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There's nothing to admire. The brutal repression started very shortly after Castro marched into Havana. The romantacization of his regime by elements of Western

There's nothing to admire. The brutal repression started very shortly after Castro marched into Havana. The romantacization of his regime by elements of Western political groups is reminiscent of their praises for Stalin in an earlier time, or their enthusiastic support of Hugo Chavez more recently. It requires a willful ignorance of the facts, or a deeply troubling view of the world that accepts execution of dissidents as acceptable when used to achieve one's political goals. Beyond the political executions and purges, one of the first orders of business for Castro was the establishment of Committees for the Defense of the Revolution in every neighborhood. Their task? To monitor the population for disloyalty and errant political thoughts. My family escaped this horror and had to rebuild their lives from scratch well into adulthood and with children in a new land, so it really bothers me to see people praise anything about this monster. Would you post a comment saying that you admire Hitler for his takeover of a massive industrial power? So why would you for Castro?

refurb 10y ago
I love how all the folks in this thread who actually lived in Cuba (or their families did) are getting down voted. I'm guessing by people who don't have the same type of experience.
- andrenth 10y ago
  Can't let reality get in the way of their romanticized ideas about a brutal dictatorship.
- calibraxis 10y ago
  I do not know about any posters on this thread, but in general when a country undergoes a revolution, the families of former elites flee (generals, the wealthy, etc). In the case of Cuba, many exiles went to the US and even gained CIA support for ongoing attacks against Cuba and other Cuban immigrants. (https://books.google.com/books?id=qlny4FXvAzYC&pg=PA88&lpg=PA88 https://books.google.com/books?id=qlny4FXvAzYC&pg=PA88&lpg=P...)
  - marcoperaza 10y ago
    Plenty of elites fled, but so did plenty of everyone else. On one side of the family, my grandfather was a self-made businessman with a 4th grade education who sold appliances in a rural area. On the other side, my grandfather was a middle-class computer technician in Havana. Also, quoting from the Chomsky clan doesn't help your credibility. These are the same people who sang the praises of Hugo Chavez as he ruled Venezuela by decree and ran it into the ground. And yes, the CIA did help organize an invasion force made up of Cuban exiles who wanted to save their country from communism. It's a shame Jack Kennedy didn't have the intestinal fortitude to either see it through or cancel it, instead deciding to cancel air support after landing people on the beaches.
pavlov 10y ago
Would you find it reasonable for someone to express admiration for Napoleon or Julius Caesar? Both were genocidal narcissists, but also brilliant military strategists and orators. It's possible to admire the latter aspects in isolation, without condoning most of what they did. I feel the same way about Castro's revolutionary campaign. (Let's leave Hitler out of online forum conversations for everyone's sake...)
- marcoperaza 10y ago
  >Well, the Internet became just that medium, but Castro never deemed fit to give access to the citizens of his country. He and his comrades are just too old to get it. I think this quote from your original post better shows the profound misconceptions that you have about the Castro regime. The internet is not tightly restricted because the "he and his comrades are just too old to get it". It's restricted because the free exchange of ideas and facts is a threat to their brutal dictatorship. Because all of their heads would probably roll if it ever collapses. Napoleon and Caesar are now academic history. They are not combatants in any ongoing conflicts, nor causing any ongoing suffering. The Castros, meanwhile, are still exporting their "revolution" to other places (Venezuela is a very visible victim) and those who suffer greatly at their hands are still with us.
- x2398dh1 10y ago
  No, let's not leave Hitler out. Do you also admire Hitler? Why or why not?

refurb 10y ago

I love how all the folks in this thread who actually lived in Cuba (or their families did) are getting down voted. I'm guessing by people who don't have the same type of experience.

andrenth 10y ago
Can't let reality get in the way of their romanticized ideas about a brutal dictatorship.
calibraxis 10y ago
I do not know about any posters on this thread, but in general when a country undergoes a revolution, the families of former elites flee (generals, the wealthy, etc). In the case of Cuba, many exiles went to the US and even gained CIA support for ongoing attacks against Cuba and other Cuban immigrants. (https://books.google.com/books?id=qlny4FXvAzYC&pg=PA88&lpg=PA88 https://books.google.com/books?id=qlny4FXvAzYC&pg=PA88&lpg=P...)
- marcoperaza 10y ago
  Plenty of elites fled, but so did plenty of everyone else. On one side of the family, my grandfather was a self-made businessman with a 4th grade education who sold appliances in a rural area. On the other side, my grandfather was a middle-class computer technician in Havana. Also, quoting from the Chomsky clan doesn't help your credibility. These are the same people who sang the praises of Hugo Chavez as he ruled Venezuela by decree and ran it into the ground. And yes, the CIA did help organize an invasion force made up of Cuban exiles who wanted to save their country from communism. It's a shame Jack Kennedy didn't have the intestinal fortitude to either see it through or cancel it, instead deciding to cancel air support after landing people on the beaches.

pavlov 10y ago

Would you find it reasonable for someone to express admiration for Napoleon or Julius Caesar? Both were genocidal narcissists, but also brilliant military strategists and orators. It's possible to admire the latter aspects in isolation, without condoning most of what they did. I feel the same way about Castro's revolutionary campaign. (Let's leave Hitler out of online forum conversations for everyone's sake...)

marcoperaza 10y ago
>Well, the Internet became just that medium, but Castro never deemed fit to give access to the citizens of his country. He and his comrades are just too old to get it. I think this quote from your original post better shows the profound misconceptions that you have about the Castro regime. The internet is not tightly restricted because the "he and his comrades are just too old to get it". It's restricted because the free exchange of ideas and facts is a threat to their brutal dictatorship. Because all of their heads would probably roll if it ever collapses. Napoleon and Caesar are now academic history. They are not combatants in any ongoing conflicts, nor causing any ongoing suffering. The Castros, meanwhile, are still exporting their "revolution" to other places (Venezuela is a very visible victim) and those who suffer greatly at their hands are still with us.
x2398dh1 10y ago
No, let's not leave Hitler out. Do you also admire Hitler? Why or why not?