not learned a thing about what all human beings will do in the face of starvation- they will salvage whatever they can find to survive.
That is what many Haitians are doing- yet the media is STILL portraying them as criminals who, in the midst of death and destruction, make time to go out and jack what isn’t rightfully theirs.
Why does the distinction between “looting” and “salvaging” matter?
Many people in this country (and around the world) gain much if not all of their perspective from the media. If the media says it- it must be true (hello, FOX News). If someone is constantly being fed information on another group of people that casts the character of those people into a negative light- opinions are formed, and judgment is cast.
The relief effort in Haiti is much bigger than what any government can contain. It requires all of us to step in and give from our own pockets; why would I want to give my heard earned money to a country full of savage thieves?
Most reporters and photographers don’t eve think twice when they send these reports out for all of us to see. They see Black people, and they go negative. They see White people, and spin in the other direction- absent all common sense.
We can’t condemn people for their behavior based on race, nor can we excuse their behavior based on race.
People often want to debate me about race. I’ve been asked countless times questions like “what is systemic racism really?” Well, this is an example of systemic racism in action.
The system is the media. The media is made up of people.
It can be real hair pulling moment when I see people wave the white flag at systemic racism, as if it is beyond repair. Well, the truth is, systemic racism exists because of the people who are in the system. People make up systems, people make up policies, practices and laws, and people couldn’t be more flawed.
We’ve become “numb” to things like ‘cultural competency’ and ‘internalized racism’- they’re buzz words and phrases we’ve come to forget the true meaning and impacts of.
People fail to realize it is all linked together.
A reporter who has no personal experience to override the frame of reference given to him by the media as a youth, takes that ignorance with him wherever he goes. It reflects in his work product. The more influential he is as an employee, likely the more damaging his work- he is planting seeds of ignorance in the masses.
Because of that, people will think Haitians (or African American’s, or anyone else Black/African) are inherently “bad”. They will close their hearts and minds, and most important right now- their wallets.
An interesting thing the language of birds…….
"scientists" have indicated that in some species of birds there exists a vast number of vocalized sounds of communication. Sounds that describe what we well evolved sapiens would call emotion, location of food sources, the recognition of individuals or groups, and so on and so forth.
I wonder if, within the "language" of these creatures who so closely share this world with us, there is contained a word describing food or food source that is so easily manipulated to fit a divisive political mood or agenda
But that would be a human thing of course.
See birds don't farm.
No Safeway/Carrs food conglomerate in the animal kingdom.
The Crow population indigenous to Southwestern Canada, and that within Pacific Northwest of the United States would both probably vocalize 'hey, food over here' in the aftermath of a once a century natural occurrence such as Katrina or the Haiti Earthquake.
This high state of evolution obviously leads us to do otherwise.
With the media turning its attention to more current and timely stories, news organizations are creating another injustice, leaving the people of Haiti with less and less attention. Unfortunately, this equates to less and less funding as the general public pushes the plights of those suffering to the back of their consciousness.
Let’s Change Haiti, however, is partnering with Partners in Health, UNICEF, and the American Red Cross- three highly respected and renowned organizations- in the hopes of continuing their funding and helping those in Haiti to rebound from an earthquake that entirely destroyed the country.
From March 15 to April 15 we are aiming to tap into what Real Simple magazine estimates to be $10.5 billion in loose change circulating through households around America at any given moment.
Follow us on Twitter at @letschangehaiti or read more about our cause on Facebook by searching Let's Change Haiti, where you will be able to donate to the cause.
I hope you will write or link to us through your own blog or Twitter, in which case we would be more than happy to showcase your work on our page as well.
Thank you for your work on shedding light on the issue of Haiti.