And there's footage of the National Guard handing out packages of bottled water to MA residents who have been affected by the MWRA water break. The last time we saw people in military uniforms handing out bottled water was in Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. I was struck by the apparent contradiction between the poverty stricken residents of Haiti and the well-off MA suburbanites who were receiving water.
And then I realized: They're more alike than one would think. Both places severely restrict civilian gun ownership. Both places are run by authoritarians who would prefer to rule by decree than by vote. And both places are highly corrupt and susceptible to rampant cronyism.
So, of course, the question is: Is Haiti the Massachusetts of the Caribbean, or is MA the Haiti of the Northeast?
That is all.
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6 comments:
We must be thinking alike. I just put up a similar, but longer post. I didn't come up with the Haiti analogy, but you do have a point.
I don't think you can limit it to MA - I think a significant portion of the country, mostly near the coasts, would have the same problem.
I don't think there's much difference between Haiti and a lot of places - if you build a house without a solid foundation, it's going to collapse. It's just more shocking to see a McMansion crumble than a tin-roofed shanty.
That mindset reminds me of Monty Pyton:
"When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up."
Remember, doesn't matter how rich any country is, we are three square meals away from mayhem and savagery.
My daughter is currently in the hospital and, while I was down in the cafeteria, I actually heard a woman complaining (quite loudly) that the cafeteria's sushi counter was closed.
"That is completely unacceptable! How am I supposed to eat?"
Even better: this was at 1am.
cybrus,
I hope it's nothing serious; in either case, you and your daughter are in my thoughts and prayers.
Little ones in the hospital != a good thing, ever. Hope she's back on the mend in record time!
Thanks JayG - it is and isn't serious at the same time. She's 9 months old and decided a week ago to stop drinking anything. She got pretty dehydrated and the docs have no idea what's wrong. She's perfectly healthy otherwise and everyone is baffled. Hopefully she'll figure out that drinking is good - I might have to put a nipple on a few good beers and show her what she'll be missing.
Thanks for the thoughts and prayers - we can use all the help we can get!
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