Famine in East Africa: Why Does Nobody Care?

Quick, pass a resolution to send them some more of our tax money...that we don't have and can print making our economy worse. For the sake of the children...! That’s sarcasm BTW. I say send them nothing.

Because what I really feel on the issue; almost nothing - life is harsh.

It must suck to lose the geographic/genetic lottery of life when your soul inhabits a body born into a crap- hole country or to parents who don't comprehend where babies come from evidently and have more than they can feed.

I believe this is a problem we created, rather unlike many I don’t think it was created by white greed or corruption or us making victims of Africans and exploiting them. No, I think we created the problem in fact sending them aid.

Like feeding stray cats we have created an artificial success that encouraged them to reproduce past the food availability of the local area and if we were to stop this aid suddenly now they would starve and suffer because of our intervention in the first place.

Had we left them to their own devices in the beginning they would have found the equilibrium and a sustainable population.

I say we write the whole place off and come back in 10 years to start over after they kill each other off and find the balance of sustainability.

It is our “compassion for our fellow man” that has created the untenable financial/resource shortages and pending collapse. Time to stop this nonsense!

The key to sustainable living is letting the world reach it’s natural equilibrium between the local population and the environment absent the intervention and machinations of governments or groups to “engineer” or “regulate” balance and worse those that seek to redistribute resources to reach a false “equality”.

We have made the issues worse IMO when it comes to resource competition by providing “aid” to struggling nations and people in the name of “good” or “humanity”. It does little good to send food aid to Africa and Haiti or other places in fact it is even worse in the case of individuals because for the majority rather than the temporary helping hand it becomes a lifestyle. How many generations of Africans and Haitians have lived off of foreign aid?

Individuals that grow up on welfare and with handouts tend to reproduce early and create yet more offspring to feed the cycle. As for racial advantage or affirmative action; how many generations have milked it with no change (Perhaps even making the situation worse statistically as far as success goes if you consider crime, employment, welfare, out of wedlock births and incarceration rates as a measure of it!) Aren’t we seeing the pattern here?

I am not a religious person but the “give a man a fish thing” rings so true…

I have seen first-hand countries in which the people have become dependent on aid and assistance from foreign governments. All the aid has done is enable the people to have procreated way past the point of providing for themselves in their region.

I honestly could care less if children are starving in Africa as it is not my responsibility to feed them just like it is not for some third party be it an individual or government to limit my access to resources or take my wealth to do so. If I want to give to a charity, I will give to one that solves problems not creates more of them. I am all for helping the helpless; however, helping the lazy and clueless is something else altogether.

If we did not sustain these populations (and individuals) with aid and just let nature take its course like I do here on the farm with livestock when I don’t have enough fodder the problem would never have surfaced in the first place.

A struggling and hungry heard in nature cannot reproduce quickly. It may sound harsh and cruel and unfair but life is all of those things.

The key to the issue of resource scarcity (that and some quest for “equality” are the root of all our issues) is the opposite of intervention IMO it is the absence of it so people will have to suffer the consequences of their poor choices. Perhaps if people had to suffer watching their offspring die horribly they would no longer produce more than they can sustain.

We all know where babies come from and to create more than one can provide for with his/her own access to resources is the most selfish and inhumane act I can fathom. If one does not have enough resources to satisfy their own needs then they need to be, either smart enough, driven enough or violent enough (likely all three) to procure them or one will die – it’s fairly simple.

That applies to the individual, a family group, a village, a city, nation or the world itself. We (all of those groups) are not created equal and to force it through some arbitrary desire for the common good is actually a horrible force for evolution of the species.

Not all people (or groups of people) are as intelligent, physically gifted or driven to excel. If we were there would be no words for excellence – there can be only one valedictorian, one winner etc. Our society is engineering competition out of our young…

Likewise not all people are graced with a favorable geography at birth – some places are harsh and should have low populations. Yet, we provide aid and in so doing make life more bearable and then comes procreation to add to the cycle.

Compassion is good, charity is nice but to do it to the point we are not only sustaining and indefinitely supporting the weak, stupid and the lazy we are doing so without imposing any sort of restrictions. Why should people on welfare/public support be able to reproduce and not only that be rewarded for it with more money at the expense of the others?

