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I lived in Cuba for a while, as an intern at an NGO. I was surprised to see how free spoken the people were. Over time I learned how the system worked. In ever
by graeme 12y ago
I lived in Cuba for a while, as an intern at an NGO. I was surprised to see how free spoken the people were.
Over time I learned how the system worked. In every neighborhood there was a CDR, committee for the defence of the revolution. Members of the CDR surveilled. Generally, people knew when you went out, who you had over, some things you said.
You couldn't know when someone would know. Some topics were taboo, others were more risky. But the biggest factor was whether you were likely to cause a fuss. People who weren't important were allowed to blow off steam. But they were watched. And the day they rose to become a threat, the system had been on them for some time.
So you thought long and hard before doing something that would actually threaten the system, outside the bounds of what was tolerated.
Ending with a system that looked free, and many even described as free. Because in a lot of important senses, it was. But in very specific, important senses, it was not.
- kevin_thibedeau 12y agoSounds a lot like the utopia of THX1138.
- drzaiusapelord 12y agoI'm not sure why the left and the libertarian right are such advocates of Cuba. Its a hellish system there where basic human rights are trampled with impunity. Sadly, whenever this is brought up, I get the usual whataboutism's about the US.
- Someone1234 12y agoYou're conflating "advocates for Cuba" with those simply against the pointless embargo. There's a huge difference, but if the US wants to continue the embargo at least be consistent about it, hit China, Haiti, Yemen, India, and so on. Heck just hit all of the "Unfree" in the freedom index[0], that would at least be a little consistent. Cuba definitely has a lot of problems. But so do many of the US's major trading partners, I mean want to talk about Saudi Arabia, Israel, and China..? [0] http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking
- drzaiusapelord 12y ago>I mean want to talk about Saudi Arabia, Israel, and China..? Notice my comment about meaningless whataboutism's. The reality is that what's happening in Israel does not affect what's happening in the hellish political climate of Cuba.
- Someone1234 12y agoNotice my comment about you conflating people talking about the embargo specifically, rather than about Cuba's internal politics.
- nyolfen 12y agoyes, a hellscape of nearly full employment, universal healthcare/world class medicine, and basic needs of citizens guaranteed despite half a century of economic and covert warfare by the world's largest economy. truly horrifying
- selimthegrim 12y agoI understand you have a ticket waiting for you at Miami, then?
- ci5er 12y agoCan you point me to an example of a right-libertarian being "such an advocate of Cuba"?
- rwallace 12y agoAs someone who could reasonably be classified on the libertarian right, I think you're conflating different views under a blanket heading of 'advocacy of Cuba'. I certainly do not think communist dictatorship is a good form of government. But I am opposed to the economic sanctions, which are pointlessly destructive and worse than useless; they hurt the innocent more than the guilty, and they create an atmosphere of isolation and paranoia that makes bad governments worse not better.
- worklogin 12y agoFrankly, I feel this is the situation with the US. So many people say so many things, from threats to talks of secession to revolution. But it wouldn't be until those people have actual influence or potential to take action that people are taken out - MLK, for example.
- junto 12y agoYou've hit the nail on the head. The US system is just more automated and advanced than the Cuban. The pricinples remain the same. Watch all the people all of the time and when someone gets interesting then have the knife ready in place to twist it as hard as possible to 'neutralise' the risk to the status quo and those in fiscal power.
- abandonliberty 12y agoThanks for sharing this. In my short time wandering Cuba as a tourist, everyone parroted the official story e.g. the injustice imposed on the Cuban five. To be fair my Spanish was poor at the time. Suspect the end of embargo will lead more tourists to be exposed to the regime's official story.
- graeme 12y agoI doubt most people would notice actually. It took a while before I started learning the details. It's a pretty subtle system. The initial impression is that there's actually less repression than outside reports indicate. And as far as repressive regimes go, it's not heavy handed. They're very effective at stopping organized opposition, and any large scale business – but the average person does have a reasonable amount of liberty. I never heard anyone talk about the Cuban five. They don't care. That's just propaganda.
- taivare 12y agoI believe Chris Hedges described this, as I remember the term he applied to your system was Inverted Totalitarianism.
- arca_vorago 12y agoWhich is actual Sheldon Wolin's term and if you haven't you owe it to yourself to read some of his work. Very apt.