Please welcome my lifelong friend, Jadrice Toussaint, as he shares his thoughts on the alleged recent comments made by Donald Trump regarding Haiti—Bark
I’m Haitian, and I’m proud. As a matter of fact, as I write these words, I am in Haiti, celebrating my birthday with my friends and family. And I’ve asked all of them the following question: Why should we be upset as Haitians at Donald Trump for telling the truth? Because he’s right—Haiti is a “shithole.”
We Haitians are amazing and wonderful people. I do find it appalling that a president, who is supposed to be an example as a leader, should make these statements.But for him to say that Haiti is a shithole…well, think about it.
Our government is corrupted beyond belief. This will always halt the progression of the country. Again, he didn’t say that Haitians are shithole, but that the country is a shithole. Don’t be upset at Trump for telling it like it is. Yes, he’s many things, but think about this logically; forget that you want to think of him as being racist, etc. He’s looking out for America, his country, he cares to make his country great, he’s elected and represent those that loves that country, and by those who want to see their country continue down a path toward greatness.
In other words, this is what I would love to expect from our Haitian government, to put our country first, but that is certainly not the case. Instead, each and every single one of them are out to exploit and fatten their pockets. In Haiti, you get into government for one thing only—to make money. They will sell the country, or prevent any forward progress, as long as it benefits them.
If we truly want to be angry as Haitians, let’s direct that anger into changing our government. Don’t just vote for those that make ridiculous promises with zero substance. Vote for a politician that will take a dollar a year as his salary. That will not be driving in a $200,000 Range Rover, but will support better roads and infrastructure. Vote for someone that in this modern day would make sure that the country has the proper infrastructure for 24/7 electricity. It’s 2018—how is it acceptable that we still have rationed electricity?
Don’t be so easily misguided or misdirected. Trump was In a meeting with 6 Democrats and others, I am not saying that he may or may not have said what the media is reporting. Yes, a lot us expect him to say some off the wall things, but were we there in that meeting? Are there video or audio recording of him actually saying these things?
Again, I am not advocating for Trump, far from it. I am going to look at this always in a logical manner. Taking out the fact that I am Haitian, and I want to be butt-hurt by what the media likes to fuel and ignite upon us.
Visit Haiti when you can, but take it from me—the country is a shithole. I love my country, and I would do anything for my country, but I call it a dumpster every time I visit, because it is truth.
I am pleased to see a reaction that goes beyond political opportunism, racialism or nationalist cheerleading.
It’s an honest assessment – and I feel your frustration in being unable to change it. As outsiders cannot. The job and responsibility of reorganizing a corrupt government, belongs to the Haitians themselves.
Happy Birthday Jadrice
I have to say the reaction to this comment is utterly unhinged. Not long ago amnesty advocate Senator Lyndsey Graham argued, in public, that sending people back to these countries would be inhumane because they are “hellholes”. No one cared because the point he was making was self-evidently true.
Now one side of the debate calls them hellholes. and Trump responds in a private meeting in a small group calling them “shitholes”. And over this we have CNN media personalities crying on air? A worldwide outbreak of hysteria for two days?
That is not the reaction of a sane adult. Everyone involved can agree that many of these immigrants come from places that could be called shitty hellholes or whatever else you want to call them.
Hear hear.
As we say up in my neck of the woods when the SJW nutjob brigade screams racism when open borders, wave migration, etc is rationally questioned, “Tamerlan Tsarnaev could not be reached for comment. “
Typical Trump (if he did it), speaking the truth in undiplomatic ways. I’ve always liked most of Trump’s policies and personnel choices, but am learning to also enjoy his ability to make the mainstream media and SJWs cry and scream.
Considering the damage Trump has caused to our reputation in just one year, I dont think the reaction to his shithole comment is unhinged. The only surprising thing is how long it took Bark to justify/defend it. No matter how many times Trump displays his lack of basic knowledge that anyone who reads knows with out having to think about it, there will always be people who ignore that he is not just racist, ignorant, incompetent and undignified…he’s also a liar. By his own admission Trump does not use a computer or even read. From his tweets it has been obvious for quite some time that he forms his opinions from watching Fox News. I wonder why Republicans in congress are retiring at an unprecedented rate?
Bark didn’t write this so you’re still waiting for him to justify/defend it.
Furthermore would you prefer a leader who mouths off and is viewed as unpredictable/potentially capable of sudden violence or someone who is viewed as weak and unlikely to actually, say, enforce a red line.
Bark didnt write it but he chose to post it on his site. Regarding leaders I would rather have a leader who has the patience to read and understand complex issues instead of tweeting what he sees on fox news
So your horrific assumption is that I only post things I agree with?
This is Mark’s version of “I have a black friend so I can’t be racist” essay; Have a Hatian acquaintance write a defense of Trump’s latest idiotic comments (redundant?), so Mark doesn’t have to.
I’m getting Jack and little Mark Baruth a talking Sean Hannity sex doll as a belated Christmas gift.
They can tag team him while his voicebox chatters on about Seth Rich and Uranium One, at which point Jack and little Mark will reach climax, obviously.