We have taken the role of the indulgent and understanding parent who mitigates on a regular basis the poor decisions of our children without the opposite and equally important role of the rule/boundary setting parent who imposes limits on children who demonstrate the inability to solve their own problems. A family with only the former would soon be bankrupt both morally and financially.

Supporting the weak and lazy at the expense of the driven and strong is antithetical to nature and why we are in the current predicament.

Nature is a powerful force and once we reach the tipping point the earth will cull the human population to the correct size (this is likely closer than we think)– in the interim some will thrive some will wither and suffer…its simply nature.

Some may many think me cruel for this view; however, in the end it is nature in action and there is in my opinion nothing more perfect than nature and its own ability to manage and regulate its resources.

We cannot afford to continue down this road!

Well I don't agree with everything you said but on the whole I agree with the point your making. It's probably best if we cut them off and revisit the area and deal with who has eventually risen in power and become the leader. It's either that or we keep the status quo which isn't working or go in their full force and clean up their messes and rebuild it in our image.

reply to post by Adyta


you sound like one cold hearted individual. how pathetic your post sounds. in case you aren't aware that part of Africa is under severe drought conditions which has caused a massive famine. they "do" utilize the tools they are given / taught but they can't control Mother Nature. how in God's name people like you see the pictures of those starving children and turn a blind eye leaves me stunned. I hope and pray I never become as jaded or selfish an individual as you. me thinks the dark side has control of your soul. seek help ....................

Originally posted by SFA437
reply to post by AnonymousFem

 

Considering you guys started the Royal Africa Company which was responsible for purchasing slaves from the Dutch in West Africa and transporting them to the Americas to work British plantations in the Caribbean and southern North America it's well you should be.

Heck over 1/3 of all slaves bought in Africa for sale elsewhere were purchased and resold in the name of the Crown with profits going to the monarchy.

Then of course we have the division of the continent amongst European powers without regard to tribal loyalties. I won't even go into later abuses like Rhodesia and the atrocities committed by British subjects in an attempt to keep control of their Empire.

Perhaps a long look in the mirror is on order prior to throwing stones at the United States for not solving problems that your country as well as the rest of Europe helped create.

edit on 31-7-2011 by SFA437 because: Typos

Britain abolished slavery in 1772 and enforced a naval blockade of slave ships heading for America where slavery was still in practice up to 1950.

Maybe you want to look in the mirror?

Rhodesia became the bread basket of Africa until we left and now its a basket case ran by a genocidle maniac.

Funny how when I speak to Africans in Britain who come from former British colonies, they always say life was better under British rule..

In the end, this type of arguing is fruitless and a waste of bandwidth.

None of us was around or responsable for those abuses.

And for myself, i dont care.

Nothing to do with me

reply to post by LooksLikeWeMadeIt


If we are so bad for not caring, what are you doing to help? Are you in Africa right now giving out food or water? I pay taxes so I atleast help as much as I dont want to.

Originally posted by LooksLikeWeMadeIt
reply to post by Adyta

 

you sound like one cold hearted individual. how pathetic your post sounds. in case you aren't aware that part of Africa is under severe drought conditions which has caused a massive famine. they "do" utilize the tools they are given / taught but they can't control Mother Nature. how in God's name people like you see the pictures of those starving children and turn a blind eye leaves me stunned. I hope and pray I never become as jaded or selfish an individual as you. me thinks the dark side has control of your soul. seek help ....................

They go through massive droughts almost yearly which you can look up if your so interested so why do they constantly need to rely on foreign country's to help them get through it?

You'd think after the first couple hundred years they would have figured out that this occurs relatively often and would have set up ways to prepare for it.

reply to post by kro32

Or maybe they would have relocated to a less drought prone area hundreds of years ago? Or even decades ago? There comes a time when your poor living conditions are your own fault.

reply to post by CrankyPantsUK


Might want to look at the Slave Trade Act of 1807. In addition slavery was 100% legal in your colonies until 1833 when the Slavery Abolition Act was passed.

Also there was no slavery in the US in 1950 nor was there a naval blockade of the US post WWII.

Must stink to be schooled on your own laws & Parliamentary acts by a Yank.

reply to post by kro32


Exactly. We are not responsible for their unwillingness to advance as a people and failure to adapt to their own environment. Like I said before... let natural selection run it course. A LOT of people will die, but it will be for the greater good when the ones who survive are the ones that adapted and learned to care for themselves.

