On Wednesday, January 13, 2009, the senile televangelist, Pat Robertson, reacted to the earthquake in Haiti on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club" by relaying the following story:
“You know ... something happened a long time ago in Haiti. … They got together and swore a pact to the Devil…They said, 'We will serve you if you get us free from the French.' True story."
As if setting up a story blaming the people of Haiti for the tragedy that had just befallen them wasn’t enough, he added:
“And so, the Devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.' And they kicked the French out…You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after another."
Amazingly, this loose cannon exhibiting a toxic blend of delusional senility and deep-seated hatred spewed under the guise of religion is still afforded respect by some and offered a platform for this kind of rhetoric by the Christian Broadcasting Network by virtue of his founding of it in 1960. Although Robertson resigned as chief executive of CBN in 2007, he was succeeded by his son, Gordon.
This is by no means the first time he has embarrassed people of the Christian faith, and more broadly, Americans, who have seen his ignorance and stupidity broadcast around the globe as if representative of people of sound mind.
He, along with “Reverend” Jerry Falwell, blamed the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 on liberals, feminists and gays, and the wrath of Hurricane Katrina on abortionists. True stories.
Robertson, who dropped his real first name, Marion, because he felt it too effeminate, has long spewed anti-gay rhetoric, the reasons of which are obvious without requiring more than a rudimentary understanding of Freudian philosophy. His credibility took a pounding in a presidential bid in 1988, when his bragging about his service as a combat Marine in the Korean War was contradicted by other Marines in his battalion who claimed he didn’t serve a single day in combat and that his primary responsibility was providing alcoholic beverages to officers.
His plagiarized anti-Semitic rants about a worldwide Jewish conspiracy and approval of the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion, lifted from the works of Nesta Webster and Eustace Mullins, did little to help his credibility, although mainstream media organizations continued, and still continue, to seek his perspective on anything relating to cultural mores.
However, the demented manifestation of his apocalyptic delusions notwithstanding, Robertson is as shrewd a businessman as he would have you believe the Jews he despises are, for the same reasons. An investigation by the State of Virginia in 1994 revealed his tight relationship with Liberian president Charles Taylor through his Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation, an entity through which Robertson acquired rights to mine for diamonds in Liberia.
The investigation also included testimony revealing that Robertson lied to his The 700 Club viewers, claiming Operation Blessing planes were sending relief supplies to the victims of the genocide in Rwanda, when in fact they were being used to haul diamond-mining equipment to Robertson's mines in Liberia.
This is particularly relevant in light of Robertson’s most recent remarks concerning the earthquake in Haiti. Not only does he blame the earthquake on Haitians “making a pact with the devil,” but the premise of the pact he feels deserves God's wrath, was the move by Haitians in order to liberate themselves from the French slave owners.
Rather than apologize, a spokesman for CBN, Chris Roslan, released a statement that sought to justify Robertson’s remarks:
“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.”
Pat Robertson’s homophobic, anti-Semitic and racist verbiage could be taken as nothing more than the delusional ranting of an old man beset by fear and senility. Yet his lust for blood diamonds at the expense of Rwandan genocide victims, his deliberate lying to viewers of The 700 Club, and his callous accusation against millions suffering a tragedy of monumental proportions on the basis of their quest for freedom from slavery, suggests a more insidious and ugly agenda.
Anyone wishing to help the victims in Haiti had best think twice before funneling money or resources through anything affiliated with Pat Robertson, Operation Blessing Disaster Relief, The 700 Club or the Christian Broadcasting Network.
When you have Pat Robertson praying for you, the best an orphaned Haitian child can expect while lying injured and dying of thirst is not a lovingly administered sip of clean water, but rather a callous opportunity to buy one of his weight-loss shakes…if, of course, the child has the money.
That’s how Pat Robertson rolls.