It’s “Little Marco,” DW.
And your racism is showing. Might wanna cover that up a bit.
I come here primarily for quality sex doll commentary and I’m glad to see this post did not disappoint.
Needless to say, such things get me sprung.
@ totitan
My father came to the United States in 1929 from southern Italia; my mother from Canada in 1932. My father loved Italy, but is also thought the United States was better – same for my Mother.
My wife’s mother from United Kingdom in 1967 with my wife then a 1 year old….and became an American citizen, and proudly calls herself American. She has said more than once the England she grew up with and lived in as a little girl during the height of WW2 does not exists anymore, and mourns it’s lose.
No country on this earth is paradise; the good ole’ US of A can seem shitty at times. However, it is also not disputable that more people try to come to the US as their final destination of choice than any other country, and continue to do so.
Trump is only speaking what most people the world over already recognize and voice themselves, that the US is not as shitty as their own countries. That in of itself is not a complex idea to comprehend, rather on inconvenient truth to others not as fortunate as those born in the US.
Relax, Rod. I’m not Haitian. More reading comprehension would serve you well.
I have a lefty friend who posts predicable stuff on Facebook. In response to Trump’s supposed sh!thole comment, he went on how his grandparents were immigrants from the Ukraine.
I pointed out to him that as Jews, they were leaving one of the worst places on earth for Jews, where Jews have been killed at genocidal levels in every century since the 16th.
The Jews who came to America from 1880-1920 may have had some level of nostalgia for their home towns (see Belz, Mine Shtetele Belz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNKNypH1Juo) but they had no illusions that their native lands were better places than America.
Good point, Ronnie,
Although I would broaden it beyond Jews. Tons of early immigrants to America were looking for freedom from religious persecution. Either that, or economic opportunities. I would bet that the vast majority of all our ancestors would admit that they emigrated from sh1tholes.
The problems with Trumps comments are twofold:
1. America isn’t about were you came from – it’s about what you do when you get here. Give me an enterprising, hard working Haitian over Scandinavian with a socialist attitude towards work any day.
2. The comments fit a broader pattern of racist comments and behavior, and the majority of Americans do not want a racist in the oval office.
I know you’re a troll and yet…
1. Scandinavians traditionally have an excellent work ethic in their culture and it is only a relatively recent cultural shift resulting in that culture degrading over the past 2-3 generations. Why don’t you take a moment to go read Debunking Utopia. On the whole, you would be more likely to randomly select a hardworking Scandinavian due to the cultural values that exist and which they are trying to restore back to their former selves.
2. Everyone and everything is problematic and racist, so the POTUS who does not actually act in a manner consistent with genuine racism (such as pushing for a return to Jim Crow laws, advocating racial purity, refusing to hire people who aren’t white, etc) but who does make offhand remarks which are not PC hardly makes him a racist. Rather, it is shorthand for “guy I disagree with an therefore must disparage.” If there are constant calls of racism from all corners for all behaviors it eventually is just tuned out.
Haitians genocided all of their white people. Don’t want any of those racists here.
Not completely true. Didn’t the French women get a pass from Dessalines if they agreed to marry one of his soldiers?
My business partner’s mother is from Honduras and she mostly aggree’s with Trump, and echo’s the post author; It’s the government, not the common man that’s the problem.
I wonder how many of the people outraged by Mr. Trump’s comments were also disturbed when the French ambassador to the UK called Israel a “shitty little country”.
Now Ronnie, that’s using taboo “whataboutism”. Like asking the lefties decrying the tax bill’s supposed advancement of the debt to show when they railed against the previous 8 years of debt.
I would say it’s an inappropriate comment for a world leader. Also in context he was implying that people trying to find a better life from the shitholes should be stopped. I’m not an open borders guy but I do believe our country is better for having some imagration including a fair percentage of people from countries with issues. It has served the US well in the past and will continue to do so. We just need to remember that integration into our society is key.
This. It’s not the word “shithole” – it’s the implication that some immigrants are better than others. Which is empirically nonsense – people coming here generally bust their ass to make a better life no matter what country they came from.
baconator – some immigrants ARE better than others. We don’t need more immigrants like Tsarnaev brothers (Boston Marathon bombers), or the members of the MS-13 gang, and if you care about low income Americans we don’t need peaceful but unskilled immigrants. Being an American citizen isn’t a global right, and the US has the perfect right to select the immigrants that will be most useful to the prosperity and safety of its current citizens.
As for all the immigrants that are busting their asses working, why are 60+% of illegal immigrants collecting public assistance?
Assimilation can only happen if you let in only a few people from one culture/place at a time, otherwise they settle into their own communities where they maintain their own language and culture, attract new immigrants from the same places who constantly reinforce the foreign culture, and demand government services in their own language. If they are more isolated, they are forced to learn the language and adopt the local culture in order to “fit in”. The idea and actual promise of the melting pot mostly occurred between the 1920s and mid-1960s when the US barely had any legal immigration, and the huge amounts of earlier immigrants were forced to become “American” because the supply of new immigrants dried up.
