Looting in Haiti

Last Tuesday was a bad one all around. Not only does my friend get hit while in a marked crosswalk in broad daylight in clear weather at 35 mph by an 81 year old woman driving a Subaru, Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere is devastated my a 7.0 earthquake.

Please note, dear readers, that I said devastated and not decimated, as has been widely reported by news bureaus around the world. Here are your words for the day:
Devastated means
"1 : to bring to ruin or desolation by violent action and
2 : to reduce to chaos, disorder, or helplessness" (which has certainly happened in Haiti).
Whereas decimated means
"1 : to select by lot and kill every tenth man of
2 : to exact a tax of 10 percent from
3 a : to reduce drastically especially in number decimated the population> b : to cause great destruction or harm to decimated the city> decimated by recession>."
[from the Merriam Webster online dictionary]

Now I'll allow meaning three with regards to Haiti, but I then will take you back to its "etymology: Latin decimatus, past participle of decimare, from decimus tenth, from decem ten", and I stand by my opinion. Haiti, especially Port au Prince, is literally in absolute ruins. Not by a tenth, not by half, but wholly in ruins.

Now hear this, I am annoyed by the absurd reports of these bands of looters. A shopping center was dug into by looters, so "security forces" were called in and shots were fired into the crowd. One person was killed. Are you fucking kidding me!?!?!?!?!? What the hell for? These people were running, carrying a few rattan chairs, a box of food, a box of bottled water, whatever they could carry... Under these circumstances, what is the problem with this? My problem is this: Please understand that we cannot control everything. CONTROL IS AN ILLUSION. These people have lost everything! Let them loot! Let them scavenge a chair. Where is the harm?

Let me counter with this: there has been order at the official distribution sites, with just a few minor scuffles, even as they run out of supplies and the throngs must wait until they are replenished. Report more about that, please. It's a wondrous thing, as is the singing heard in the encampments after nightfall. When the dust settles, and the darkness enfolds, their voices softly rise to the heavens.



And now, some small news about my friend. She was hit, as I said, on her way to the bus stop by an 81 year old woman who was driving a Subaru. According to the police report, no alcohol was detected at the scene, and so far no citation was issued. I talked with her a few times; She is pretty well drugged up. She broke her left tibia and mangled (for lack of a better word) her left knee which was operated on today, after giving it time for the swelling to subside. She broke her right tibia and fibula in a compound fracture which was dealt with immediately. She broke one rib and badly bruised a couple others; she broke her clavicle (I don't know which side). Ribs and clavicle are expected to heal on their own. She had a six inch gash on her head which is stitched/stapled up. She's in a lot of pain, and to add to it, her pain med pump stopped working today and that went unnoticed for several hours. They need to add to her pain meds.

Still, she can put coherent sentences together, though her voice is raspy and weak due to her ribs, I'm thinking. Her sister who lives in Alaska came down to spend a week with her, but had to go home this morning. Her other sister who lives just north of her is a nurse, and is researching various rehab facilities that she can go to once she is released from the hospital. No idea of when that will be. Get this: her boyfriend, who lives with her and whom she has not been happy with for some time, had only come to see her ONCE in the past week. She says that she doesn't feel angry about this - she just feels nothing. I foresee the day when she will be pissed as hell about this, as it is, IMO, inexcusable. She has had several visitors from work, past and present, and has a strong support system.

I have never broken a bone. How long does it take to mend two broken legs and ribs and a clavicle? I do know a little about rehab - that's going to take a long time. Plus - she is legally blind, and therefore doesn't drive. She will be completely dependent on others for transportation to/from her home for everything - shopping, PT, etc. But one thing at a time.

These are just two examples of how life can change in an instant.

Good Night, TTYL, and Be Well

P.S. Some days I feel that I really have no problems at all. You know?