Anybody care about this Castro shit?
jazzman21
287 Posts
Castro apparently has been having some kind of intestinal bleeding and is in bad health. So what if he does die? It still won't be any democracy because his bro is a worse tyrant than he is. Will Cuba ever be free?....Hell no! Ain't ish gonna change, so Cubans you can stop celebrating.
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street vendors have already been selling tshirts celebrating fidels death. I was talking to some miami PD's while at work and they where telling me police are gonna be relaxed and are anticipating celebrations on calle ocho and in hialeah when fidel is announced dead, they are cool with it as long as it doesnt go on too late at night. either way, the cuban press is being real quiet about his current status
does fidel's death equal freedom? i guess we shall see how strong of a leader raul is. And is the US really going to do anything?
It makes perfect sense. People want to come to this country for the chance to make a better life . They ain't looking for the government to give them shit, they want to do it for themselves. The conservative idea is (supposed to be about) less ogvernment in your life.
Wonder how the more government spending Bush plan has changed views on that
Cubans were give huge subsidies when they came to the US, unlike many other immigrant groups. This is mainly due to the fact that if all of the Cubans that came to the US ended up living in horrible slums that were worse then Cuba it would not make Cuba look that bad, but it would make the US look horrible. It also lead to the insane real-estate boom that took place in Miami. I wish I could get my hands on the essay I read about this for an Urban Planning class it was really fascinating.
Details plaese
cubans touch u s soil, they get to stay
haitians touch u s soil, one way ticket home
Its been a minute since I read it so my details are hazy. But I do know that a lot of cash was given out by the CIA trying to get Cubans to go back overthrow Castro. Man, I will try and dig that stuff up over the weekend. I saved all of those essays but I think they are in my dad's basement. Fuck it I will go check google.
I never said anything about US Citizens views towards Cubans, I only spoke on how a Cuban may find the cnoservative idea of "less government" more to their liking.
Many immigrants tend to take a conservative political view. Here in Socal a large group of the Vietnamese immigrant population is solidly republican. It may be a bit of a racial generalization to say that conservatives hate immigrants. Ever seen those "Viva Bush" bumper stickers?
The largest immigrant group in this country is mexican, right? My understanding is, while not solidly democrat like the black vote, mexican vote is largely democrat and they are seen as a more immigrant friendly party.
we'll see. what have you heard about Raul being more of a tyrant?
on the economic tip, i have read places that he has and will continue to incorporate some capitalist features in the cuban economic system.
i care about the castro situation. cant say i care too much about the wealthy right wing cubans in miami. castro has definitely been in power far too long and any change should bring some degree of hope for a less restrictive cuba (even if its just the slightest change of power into raul's hands). but lets not forget that castro has been a driving force between a lot of Cuba's strengths: excellent public education system, excellent health care system, self determination.
one could argue that his dictatorship and unwillingness to cede power has been a direct result of the cold war and the constant threat that the united states will reassert its influence over the politics, economy, and culture of the island. dude has been in a foxhole for fifty years, with no sleep. id be a little crazy too.
This is false.
Well, it depends. If you would have put the word "Illegal" in there, you might have been correct for a huge portion of conservaties.
Also, either with or without the word "Illegal", I'm betting a good portion of conservatives don't mind immigrants if they are doing work for them or they are in some way making money off them.
But whatever...
Let's not forget.
Pre-Castro Cuba was a guiant playground for American corporations and tourist elite. I'm sure that's what they would want again. Exploitation of Cuba's people and land was the name of the game. I'm sure that's not what Cubans want again, well, at least the ones who still live there.
Which brings me to a story. A friend of mine in high school was from El Salvador. He was my first really rich friend.They had a wine cellar, two porsches, a cadillac, all that shit. I used to think how cool it was that they came to America and did so well. Then I started reading and asking questions. They had the loot before they moved here and had a lot of family members in the ruling party, which at the time were not good people. They had made and kept their money with the help of a bloody regime that killed thousands of people while the ordinary people starved and lived in fear. They also chose to come here, they were far from refugees.
I often think of that when I see anti-Castro Cubans in Miami. Are they truly political refugees waiting to return home and fight for a better Cuba for all Cubans or are they just members and descendants of a former ruling elite who want to return to the way it was? Are they really pissed at Castro because he is a bad man to them or because he won't let them exploit Cuba anymore? Is it like the masters getting excited because they get their whips back and can go to the plantation once again? The Cuban American experience itself is skewed because as stated before, their citizenship and living conditions became part of a proxy war with communist Cuba.
To end, I like Castro. I don't like everything he does or has done, but I respect him. More than any other of the last 9 American presidents he has outlived. He is a symbol of strength for poor people all over the world. A symbol that one man can lead an anti-capitalist, pro-people government against all odds, 90 miles south of the most powerful military in the world that has been chomping at the bits for almost fifty years to exploit his people and his island. A symbol that inner strength and ideological strength can change the world.
Oh yeah, I like Chavez too.
Let the games begin.
SONIC
hard to say
but i got my
suspicions
There's a word for them.
[cough] gusanos![/cough]
good e-digs, tim.
i agree with aaron. i cant fully forgive castro for restricting movement and restricting freedom of speech, but the man is still very much in an "at war" mentality. when i was in cuba, i spoke with many people. those who felt comfortable enough with me to speak candidly all echoed similar sentiments about Fidel. they expressed exasperation bordering on desparation that casto was still in power. they cited many mistakes that he had made, rather unilateraly. and they mostly called for him to step down. BUT, no one questioned his genuine intentions for cuba and its people. they resolutely believed that he is not a corrupt politician (imagine that in this country!). just a dude who is outdated, tied to cold war politics, and a symbol of antagonism for the united states. people wanted more say in government. none of them want anything to do with mas canosa and all those scumbags.
i believe the first wave of cuban emigrants after the revolution were from the uppermiddle classes, professionals and elites. but there were subsequent waves from poorer sectors of the island.
tripledouble, who ya calling poorer ??
www.salon.com/11/features/cuba2.html
Self-determination? In Cuba, self-determination is limited to what Castro and the central committee determine for you. Public education system yes, health care system, yes (but no medicine), but self-determination? Hell no. I like Cuba, but I have no illusions that it's a pretty miserable place to live you diverge from the party line.
What is it with people lionising Castro? He's essentially a despot. Perhaps he's a despot with some romantic qualities, but he's still a despot and to place him above your american presidents, no matter how underwhelming they are, is really shocking. I'd like to know which of the last nine American presidents withdrew your franchise, your human rights, sent you off to a miserable work camps, and locked up your gay friends and family members? The stories Cuban will tell you about Castro's arbitrary decrees and their devastating effects are each little tragi-comedies.
More and more I think folk are loosing a sense of basic morality.
must be time to bomb some Ayrabs