filed under History | Social Justice
Thinking Cuba Differently
8:36PM ON
02/19/2008
BY
Ariel Werner
For a different take on Castro’s resignation, one that the mainstream press can’t really offer, check out this tidbit from the folks over at History is a Weapon:
We hang with the anarchists, we’ve got a whole stack of Spanish Civil War books on the shelf and are quick to argue the possibility and beauty in an anarchist world. Occasionally, we drink with the liberals and we hang with every sect of lefty faction, including the world renowned communist factionalist league. But some of them anarchists grit their teeth when they hear us talk about Cuba. We love Cuba. A quick sail from the deepest south, a plantation society was overthrown.
And despite all the trashing from the U.S., rhetorically and physically, Cuba has held strong through coup attempts, biological warfare, losing its biggest subsidizer (don’t scoff, capitalism is an entire system of subsidy), and the long silent endurance marathon of struggling to stay free so close to the empire’s cold inner core. Look to Allende in Chile and the activists (students, organizers, teachers, doctors, workers, people all with dreams, stories, scars and strengths and families) taken to the stadium, look to Nicaragua and the rest of Central America and the families ripped apart and death squads, look to vietnam and the thousands of gallons of poison just pumped, carpet style, over the entire country. The masters have to make examples of the uppity slaves; one that has struck back must be put down.
Today, the New York Times reports that Fidel Castro is resigning as the president of Cuba. Lefties everywhere, of every stripe, need to touch base. The United States government has tried to destabilize and threaten Cuban sovereignty since the bay of pigs, including, but not limited to linking Cuba to the war on terror (president Carter, of all people, immediately got on a plane to Cuba and said that this was total nonsense and that Cuba shouldn’t be linked to at all; we still hate Carter, but he did earn points for this one). If Cuba is attacked or messed with, lefties need to mobilize and stand up quick. We need to make clear that this is unacceptable. I wish the same thing was happening for Iraq and Afghanistan, but if the master’s whip changes direction, we must be ready.The world is a much better place because of Castro’s work. We hope that he continues to live a long and healthy life.
Write a Comment