Haiti. I, like many millions of others on our planet have looked at/watched/read everything I could on Haiti. Even the stuff that has dire warnings like 'if you look at this stuff your eyes may burn out of your head'. I'd like to think that many if not most adults in the US are looking too. Judging by the monetary response, most people are very moved by the abject suffering.
Limbaugh. Robertson. Now we're into la la land where these guys look at the same images and see evil black people, (lazy black people who asked for it) and Satan. They are suffering from Gasbag Projection Syndrome; where inferior, weak or damaged intellect projects its own fears, hatreds, bigotry and narcissistic superiority on to the worst suffering that's ever played out in front of our eyes. It's infuriating, it's disgusting and it's rearing it's ugly head among some right wing circles.
They're writing about it, talking about it, and unconsciously baring their dirty black souls to the world. Yesterday I was stuck in a large waiting room, with Pat Robertson on the TV, dangling orphans in front of the camera and begging for money. My blood pressure went up as I scanned the room to see if I could get away with actually getting up and changing the channel. I stayed put, Pat's voice making my skin crawl with revulsion as he announced donations, complete with little musical flourishes. Thankfully, I only had to suffer 20 minutes or so before the show, mercifully, ended.
Gasbag Projection Syndrome sufferers bring their own demons into their interactions with their world. Because they fill in perceptions with their own projections, they are incapable of seeing reality. That would be bad enough, but a lot of these sufferers have audiences. Apparently the audiences are somewhat damaged themselves, all fearful of the demons they always carry, always see.
Most of us here are bleeding heart Liberals, and react deeply and emotionally to the world's reality. Those with GPS paper over reality with their projections, until their 'reality' is an ugly, evil parody of the real world where empathy is a dirty word.
Sometimes it's not a stretch to believe that all conservatives have the syndrome to one level or another. Maybe not all.
So be it. Let them revel in their own filth and call it gold. But let us never stop standing against them, pointing at them and shouting to the world. We can't ignore it or it festers. We can't cure it, but we can reject it completely, turn, and do what we can for Haiti.