As for the benefits of immigration – it entirely depends on the quality of the immigrants. If you select smart, hard-working people from a culturally compatible place, they will very likely make good contributions to society. If you let in anyone who can sneak across the border, you very likely end up with people who do not have the intelligence, skills, and work habits to contribute to a modern economy, and will instead be an economic drag as they take public assistance, and/or commit crimes (including identity theft), and/or fill costly prison cells. The US is a country of immigrants, but immigrants of 100+ years ago came to a country without welfare programs and in need of lots of unskilled labor – conditions that are no longer true.
Stingray,
You may find this funny but I’m mostly going to agree with you.
We need strong american patriotism to make the melting pot work properly including things like the pledge of allegiance and national pride.
I also agree we should spread out people from the same country to improve the odds of Assimilation.
Heck i even agree that immigration should be limited in fact I think were close to that limit or maybe past it ( I think we should target 10% of the population as foreign born or less)
I guess I differ a bit on who we let in. I think we should bring in plenty of the best and brightest, but I think that includes poor farmers from third world countries who just never had the chance to succeed. I also think a percentage of refugees is fine. Honestly the few refugees I know own their own business here now. I believe there is some data to back that up as well that certain third world country immigrants have much higher rates of entrepreneurship then both the general immigrant population and the native population.But I’m to lazy to try and look up the articles now.
I used to live in rural Maine. Luck up Lewiston Maine some time it’s amazingly a story of the good and bad about immigration all in one. I will just go over the good.
Crime rates dropped in the city after refugees started coming
Entrepreneurship among refugees in the city is twice that of local born
Refugees brought the high school a state champion ship.
Per capita income rose as did income and property tax receipts.
That said it’s a huge culture shock.
Mopar, Even when you disagree, you always have thoughtful comments, which makes if fun to spar with you. I agree that immigrants with entrepreneurial tendencies (even if not rich) should be high on the list of desired qualities.
I continue to say that Donald Trump’s Presidency is an INDICTMENT OF AMERICA.
The questions nobody is asking:
#1 How did Haiti get that way?
The answer is American foreign policy – as well as European (French) Economic warfare.
#2 Ask the Clinton’s what happened to the Billions of dollars in Aid (another reason I’d be damned if Hillary would ever be my President)
I just hope that with the CHINESE intervention in Africa, that African countries gain the power to kick European globalist imperialists out and COMPLETELY DEFAULT ON THEIR DEBTS OWED.
And the Chinese will do it because unlike America and Europe, the Chinese actually help improve the areas they enter.
Big Truck, All the Shitholes of the world have gotten billions in foreign aid for decades, and most have had their debts forgiven more than once. US aid to Haiti goes back at least to the Taft administration. Most of the aid with any cash value ends up in the Swiss or Cayman bank accounts of the Shithole’s leadership, but even if the aid goes to the people it is supposed to help, it is questionable whether it actually does. Nobody ever thinks about the fate of the farmer or food seller who sees a UNICEF (or other charity) boat bringing loads of “free” food, or the doctor who sees a Doctor’s Without Borders truck drive by his practice offering free medical care. How are local businesses, service providers, and export businesses ever going to develop if the country is constantly flooded with free stuff?
I also think you have way more faith in the charity and helpfulness of the Chinese than is warranted, although I would be happy to be proven wrong. The colonial powers were generally the best thing that ever happened to most current Shitholes, and shit really only started to hit the fan when they given independence.
On a slightly related topic, I would note that Canada’s dreamy Liberal Prime Minister has already ended temporary protected status for Haitians. Canada resumed deportations of Haitians some time ago if they haven’t been able to qualify for official immigration.
But as far as I know he never called them any derogatory names, so I guess that’s okay then.
Suppose Trump really said this in a small meeting of legislators. If saying it was supposed to be so damaging to the countries involved, wouldn’t it have been better for the propagandists to keep their mouths shut, or at least report it with some proportionality to its actual veracity?
Trump speaks the truth.
Liberal heads explode.
Rinse and repeat.
It’s possible to be truthful and not be an asshole. At least for some people its possible.
Yes and that’s really the point. Trump is now the mouthpiece of America. He is how the world views us and he has zero tact. What he says is absolutely true, but he doesn’t need to be the one to say it in that manner.
This is the new TTAC: The Trump Apologist Corner. Where you come to find confirmation bias for whatever verbal diarrhea he may spew on any given day.
Not to everyone.
Statements like what Trump said are counterproductive in so many way. First it stopped progress on immigration bill part of which was to help secure the southern border. Second people in other countries are mad at America and Americans for this statement. What’s the difference between Iranians screaming Death to America and Trump calling Haiti a shit hole?
I feel sad for writer of this article. He blames Haitian government for state of Haiti. Yet that Haitian government is made of Haitians and in place per Haitian culture, no matter the leader.
There is no defending Trump’s statement. Zero. Yet Haiti and most African countries are in a state of chaos and can’t blame it all on those western powers. Some of shithole state of those countries falls on those people, whether you like it or not.
Yet shame on this president for not respecting position of American president.
Shame on the press for disrepsecting him even more.