Once a upon a time in the Kingdom of Swaziland, the folks in charge of programming at the state television station decided that controversial televangelist Jimmy Swaggart on Sundays was not sufficient for the spiritual nourishment of the people.
Jimmy Swaggart in one of his trademark weepy moments. This may have been the one he admitted to frequenting a commercial sex worker. That was one episode I missed!
Source: bbc.co.uk
Source: bbc.co.uk
So somewhere in the mid-80s, Swazi TV added a daily early evening offering of the religious programme The 700 Club. Children like me were shattered since we would have preferred more Transformers, GI Joe or Care Bears but instead got televangelist Pat Robertson sitting on a couch talking about things we did not quite understand. He seemed pious, sincere and very spiritual. (Above) Pat Robertson and his 700 Club panelists. Source: http://www.payer.de
More than 20 years later, the same Pat Robertson has resurfaced on my radar. This is because, from the comfort of his Christian Broadcasting Network base in Virgina, he has offered some 'helpful' observations regarding the real reason behind the recent earthquake in Haiti. Unlike what many of us may have thought, it had nothing to do with nature but is all to do with the Haitian revolution that started in 1791 and saw the establishment of the first black republic.
Depiction of Haitian Revolution
Source: Wikipedia
Source: Wikipedia
Mr. Robertson's comments are reproduced in a Reuters blog as follows:
This statement led many on Twitter and Facebook to conclude that either Pat Robertson is:
“...They were under the heel of the French … and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, ‘We will serve you if you’ll get us free from the French.’ True story,” Robertson said in a matter-of-fact tone on the broadcast.
“And so the devil said, ‘OK, it’s a deal. .. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after another,” he said.
“And so the devil said, ‘OK, it’s a deal. .. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after another,” he said.
This statement led many on Twitter and Facebook to conclude that either Pat Robertson is:
- Battling senility
- Smoking *very hard* narcotics or
- Was there when this pact was made
At first I thought it was all a joke but fortunately the broadcast is on YouTube. Is Mr Robertson...
- suggesting that slaves rebelling against slave-owners was morally wrong?
- saying all Haitians and generations to come are cursed?
- reinforcing the old notion popular among racist bigots that black people are cursed?
Pat Robertson
Source: Sikh Times Online
Source: Sikh Times Online
Interestingly, Pat Robertson is no stranger to nonsensical statements. Time Magazine online has a wonderful piece on the Top 10 Pat Robertson Gaffes. "Top 10" suggests there are many more gems out there. All I can say is thank goodness us kids did not understand what Mr. Robertson was saying back in the '80s.
7 comments:
Pat Robertson fancies himself a Christian, but he is not - he's basically a horrible person. Everyone knows that.
And I don't know why people still listen to him: anyone who lied on national television in full view of cameras and everything who still manages to deny it until it is played back to him is not worth listening to. He's stupid, more bigoted than the average bigot and ugly too - yep. that's about it.
Pat Robertson is a joke and always has been...
Haiti’s problems have nothing to do with the nonsense of gods and devils…
Corruption that led to shoddy building practices led to massive largescale devastation on the island in the wake of the earthquake.
The history of the island and it’s corrupt leaders, deals with the USA and legacy of overthrowing the French have all contributed as well. It’s a bloody mess, but it’s all man-made!!!!
@Anonymous: You made my day! That is sooo hilarious. Good stuff.
@Lady Jaye: Totally agree with you...well, maybe he is not that bad looking! What worries me is the sway he has.
@The Pale Observer: I agree with you that Pat Robertson is a joke. What surprises me is that millions of people out there don't think so! They are also the ones who have made him really rich.
I suppose you are right that with any natural disaster, man-made problems do exacerbate the situation.
I think we all agree that Pat Robertson is an ignoramus. I'm frankly amazed that anyone listens to his garbage. Used to be that people like him used to take themselves out of the gene pool. Ah well, I'll give him a bit more time to rectify that
Have you looked into Pat Robertson's financial dealings in Central Africa? He had some sketchy deals going involving diamonds. African souls are nice to save, but diamonds are so much nicer--except for the miners.
Pat Robertson with deals in Central Africa? Intriguing. I had never heard of that @Anonymous but I would not be too surprised...as you implied people to save come and go but "Diamonds are forever!"
I enjoyyed reading this
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