“The Office” star Rainn Wilson publicly lamented the fact that his Monday call for the world to “do something” about the gang violence in Haiti was met with criticism of failed American neoliberal policy, with many replies blaming the Clinton Foundation for ruining the country.
“If you want a snapshot on contemporary American culture, read the comments on the tweet I just posted about Haiti,” Wilson tweeted Monday morning. “The arrogant contempt. The partisan toxicity. The complete lack of empathy for suffering children. I think we’ve got a long, dark night of the soul ahead of us…” he concluded.
If you want a snapshot on contemporary American culture, read the comments on the tweet I just posted about Haiti. The arrogant contempt. The partisan toxicity. The complete lack of empathy for suffering children. I think we’ve got a long, dark night of the soul ahead of us…
— RainnWilson (@rainnwilson) March 11, 2024
Over 160 people replied to Wilson’s original call to action, the vast majority of whom were critical. Critics brought up the Clinton Foundation, which has worked extensively in Haiti to open it up to multinational corporations in an effort that Hillary Clinton called “economic statecraft,” according to the Guardian.
The Clinton Foundation had a reported 34 projects in the country, and Hillary oversaw the flow of $4.4 billion in post-earthquake aid to Haiti as Secretary of State in 2010, per the Guardian. (RELATED: Ex-Haitian Senate President Says Bill Clinton Once Tried To Bribe Him)
Now, fast-forward 14 years, and the neoliberal approach is clearly fallacious. Haiti is essentially a failed state. The U.S. evacuated it’s embassy in a dramatic overnight airlift Sunday night after an increase in gang violence, the embassy announced on Twitter.
The U.S. Embassy in Haiti remains open. Heightened gang violence in the neighborhood near U.S. embassy compounds and near the airport led to the State Department’s decision to arrange for the departure of additional embassy personnel. All arriving and departing passengers work…
— U.S. Embassy Haiti (@USEmbassyHaiti) March 10, 2024
Prime Minister Ariel Henry is reportedly unable to return to the country, as gangs have taken over the Haiti’s main airport and freed about 3,500 prisoners while they riot and call for his removal.
🇭🇹🏴 — Haiti’s Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, is in Puerto Rico, unable to return to his country because gangs have surrounded the main Haitian airport
➡️ Henry was in Kenya, passed through the United States, and traveled to Puerto Rico, where American federal agencies, such as… pic.twitter.com/LvtyfIH56G
— dana (@dana916) March 9, 2024
Critics who didn’t mention the Clintons took aim at the celebrity effort to bash then-President Trump’s mention of Haiti as a “shithole country” in 2018. The hand wringing was so over-the-top that celebrities like Bill Maher and Conan O’Brien wore T-shirts saying “Haiti Is Great Already.”
Don’t worry, Dwight. Haiti is Great Already, amirite? pic.twitter.com/NvbCAh5y50
— Chris Ryan (@ChrisRyan717) March 11, 2024
Yep, Haiti looks great!
BREAKING: Absolute anarchy: Haiti on brink of total collapse amid mass prison breaks. Gangs have taken control, torching police stations, assaulting airports and setting the Interior Ministry on fire. The Prime Minister has fled the country. pic.twitter.com/d1CUbeK4PW
— Bruce Snyder (@realBruceSnyder) March 9, 2024
Is pointing out the absurdity of calling a failed state “great” as partisan as gaslighting people into thinking a third world country isn’t a “shithole” just because orange man bad? Asking for a friend.
I’m so sick of celebrities “using their platform” to highlight the horrors of the world writ large and then crying when people point out exactly why those horrors exist. It harkens to Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr crying crocodile tears every time there’s a mass shooting. “We have to do something!” Ok, Stevie, nobody’s stopping you! Boycott the NBA. Keep your Warriors off the court until whatever non-specific demand you have is met. Oh, you’re not willing to do that? Then shut the hell up.
Same goes to you Rainn. If you want something to be done so badly, do it yourself. If and when the Dominican Republic opens up their airspace again, I would be happy to make some calls and have you airdropped into Haiti to fix things yourself.