meatcleaver
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Joined: 3/13/2006
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Marc2b
quote:
Power will never be given to the people which is why Rosa Luxembourg said she was a memember of the permanent opposition.
I have a suspicion that we’d disagree on what exactly constitutes "power." To me it simply means that people have the freedom to make most of the decisions (from the mundane to the momentous) in their life and, so long as their actions don’t infringe upon the rights of others, we leave them alone.
You mean, like people with serious power? The idea that decisions made by government and the rich (who own western governments) doesn't impact on the life chances and choices of ordinary people is nonsense. Many people have claimed to be the first to say it but politics is too important to leave to politicians.
quote:
ORIGINAL: Marc2b
quote:
The thing that winds me up about criticism of Castro is that the people who criticize him are guilty of supporting governments that have caused more death and misery than him and like it or not, we in the west, take your choice from the European empires to the American empire, have caused far more misery, oppression and death than him.
Well, first I’d like to point out that comparing all of western civilization to Castro and his one island is a little like comparing the damage a herd of buffalo can do versus the damage a single buffalo can do. But that’s beside the point.
Now, you say that people who criticize Castro are guilty of supporting governments that have caused far more death and misery. I see three things wrong with this. First, to be fair, you should say that most of the people who criticize Castro, etc... I’ll grant that you are speaking in general terms but referring to generalities (real or perceived) as absolutes is part of the process that backs people up into ideological corners (not that I’m not guilty of it myself).
Second, it amounts to a justification. It is the international politics version of the abuse excuse. "Yes, he’s a brutal serial killer but he had a rough childhood," becomes "yes, he’s a brutal dictator, but..."
Thirdly (and this is the part that winds me up) is that people fail to see that you can flip that statement and it still reads the same way: most of the people who criticize right wing dictatorships support left wing dictatorships. This is what I mean (or, at least, one of the things I mean) when I say that the Left and the Right are mirror images of each other. Each accuses the other of hypocrisy while practicing the same hypocrisy. You can see this in all levels of politics and indeed in human relationships in general. I believe it to be a part of our basic animal heritage (but I won’t go off on that tangent here).
I’m certainly not one to call for moral absolutism (it takes to big an investment of mental energy to be pissed off at everyone). If you want to argue causes and effects in a political and historical context then by all means do so – but I fail to see any reason to sing the praises of a man who has denied his people freedom for decades and has presided over torture and summary executions.
In the grand scheme of things, Castro is a minnow and the willingness of the US to economically grind Cuba into the ground has always been out of proportion, it has shown a mean, spiteful and bitter side to US governments that have only served to create a view of the US as a arrogant imperial bully. Especially when the American politicians that rile against Castro send US troops around the world on imperial jollies.
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There are fascists who consider themselves humanitarians, like cannibals on a health kick, eating only vegetarians.
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RE: Fidel Castro Resigns - 
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Yeah synergy, just like the House of Saud and the Bush family. And just like Pinochet and Ortega, and Sadam, and and Idi Amin and Queen Elizabeth the First, and..." 
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