Thursday, January 14, 2010

Wait…what’s this? Oh. Nope. Still an asshole.

Pat Robertson’s comments about the history of Haiti and their very obvious pact with the devil have spawned a press release from Christian Broadcasting Network spokesman Chris Rosian. (CBN was founded by Robertson and broadcasts "The 700 Club" where Robertson made the comments in question.)

In the interest of fairness, I’ll let the spokesman speak for himself. What follows is the unedited press release as found on the CBN website here.

I do think my favorite part is when he asserts that “countless scholars over the centuries believe that the country is cursed.” Yes. That is definitely my favorite part…

Statement Regarding Pat Robertson's Comments on Haiti

CBN.com – VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., January 13, 2010 -- On today’s The 700 Club, during a segment about the devastation, suffering and humanitarian effort that is needed in Haiti, Dr. Robertson also spoke about Haiti’s history. His comments were based on the widely-discussed 1791 slave rebellion led by Boukman Dutty at Bois Caiman, where the slaves allegedly made a famous pact with the devil in exchange for victory over the French. This history, combined with the horrible state of the country, has led countless scholars and religious figures over the centuries to believe the country is cursed. Dr. Robertson never stated that the earthquake was God’s wrath. If you watch the entire video segment, Dr. Robertson’s compassion for the people of Haiti is clear. He called for prayer for them. His humanitarian arm has been working to help thousands of people in Haiti over the last year, and they are currently launching a major relief and recovery effort to help the victims of this disaster. They have sent a shipment of millions of dollars worth of medications that is now in Haiti, and their disaster team leaders are expected to arrive tomorrow and begin operations to ease the suffering.

Chris Roslan
Spokesman for CBN

2 comments:

grog said...

'countless' scholars . . . meaning, there are so many that it is impossible to count. As the election of George W. (and subsequent re-election) you can count the number of scholars in this country . . . and probably on one hand. The beauty here is this is the same rhetoric fact checking used by the Fox network and Rush Limpbaugh on a daily basis. Gotta love how committed conservative folks are to their cause . . . no matter how ridiculous it might be or how much it impedes the growth of humanity.

nick said...

Wikipedia comes through: "This ceremony has long been referenced as the "pact with the devil" that began the Haitian revolution. This negative branding of the ceremony at the Bois Caïman was possibly instigated by either the French who fled Haiti, or the Christian missionaries who were in competition with the local Vodou beliefs."

Christians and imperialists only want to help. Can't imagine someone rejecting their good will.