theroot | As much as I love Professor Gates and ALL that he has and continues
to do to reveal the true state of affairs and the imbalances that are
yet to be addressed by the U.S. in particular, I was a bit disappointed
in the article. The article seems to suggest that there is a place on
earth where the poison of racism has been or could be eradicated! To
reiterate the sentiments of 'Haile Selassie' on this forum, THIS CANCER
has infected the WORLD.
With all the best intentions the Cuban
Government could only do its best to encourage equality. The white
scourge of Cuba that fled to Florida/the U.S. were the ones upholding
racism and oppressing blacks - period. The fact that where the money
flowed, the status quo was bound to remain unchanged does not require a
leap in comprehension. In similar fashion, despite the efforts of many
political parties to open education to lower income folks i.e. blacks,
the status quo of "white moneyed-power" remains the same throughout the
West Indies. Indeed, this is the situation with America and the climb
for blacks out of poverty remains a steep hill.
The above struggle
of blacks to deal with all they have been subjected to from the
original crossing to-date, is clearly demonstrated by Prof. Gates's own
"Many Rivers To Cross" documentary. Thus I am surprised the article
does not appear to have taken into account the effect of such oppression
on future generations. Worse than just the racism that was in play
before the economic collapse in Cuba, the economic collapse itself would
be much more devastating to the blacks already at the bottom of the
economic rung. In addition, the logic in the slaveholders' strategy to
withhold education from their slaves, is inescapable. How could the
slaves seize the reins of power without knowledge? Therefore, lack of
empowerment of blacks was almost sealed from nation to nation.
I
have travelled several times to Cuba but never used the tourist package.
Instead I was honoured to be hosted by a family in Havana, the couple
Alex and Conchita with their wonderful WELL-EDUCATED, eleven-year old
son. Yes, the downside included flies, the inability to even purchase
bare necessities (and things appeared to have gotten worse after 2008 as
well; perhaps less money in circulation due to the U.S.A's own economic
woes?), etc., etc but the love and friendliness I experienced, I had
not found on any of my other travels except maybe, in Panama. Alex and
Conchita's son could speak fluently three languages, Spanish (of
course), English and Italian! Plus he stumbled through some
conversational French. He could also play the piano. They were
brown-skinned, their neighbour had a white complexion. They had grown
up in Havana and white or brown were very good friends. I was truly
impressed by the comraderie.
It is fortunate that due to less
overt racism, the dark Cubans aren't as persecuted as black Americans.
IMO if America had not helped to suffocate the Cuban economy, there
would have been a good chance of lifting the darker Cuban farther up the
educational ladder and thereby ensuring access to positions of power.
ALL Cubans are definitely more accepting of people of different
complexions - what with half of Africa, Germans and Italians inundating
the Island every year - than are Americans. One of my most horrible
experiences was in MIAMI when my BLACK wife was almost refused service.
They don't look at your mixed complexion children and ask if the BLACK
one is adopted for instance! Cubans are so mixed that they are
accustomed to dark-complexioned people with green eyes, or three
children of the same parentage looking different to each other.
Despite, continuous mixing of races in America, you still get these
ignoramuses asking these intrusively rude questions.
Another
overlooked fact is that MOST of the impoverished Caribbean and Latin
America look to SPORTS to lift them out of poverty. Not just because
the Cuban Government used sports to give its populace a means of
validation but because it is general knowledge that the Americans are
batsh*t crazy about sports. American sports scouts traverse Latin
America and the Caribbean particularly. Cubans know that if they could
get to say, Santo Domingo, they might get recruited. There are groups
that review and broadcast scoring stats to U.S. scouts. The fact is NO
HUMAN wants to live in POVERTY and the good ole U.S.A. ensured that Cuba
would be punished for ejecting its racist, criminal overlords. Despite
the embargo, Cuba managed to educate its population. People from other
Caribbean Islands go to Cuba for its medical advantages. Cuba offers
the opportunity to study medicine for almost free, on the condition that
you return to your country and serve your people.
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