"Don't feed the ducks"

Originally posted by sonofliberty1776
reply to post by kro32

 

Or maybe they would have relocated to a less drought prone area hundreds of years ago? Or even decades ago? There comes a time when your poor living conditions are your own fault.

Very good point.

I believe people see the pictures of the horrors but refuse to put any blame on the people there themselves.

WE could easily "bomb" them with MRE's
But we won't.

Borders, political borders are what causes these types of slow death by starvation.
They are invisible, but prevent a nomadic lifestyle. Which is how many people overcome starvation issues.
They move.

Originally posted by SFA437
reply to post by CrankyPantsUK

 

Might want to look at the Slave Trade Act of 1807.

Also there was no slavery in the US in 1950 nor was there a naval blockade of the US post WWII

Actually if you want to be pedantic, the last US state to abolish slavery was Mississipi in 1995

Google it.

And i did not say that our navy blockaded the US but ships BOUND for the US on the African coast

Originally posted by CrankyPantsUK

Originally posted by SFA437
reply to post by CrankyPantsUK

 

Might want to look at the Slave Trade Act of 1807.

Also there was no slavery in the US in 1950 nor was there a naval blockade of the US post WWII

Actually if you want to be pedantic, the last US state to abolish slavery was Mississipi in 1995

Google it.

And i did not say that our navy blockaded the US but ships BOUND for the US on the African coast

edit on 31-7-2011 by CrankyPantsUK because: (no reason given)

Errr... no.

Mississippi ratified the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1995. A bill abolishing slavery was ratified by 27 of the 36 states at the time of it's introduction in the 38th Congress in December of 1865.

A state does not have to ratify an Amendment for it to be applicable to them. Federal law supersedes any state law or procedure.

As for the blockade which you've now switched from the US to Africa was a direct result of the aforementioned Slave Trade Act of 1807.

Now you've had lessons both in British and American law and history. What shall we move onto next?

I'll also add that the US Navy took part in that blockade intended to stop the EXPORT of slaves from Africa not to prevent the importation to the United States. Export of slaves was deemed to be an act of piracy by both the UK and the US under similar laws enacted in 1807 by both countries. Importation of slaves into the United States was outlawed in 1798 or 1799. While ownership was permitted new importation was not and stiff fines of 300 USD per slave were levied against those caught importing slaves of any race.

reply to post by SFA437


You ask most African Americans and they will tell you their slavery did not end until 1950 when the US supreme court ended segragation.

That said, all is a matter of perception no matter who records history.

In the end I wasnt there

So could not give a rats ass

Oks this has nothing to do with what country did what, what slavery laws were here there or in history or which freaking date they were abolished.

The Topic is About Starving Children, yes STARVING CHILDREN, and why people do not seem to care.

If other countries refuse to help them shame on them is all I say.

Originally posted by AnonymousFem
Oks this has nothing to do with what country did what, what slavery laws were here there or in history or which freaking date they were abolished.

The Topic is About Starving Children, yes STARVING CHILDREN, and why people do not seem to care.

If other countries refuse to help them shame on them is all I say.

Well said

And on that note
Here is how you can help

Originally posted by AnonymousFem
The Topic is About Starving Children, yes STARVING CHILDREN, and why people do not seem to care.

Ah, the race card's brother... the "think of the children!" argument, used to make anyone that disagrees with you look like a complete asshole for not "thinking of the children!".

There are starving children all over the world, so stop acting like Africa is the only place where the precious children are starving.

Can't feed them... don't breed them.

Why is that so hard to understand?

I have been sending money both personally and by the foreign aid that is paid by taxes on my income for over 40 years. In grade school we would have benefit drives to send money to the starving children in Africa. They only effect I have seen of those 40 years of giving is the number of guns and other methods of destruction the residents are able to acquire because they do not have to pay for the food I have bought for them.

I'm sorry, but I am more interested in buying supper for my own children. I am done with Africa after decades of effort.

reply to post by Adyta


Did i state that there were the only children starving in this world?

If I did then show me. If not keep your false accusations and assumptions to yourself.

Ah, the race card's brother...

I think you will find I am a female, and not a male so yes your quite wrong on all your comments.



@CrankyPantsUK, Already donated to the Crisis Fund to help out.