This weekend, my inbox was filled with much news from Haiti.
Protests. Airport closing. Children dying of cholera. I was even sent the horrifying video of a man being shot point blank in the head.
I bet what you heard from Haiti was that Sarah Palin visited.
I'm not a fan, but I wanted to give her a chance. Even though she chose to go with a man who has denounced Islam, I tried to maintain some hope. She has a lot of followers. If she could get those masses to donate to groups doing good work, then her visit had a point.
Instead she fulfilled the expectations of most of my friends. She became what my friends in Haiti call a "disaster tourist". Get some photos. Let a couple kids touch your hand.
She held a press conference, of course. But did she call on the United States to live up to it's promise of aid? Nope. Did she provide a place where donations could go directly to NGOs working there? Nope. She didn't even give the assembled press the chance to ask questions about vague claims she made about aid being discontinued.
As much I hate it, Sarah Palin has power. She could be getting aid to Haiti. She could be organizing young volunteers. Instead she spent a weekend playing disaster tourist. I hope she got great photos.
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