Notice

Dear World,

As has become my habit, I want to make an announcement without adding much commentary or history. After seeing this burning question on CNN's front page:

Is it ethical to vacation in Haiti now?

and seeing this article which positions Haiti as little more than a piece of territory over which the French and Americans can posture and prove who is more "powerful"

and reading another article about a recent spate of adoptions of Haitian "orphans" with little time given to find any extended family members, I would just like to remind you/us:

Haiti/Haitians do(es) not exist to facilitate opportunities to make you feel good about yourself.

If I were my former self, I suppose I could make some point about further marginalizing people by centering yourself and your desires or the historical precedent for abrogating the relationship between children of color and their families members for money, ego, and superiority complexes like racism and ethnocentrism. I might even reiterate Angela Davis's story of how armed guards are protecting tourists in Haiti from the pesky Haitians. But that ain't even me right now.

I have a feeling you're not listening anyway.

Love,
elle

When Fat Hatred, Emotional Blackmail, and a God-Complex Meet...

... you get this result as evidenced by the story below, taken from an issue of the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, dated 23 July 1960. Without further comment:

Man, Wife Lose Weight in Order to Adopt Baby Girl

LOS ANGELES (AP) Months of rigid dieting paid off Friday for an overweight man and wife when they gained permission to adopt a 1-year-old girl they have raised from birth:

After shedding 159 pounds between them, they vowed to keep on dieting “until we get down to a decent size.”

“I’m too happy to say anything,” said Mrs. Bernice Sherman, 37, as she blinked back tears after a closed hearing in which Superior Judge Ben Koenig approved the adoption.

“It was a long struggle,” concluded her husband, Frank, 39, “but it paid off,”

Three months ago, Koenig ordered the Shermans… to show they could lose more weight before he would allow them to keep the child.

They weighed 320 and 250 pounds then and had been watching calories since last November 27, when they weighed 369 and 281. After hearing Koenig’s ruling they stepped up their dieting.

At Friday’s court session, Sherman, a truck driver, weighed 277 and his wife 214. Between them they had lost 79 pounds since April alone.

“We make no further objections to this adoption,” announced Walter A. Heath, director of the adoption bureau, His agency had opposed their petition to adopt little Janet when they came before him April 8.

The Shermans were told then because of their excess weight they “might not live to be good parents.” But a doctor examined them and said they both were healthy, and “they could outlive us all.”

think of it as the opportunity of a lifetime

Renee reports that Madonna is preparing to adopt another Malawian child, this time against the wishes of her grandmother.

I don't have much to add to what Renee said (or what Nezua said). I understand that there are millions of children who need homes, but there is just something unsettling about white people going into Africa and Asia and choosing children. Good intent aside, I just can't get past the history of colonialism, privilege (money & white skin > family & cultural ties), and all the "civilization" arguments.


Renee's post included this sentence:

Don't think of it as stealing foreign adoption, think of it as the opportunity of a lifetime

It reminded me of a conversation with my friend, Fran. I love her dearly, but she is very much on the "U.S. is superior to all else, especially Africa" kick. We used to argue all the time--she could excuse slavery, could deal with white supremacy, she was just glad "we" weren't in Africa.

Of course, pointing out to her that "we" would not have been if millions of people had not been brutalized, did not help.

So, we went to an art exhibit in Houston that featured works showing life in different African countries. Life, not the ever present images of death and destruction.* She did express surprise that there were people living in Africa.

But then she said, "I'm still glad our ancestors got on that boat."

So, the middle passage was the opportunity of a lifetime.

I have not broached the conversation since then.
_________________________________________
*I do not mean to downplay the importance of bringing attention to war and disease (especially AIDS) in Africa, but that I think images of those are used to portray Africa, Africans, and the Diaspora as "less"--civilized, developed, human--with no regard for historical or contemporary context.