tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34496910.post7486682919403852511..comments2023-11-02T05:39:15.915-04:00Comments on José Martí Blog: No, Christian, There Is No Santa CastroManuel A.Tellecheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08637085685599554349noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34496910.post-33476316092274384362015-01-03T20:02:56.159-05:002015-01-03T20:02:56.159-05:00"The U.S. did not "fund and arm Batista&..."The U.S. did not "fund and arm Batista's forces.…” <br /><br />It armed Batista’s forces up until the arms embargo, after which the U.S. continued to clandestinely back Batista in every other way possible. The arms embargo was a symbolic blow that had no practical implications as Batista easily continued purchasing arms from other countries. The U.S merely wanted to be seen as a neutral actor in Cuba’s "civil war" after having supplied Batista with the means to murder and oppress the opposition. <br /><br />By 1958, Castro’s political positions were ambiguous (indeed, nearly identical to what was promised by other Cuban leaders who had come to power on the tails of revolutionary movements; a platform Batista himself endorsed at one point), and the Batista regime was completely untenable. The U.S. hedged its bets, believing that in the event Castro prevailed he would, as precedent indicated, ultimately bring stability and protect the role of American interests in Cuba. Those who fell victim to Castro’s shrewd political calculations collectively contributed to his rise: the U.S. government, American corporations, Herbert Matthews, elements of the private sector, the moderate Batista opposition, and most importantly, the Cuban people. The Cuban Revolution was more a public relations victory than a military triumph. <br /><br />You acknowledge the fact that Cubans supported the 26th of July Movement after its victory (“victory”?) and that many Cubans supported him based on false pretenses, but stop short of accepting that this support encompassed a majority of the island’s population in spite of the overwhelming evidence. Why is the fact that the majority of Cubans initially supported him so inconceivable? <br /><br />Fidel came into power making a strong case for what every Cuban desired — sovereignty, democracy, and justice — after it had been cruelly abrogated by Batista. The nation was reeling from the repression, economic recession, and corruption wrought by the Batista regime and Castro promised to unite them in a path to national redemption. Fidel was also buoyed by the messianic narrative of the revolution that swept Cuba’s vast media landscape (before it was nationalized). This catapulted him above the rest of the anti-Batista opposition, which ultimately united in support of his revolutionary program. <br /><br />Support for the revolution was powerfully demonstrated in hours-long rallies attended by masses of Cubans of all backgrounds and in all provinces — by some estimates, some of the largest mass rallies in the history of the Western hemisphere — which Fidel saw as a form of “direct democracy” (he would address the million+ attendees as “the General National Assembly of the People.”). <br /><br />To accept that he was initially supported by the people does not diminish or justify his crimes. History provides us with many examples of charismatic dictators who were able to successfully consolidate totalitarian states by deceiving the people through demagoguery, stoking nationalistic fervor, politicizing everything under the sun, and uniting them against a foreign enemy— Hitler in Nazi Germany and Mao in Communist China, for example. Totalitarianism is unachievable without that initial process of mass mobilization. Do Cubans possess some superhuman trait that renders them immune to duplicity? <br /><br />P.S. — You should ask me about my Cuban bona fides instead of speculating. I’m a Hialeah-born Cuban-American. My maternal grandparents were Batista-era exiles, and my paternal grandparents were Castro-era exiles. My paternal grandfather was involved in the anti-Castro insurgency and held as a political prisoner. On my mom's side, my great great great grandfather was a major general in Cuba’s 10 Years War and is honored with a marble statue and park in his native Holguín, check him out —> http://www.ecured.cu/index.php/Julio_Grave_de_Peralta<br /><br />Now put that in your pipe & smoke it. <br />I’ll respond to some of your other points in a subsequent post..Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16518595098570193639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34496910.post-22160119686328915612015-01-03T18:44:05.373-05:002015-01-03T18:44:05.373-05:00Vana:
As the Talmud teaches, “He who saves a sing...Vana:<br /><br />As the Talmud teaches, “He who saves a single life, saves the world entire," which is interpreted to mean that as long as one good person exists, good still exists in the world, and, therefore, there is still hope for humanity.<br /><br />I believe that there is still hope for Christian C., too. His conclusions about Cuba are almost always right, but not the premises on which he bases them. I could well say, "All's well that ends well," but conclusions that are sustained by errors are as weak and vulnerable as the errors themselves. Truth must have truth as its foundation and no other.<br /><br />And so, if he still cares to know the truth, I will continue to bombard him with it.<br /><br />Manuel A.Tellecheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08637085685599554349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34496910.post-79284438192391172452015-01-03T17:46:44.755-05:002015-01-03T17:46:44.755-05:00Manuel:
All we can do now is keep our fingers cro...Manuel:<br /><br />All we can do now is keep our fingers crossed.Vanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08340793573089792646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34496910.post-11861070214620699502015-01-03T09:32:40.428-05:002015-01-03T09:32:40.428-05:00Vana:
He knows where to go to learn the truth abo...Vana:<br /><br />He knows where to go to learn the truth about Cuba, which is almost as good as knowing the truth.Manuel A.Tellecheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08637085685599554349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34496910.post-84497761676969444042015-01-03T00:32:56.480-05:002015-01-03T00:32:56.480-05:00Manuel:
Let us hope he learns something from you ...Manuel:<br /><br />Let us hope he learns something from you and is influenced for the better, because my friend Sherlock Holmes should have been named Manuel.Vanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08340793573089792646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34496910.post-49438904507365549692015-01-02T21:58:58.173-05:002015-01-02T21:58:58.173-05:00Vana:
Using my powers of deductive reasoning — wh...Vana:<br /><br />Using my powers of deductive reasoning — which are on a par with Sherlock Holmes' — I have concluded that Christian C. is not a Cuban but is married to a Cuban and considers her family in Cuba his own. This is commendable. I only censure foreigners who aggravate the suffering of our countrymen, not those who try to mitigate it.<br /><br />His knowledge of Cuba is outstanding in some respects and deplorable in others. He knows what a well-informed foreigner with family ties to Cuba would know about the island. He doesn't know and will never know what Cubans really think about Castro and his Revolution. This is one subject which his Cuban relatives will never discuss openly in his presence. <br /><br />Finally, his mind is not yet closed on Cuba. He can still be influenced for the better, and, also, I'm afraid, for the worse.Manuel A.Tellecheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08637085685599554349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34496910.post-62184504476628211892015-01-02T15:29:58.653-05:002015-01-02T15:29:58.653-05:00Manuel:
Just heard that the US imposed more sanct...Manuel:<br /><br />Just heard that the US imposed more sanctions on North Korea for the Sony hack, for a hack! While giving the castros a pass for the ship full of arms detained in Panama, unfuckingunbelievable!!Vanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08340793573089792646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34496910.post-74643546409875485332015-01-02T15:07:24.140-05:002015-01-02T15:07:24.140-05:00Manuel:
Wow! You told him, indeed though he claim...Manuel:<br /><br />Wow! You told him, indeed though he claims to be Cuban, Christian does not consider himself an exile, perhaps he's not.<br /><br />Vanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08340793573089792646noreply@blogger.com