What Was Paul Shirley Thinking?

Former NBA basketball player Paul Shirley put pepper sauce on his foot and jammed it in his mouth when commenting on why he would not be financially contributing towards the Haitian cause.

Shirley explained that he would not be donating to the cause for the same reason that he doesn’t give money to the homeless guy in the street and even went on to draft a letter to the Haitians.

"As we prepare to assist you in this difficult time, a polite request: If it’s possible, could you not re-build your island home in the image of its predecessor? Could you not resort to the creation of flimsy shanty- and shack-towns? And could some of you maybe use a condom once in a while?"

Sadly, one thing that we Westerners forget about the free speech that we are blessed to have is that not all of us know how to use it responsibly.

I hold a similar opinion to donations - especially when I am accosted by chuggers. I’ve always said that the day a charity puts up a web page where you can see movements on the balance sheet in real time – I’d be game. I’ve always been concerned about how far down the humanitarian chain my cash actually reaches. But having a concern about how your donations are being used isn’t the same as kicking a country while they are down.

Before the earthquake, I will admit that I was guilty of holding a few biased opinions on Haiti – loosely based on media portrayal and general stereotypes. However, there was no way that I could look at a country devastated by natural disaster and pass judgment.

Shirley clearly has experience in NGO’s and rebuilding countries that have been severely impacted by Mother Nature – otherwise he wouldn’t have felt so confident in sharing his advice. So if he is so experienced, why hasn’t he put his pen down and actually done something to positively impact Haiti?

After Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans, offers of aid and help came from all over the world – including countries who themselves could have benefited from financial assistance. So where has Shirley come up with this notion that a country should be in a position to help itself in the aftermath of a disaster.

'Dear Mr Shirley

Thank you for identifying yourself as an authority on third world countries and how they should be managed and rebuilt after tragedy.

I’m sure the people of Haiti are eagerly awaiting your visit to the devastated country so that you can implement your plans as soon as possible. As you are as prominent as others in your field such as Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson I’m sure that you will not even need any ID to gain access to the country.

And obviously not having a friend or family member in the situation gives you a clear vantage point of the situation. I personally applaud those who choose to help out those who are suffering because to be honest, trying to dig up information on your basketball career has caused me enough suffering.’