Hiding under a T-shirt

Hey Folks,

I wote up the posting below some time ago (when the vultures were slobbering over the "imminent" death of Fidel Castro - hasn't happened yet). The original focus was on the hypocrisy of celebrating a person's death while pretending to celebrate something else, apparently so the city government won't get too much flack for footing the bill.

A number of things have happened since January that lead me to make an additional point relevant to several future postings:

We've been led to see these folks who fled Cuba for Miami as the "good guys" fleeing the evil dictator. We've been led to take for granted comments such as one exile's claim, "He [Castro] represents everything bad that has happened to the people of Cuba for 48 years."

That, of course, is utter crap. If it read "He represents everything bad that has happened to the people who fled Cuba," he'd be largely correct, since it was the privileged - the ones who had abused the majority of Cubans - who had to flee and lost their special status. But certainly the US government's embargo has caused immeasurable suffering for actual Cubans, astronomically more than Castro has caused former Cubans or the minority of actual Cubans longing for the "good old days" of imperialism and the Mafia.

But the "good guy" spin is what we always get from our government and the media regarding an overthrown oppressive minority, one that had played ball with us by abusing their own countrymen.

In future posts you'll see how this Miami Cuban / "good guys" thing plays out in a more recent context.

- Uke Man



Hey Folks,

I understand why the formerly privileged and the descendents of formerly privileged Cubans living in Miami would rejoice at Fidel Castro's death - he forced them to work for a living. I understand the urge to piss on someone's grave - Ronald Reagan's for one and Milton Friedman's for another.

Although I have no sympathy for the Miami celebrants - since I think they got what they richly deserved - I do understand their animosity toward their "enemy." What I don't understand is their hypocrisy.

It seems clear from the article that they want the city of Miami to sponsor a "Piss on Dead Fidel" party but don't have the guts to admit it. They are bursting with the prospect of it, but are having difficulty figuring out what slogan to put on their commemorative T-shirts to officially state the "theme."

Apparently the problem is to coin a phrase that says "Come let's dance on Castro's grave," but sounds like "Come smack the funny pinata!!"

Somehow, I don't think the T-shirt - whatever it ends up saying - will fool anyone but the fools wearing them.

- Uke Man


LITTLE HAVANA
When Cuban leader dies, Miami wants a big party
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Michael Vasquez
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

MIAMI — One day, very possibly one day soon, ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro will die — and a committee sponsored by the city of Miami wants to be ready.

So it’s planning a party.

The event, still in the very early planning stage, would be held in Little Havana’s Orange Bowl stadium — and might include commemorative Tshirts, a catchy slogan and bands that will make your hips shake.

The stadium is a bittersweet landmark in South Florida’s Cuban-American experience. After the 1961 Bay of Pigs fiasco, more than 35,000 exiles gathered there to hear President John F. Kennedy promise a free Cuba.

Decades later, the bowl served as a camp for refugees after the Mariel boatlift.

City Commissioner Tomas Regalado, a Cuban-American, came up with the idea of using the venue for an event timed to Castro’s demise.

"He represents everything bad that has happened to the people of Cuba for 48 years," Regalado said of Castro. "There is something to celebrate,
regardless of what happens next. ... We get rid of the guy."

Despite that statement, Regalado, along with other organizers, prefers to think of it as a celebration of the end of communism — whether or not that is triggered by Castro’s death — as opposed to a largescale tap-dancing session on someone’s grave. Regalado compares it to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The city created the citizens committee that is planning the event this month. When the still-unnamed panel met for the first time last week, Castro’s death was nowhere to be found on the meeting agenda. The meeting was officially — and ambiguously — advertised under the title, "Committee Meeting for an Event at the Orange Bowl."

Its purpose, according to the city’s Web site: "Discuss an event at the Orange Bowl in case expected events occur in Cuba."

At that meeting, committee member and former state Rep. Luis Morse stressed the need for an uplifting, forward-looking theme for the party — one not preoccupied with a human being’s passing. The committee discussed including such a theme on T-shirts that would be made by private vendors for the event.

Plenty of details have to be sorted out: What musicians would perform? The city hopes entertainers will donate their services. How long will the event last? Hours? Days? And how much will it cost?

Performance stages require time to be set up, and a security guard company has already told Miami officials it requires 24 hours’ notice before being able to work the stadium. A gap of a day or two between Castro’s death and the Orange Bowl event is possible.

And before printing themed T-shirts, Miami has to actually decide what the theme is. It’s still working on that one.

"That has to be done with a lot of sensitivity," Morse said. "Somebody needs to be a very good wordsmith."

The stadium plan, though in its infancy, already has drawn criticism from callers on Spanish-language radio who complain Miami is dictating to Cuban Americans where they should experience one of the most intensely dramatic moments of their lives.

Ramon Saul Sanchez, leader of the Miami-based Democracy Movement organization, worries about how a party would be perceived by those outside the exile community. He stressed that Castro’s death will prompt a whole range of emotions among Cubans — not just joy.