i believe that if you were more informed about
the cuban revolution, you would not use castro as your whipping boy, as
you often do.
for your information, i am cuban and immigrated
to the united states in the early 60's with my parents, who both opposed
the revolution.
since then i have visited cuba 6 times.
you recently expressed that castro would be gone
if the u.s. exported to cuba all the shallow bullshit that now represents
american
culture in the world. you implied that if the
u.s. lifts it's 40 year embargo of cuba, the revolution will collapse.
i disagree. the only reason
that american governments since the time of eisenhower
have been hostile to cuba, and have conspired to destroy it's government,
is because the cuban revolution has always defied
american hegemony in the western hemisphere, and the revolution has always
been consistent in it's vocation to liberate
cuba from american colonialism, and if that were not a a big enough sin,
cuba has aided
other nations of the third world in their struggles
to liberate themselves from colonialism. the embargo exits as punishment
for cuba's
breaking the bonds of u.s. colonialism.
But wait - you said you disagree that America's bullshit would topple
Castro,
then listed a bunch of reasons that had nothing to do with the current
topic.
If you're from Cuba, you obviously know Cuba better than me. The closest
I've ever been was watching Bob Kuban's
band in St Louis as a kid, but I'll bet I'm better at human nature
(I'm old) and I'm sticking to my long-held theory that
Britney Spears in a see-thru outfit would cause massive defections
in loyalty to Fidel.
If you get a chance to re-address that, like Ross Perot said, "I'm
all ears."
did you know that cuba was instrumental in the
defeat of the south african army when that racist country invaded angola?
did you know that the u.s.supported the south
african nazis ,and therefore buttresed the apartheid government? did you
know that
nelson mandela after his release visited cuba,
and thanked the people of cuba for their key role in defeating apartheid
and helping
him be liberated from prison?
Dude, I gotta tell you - I've never seen Cuba defended like you're doing.
Cuba is a large prison, with a 90-mile watery wall surrounding it.
Fidel keeps people there at gunpoint - how do you defend that?
also, you are incorrect to depict cuba as a backward
country wallowing in ignorance. in fact, cuba is a leader in biotechnology
and science.
the cuban biotechnology industry has developed
vaccines that did not exist anywhere else in the world. for instance, cuban
scientists created
a vaccine for menningitus b which has saved the
lives of thousands of children. this vaccine is used in many countries
but not in the u.s.,
because of the embargo.
If Cuba isn't trading with the US, they are backward by definition.
An isolated island cannot keep up with a futuristic America.
When we see pictures of Havana streets, we see cars from the fifties.
That's why I mentioned Camaro convertibles.
A cute blonde driving thru the streets of Hanava in a 2002, shiny red
Camaro convertible would cause a stir, right?
Do they have DVDs in Cuba? Do they have satellite TV? Are
they connected to the Internet?
Do Cubans realize they're living decades behind the rest of the world?
If they choose to lead simple lives, that's fine by me. But I think
they're being held hostage by a murdering dictator.
Castro can't afford to let Cubans get a taste of American life.
Have you ever seen the movie, "Pleasantville?"
It's about two kinds of people - people who have lived and people who
have yet to experience life.
That's how I see Cuba, "yet to experience" - correct me if I'm wrong.
look, i was raised to hate castro and i did until
as a man i watched with horror as reagan destroyed the sandinista revolution.
the sandinistas were then like the democrats
are now, they let themselves be rolled over by the neocons, many of which
are now in
The Chimp's government.
Whoa - no matter how evil or stupid Reagan
was, how does that make Castro a good guy?
castro has lasted for so long because he has never compromised the independence of the nation that he leads,
Dude, one of us has no idea what he's talking
about, and it could be me.
How can you use "independence" and "Cuba" in
the same sentence?
How are Cubans "independent?"
and he has not abandoned his goal of never leaving
a cuban child behind. that means that health care and education are free,
and that the cuban government promotes the dignity
of all the people.
True, communism and socialism can be more inclusive than free market
capitalism.
of course like in every society there are people
that are not interested in participating in a collective program for
independence and development. in this country
those people are members of the republican party or if they
are not political...guests on the jerry springer
show.
ha ha
in cuba some of them are mercenaries who in the
pay of the u.s. commit acts of terrorism ( cuba is probably the first nation
to suffer biological terror attacks). by the
way, if you doubt anything that i have written...challenge me and i will
send you the attribution.
Dude, if you're saying America paid for a biological attack on Cuba,
send attribution for that.
i don't expect you to support the cuban revolutionary
project, but i would love to dialogue with you about this topic, because
i believe that the
problems that we face in this country are systemic,
and the only way that we will ever lift this country out of it's corruption
and cynicism will be
with bold ideas that will be manifested in bold
programs and laws. castro did that in cuba and transformed that small and
poor island into a
significant player on the worlds stage. you would
never know that by reading the american press.
Why did you leave the island paradise to come to a corrupt and cynical
land of hedonism?
Also, can you explain the "visited Cuba six times" thing?
Why are you allowed to leave Cuba at the end of your visit, but others
can't leave at all?
finally, the reason that i feel that the question
of cuba is so important, is because the u.s. resides in a hemisphere that
is ripe with poverty,
exploitation, corruption and despair. every liberation
movement in latin america in the last 100 years has been crushed by u.s.
government
machinations, and the u.s. marines (if you wish
i will foward you the list). the cuban revolution is the only one to survive...why?
At least part of that answer lies in Kennedy's promise not to invade
Cuba as part of the deal to defuse the Cuban missle crisis.
i would hope that someone as curious as you would
desire the answer to that question, and no...the answer is not that castro
is
such a brutal dictator that the poor downtrodden
cubans have not been able to overthrow him.
I gotta tell you, I'm really old, and I've never heard Castro defended
so vigorously.
Maybe my better-read friends will write and tell me if I'm off the
mark, but almost every month
we see families risking their lives to illegally leave Cuba to come
to a free America.
You paint Cuba as a place people would swim towards, so why
are they swimming away from it?
in fact, the dictatorships that have been overthrown
in the last 30 years were all backed by the united states of america
(chile, dominican republic(trujillo), argentina,
nicaragua (somoza), etc.). if you are interested in discussing this
with me;
i would enjoy carrying on a dialogue. i
have much more to say, and i can also share with you personal anecdotes
of my
visits to cuba, and my meetings with leaders
of the cuban revolution...including fidel castro.
Dude, you can be our point man on Cuba!
Years ago, when we were literally "read by dozens," I had a hit
counter that told us that people were reading bartcop.com
in Yemen, Finland, Brazil, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, China and even Lubbock,
TX - all corners of the globe - but no Cuba
I think it's a point for my side that you and I met on a communication
system that's not allowed in "independent" Cuba.
Please write back and explain the points I've brought up.
I want to be less ignorant on life in Cuba.
sincerely,
javier hernandez-miyares