Response to: Apocalypse: What Disasters Reveal

In the intriguing essay, Apocalypse: What Disasters Reveal, author Junot Díaz tells readers about the three different meanings of apocalypses, and how some of them can be characterized as social disasters. This terminology is interesting because it shows us how some apocalypses are results of human and societal interventions and disturbances. Díaz primarily focuses on the Haitian Earthquake that rocked the country in 2010, in his essay he provides many reasons to why this social disaster occurred. He first started off with Haiti's colonization by the French, and how the French introduced a far greater number of workers to the land, when it could only support so many. Then he moves on to how Haiti became locked in a cycle of debt due to the indemnities it paid, and how they were under indirect rule from other foreign countries including the USA. Haiti also deforested much of its land, which led to mudslides, erosion of arable land, and more dependence upon foreign foods, especially American rice. Then Díaz profoundly connects all these points back to Haiti's earthquake and how they all led up to this apocalypse. When he used that word, I was taken a-back, because I never thought of natural disasters as apocalypses. However, he has a valid point because Haiti was completely wrecked by this disaster and he connected this well to the three different meanings of apocalypses. It was also very interesting to see how Díaz connected the enormous income disparity we see today to apocalypses and how in the future  we might see rich billionaires locked away in their protective haven while everyone else just dies off in future apocalypses. But he does end the essay with a glimmer of hope as he eventually believes that human beings will "collectively take responsibility for the world" their creating in order to alleviate human misery.