Monday, January 18, 2010

Here's a li'l bit of capitalism

To piss you off a bit.

Labadee is a private beach sixty miles from ruined Haitian capital Port au Prince. Some cruise goers find this a little close for comfort: Squalor really ruins the view, and what if the desperate poor folk breach the 12-ft walls and armed guards to steal our fineries, like clean water and food? Royal Caribbean pledged $1M to Haitian relief effort, which is less than two percent of the $55M they recently spent renovating Labadee. They're also donating a sliver of their proceeds to Haitian relief, but seriously? Either dedicate real resources to helping the suffering (Labadee's material resources and "armed guard" manpower come to mind) or cover your face and slink off to some other post-colonial paradise, where your cavalier selfishness will only be moderately disturbing.

It is non sequitur to chastise every action as inferior to helping Haiti, but if there is one activity worthy of this criticism, then docking your mega luxurious cruise ship in Haiti and partying on a private beach there is probably it.

No comments: