Saturday, November 26, 2016

Ding dong. The dictator is dead!

I will take time out of criticizing the wannabe dictator in order to talk about a real one.

fidel castro is dead.

About sixty years late!

When I was young and naive, I too was charmed by castro and che.  I loved the fact that castro was a pain that America could not get rid.

And then I grew up.

I came to understand castro's atrocious system of suffocating the fundamental rights of people that even most Indians take for granted.  I came to understand che's role as executioner-in-chief for castro's murderous dictatorship.  The tortures of political opponents and prisoners.  When I heard Cuban-Americans talk about how they were forced to flee Cuba, I got to understand how everyday life was affected because of castro's megalomania.

In my transition years, in order to fit in with the left-leaning circle, I tried to fake my appreciation for che and fidel.  But, after a while, as with most things in life, I figured that living an honest life was worth more to me than to be associated with people who worship the killers that castro and che were.

I read a few notes by famous Cuban-Americans.  The jazz musician Arturo Sandoval had a moving post, from which I have excerpted the following:
The dictator of Cuba has died, FINALLY!!!
I've been waiting for this day for so many years of my life, but unfortunately after 58 years of a horrible dictatorship, the damage that he has done to our country will likely be impossible to fix quickly, and may take a few generations to repair.
I thought that when this day arrived I would be jumping on one foot for hours, but unfortunately what I'm thinking about now are the multitude of people who lost their lives because of him. He destroyed a beautiful island and made us emigrate from our beloved country. He separated our people and he taught our people how to hate one another other.
He was worse than evil, the kind of person that Hell even turns away. And it pains me that he's passed without ever being prosecuted for all the crimes he committed.
The death of that dictator perhaps won't make a damn difference when there are plenty, like the orange monster, cannot wait to become dictators, throw opponents in jail, torture people, and spread hate.  But, I rejoice in the fact that not even a dictator can escape death.  I look forward to celebrating after Mugabe dies.


2 comments:

Ramesh said...

Yup. I have never understood the infatuation with Che or Castro. I can understand the infatuation with extreme left economics. But I cannot understand how that can lead to acceptance of the atrocities that these two committed.

I am less against them because they were dictators. I am wholly against the ridiculous things they did.

It is never good to wish the death of another human being, but I whole heartedly am willing to make an exception for Mugabe.

Sriram Khé said...

The left has always defended the atrocious practices of the extreme left leaders ... But then the right is no different--how often do we hear GOP leaders and presidents complain about human rights abuses in, say, China or Saudi Arabia? Politics is for the unprincipled, from the elected folks down to the grassroots level it seems :(

Unlike you, I am always ready to wish the death of horrible human beings. There are quite a few in my wish list ;) mugabe is merely one in the list :(