Is it really that unusual?
Enmos said:
Can anyone help me understand why they would thank God rather than the rescue workers?
Same reasons Americans thank God instead of the people responsible.
No, really. I know a guy who once ran marathons. He got up early, trained, went to work, went training again, came home, ignored his kids, annoyed his wife, went to bed, and then got up to do it all over again. For months. And then he ran his first marathon. To this day, he truly believes that
he never ran a marathon, but that Jesus did. None of them. I mean, he only did a few before he decided to leave his wife, shack up with a cougar, get herpes, and move to Indiana, but, yeah. Even after all that, he still believes that
he didn't run the marathon.
And if you ever watch American televangelists, you'll find such sentiments are not uncommon. People putting in all sorts of labor and toil, and apparently it's all "God's work", so people send in their money. Because it's
God asking, and not other people.
I don't think either of us could, with a straight face, assert that Haitian society is as generally well-educated as, say, American, Dutch, German, or English societies. I find nothing odd that an exceptionally poor and abused people should have a superstitious worldview that resembles the outlook of many of my lesser-educated American neighbors.
Yes, it is often embarrassing when other people fail to live up to the standards one assigns them. But, at least, it's an internal embarrassment. And, heck, if it was really
that embarrassing, would you really be confessing the embarrassment? Indeed, there are some humiliations I happily endure. You know, like wild nights drinking make for fun, but often embarrassing stories. Or the time I learned how difficult it is to get pequin off your hands. Others I prefer to keep hidden. I don't know where this falls in your personal spectrum, though.
One could say that God sent the earthquake as well. I don't hear them thanking God for that..
I think if you spent even a little time studying theology, this wouldn't confuse you so much. The earthquake is a test from God; the rescue an acknowledgment of faith or a preservation to learn a future lesson.
might be they just don't know what else to say..but yes a thank you to the worker is in order
It's tragic that every Haitian is so blind in their faith, kind of like it's ridiculous how everyone who protests health care carries signs denouncing white slavery.
More reasonably, I don't know how the media works where you are, but in the States, reporters look around for the most sensational or dramatic thing they can find, and that often—usually—means finding the biggest dolt in the crowd.
And, of course, when the drama—the rescue from the rubble—is over, the cameras go elsewhere, looking for other things. It is inappropriate to conclude that Haitians aren't, at some point, thanking the resuce workers.
