Today’s Washington Post, publishes a piece on the future of what to us is one of the most evil tools fidel has used to maintain power over th last five decades:
For decades, Peleaz and her mother before her have been keepers of [f]idel [c]astro’s communist message, using their position as the head of the neighborhood’s Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, or CDR, as an ideological wedge into the minds of their neighbors. Now, in the twilight of [c]astro’s reign, the fate of the CDRs could provide a clue about Cuba’s future.
Once, in a bygone era when revolutionary fervor was at its apex, they were muscular entities, dominating street life and cementing [c]astro’s hold on power. But over the years they have atrophied, becoming more creaking relic than shining showpiece, victim of the waning enthusiasms of a population weary of economic deprivation.
As [c]astro’s brother, interim President [r]aul [c]astro, prepares to take full control after his brother’s death, party officials take visiting dignitaries on tours of the committees, and there are signs that the younger [c]astro is trying to inject new life into a system that could be crucial to solidifying his hold on power.
Police call block leaders more often, pressing aggressively for information, according to interviews with current and former CDR leaders. Earlier this year, Cuba’s state-run television network broadcast an exposé shaming several committees for failing to post obligatory round-the-clock sentries.
“We’re working to lift up the committees,” said Over DeLeon, a veteran of the Cuban Revolution who has been a block committee president in Havana for most of the past four decades. “People have not been demonstrating the same spirit, faith and enthusiasm. The population is tired. It has been battling for many years. But we must be vigilant.”
Restoring the CDRs to their former glory might be a monumental task. For every unabashed enthusiast such as DeLeon, it seems, there are other CDR leaders whose passion for the system has tapered off.
I’m not going to quote the whole thing, but examine the language of these six paragraphs. The writer, intentionally I think, has placed the CDRs, snitches and rats selling out their neighbors for goodies and political favors, as a serious adjunct to the regime, giving them a certain credibility and, dare I say it, respect. The theme of the piece is about the snitches, not their victims. It’s only until you read further that you get a little sop to the good guys. This is just more of the same white-washing with language that we’ve had for so long. The MSM doesn’t give a rat’s ass about Cuba. Otherwise, a line like this,
“[w]e’re creating something,” DeLeon said, “Something called a ‘political conscience.’ “,
would have been written about Oscar Elias Biscet, and not the rat-fink head of a CDR.
The Post lavished 44 paragraphs on the rats of the regime, and a total of three paragraphs on Oscar Elias Biscet winning the Medal of Freedom yesterday.
That, my friends, says it all.
This, of course, is the same Washington Post that not only chose to run the incredibly prejudiced, grotesquely biased and unforgivably offensive anti-Cuban Oliphant cartoon recently, but also totally ignored the very serious objections to it by people as distinguished as a Yale professor and National Book Award winner.
Yes, the Washington Post is contemptible, but nobody can say it’s not consistent.
“Restoring the CDRs to their former glory”
Now, that’s rich. How can anyone even say such a thing? There NEVER was any glory, only infamy and the promotion of the most base human traits. I don’t believe this poor excuse for a journalist is that clueless; he’d have to be retarded for that to be believable. God, so many amoral, heartless assholes!
What I found somewhat surprising with regards to the article, was the fact that these folks were so open to being photographed, having their names documented, etc. I have in past years, heard so many folks on the island speak of how when change comes – which is obviously at hand – these folks are most certain to become targets for reprisals. Apparently, this couple couldn’t care less. Just a small point that struck me.
These CDR types are the true worms of Cuban society. They are not worth spitting on. When freedom comes, I think they’ll find they might as well be lepers, though of course they’ll try to weasel out of responsibility.
Still, we HAVE to come to grips with why such people have existed on every block throughout Cuba for nearly 50 years. What does that say about Cubans as a people? What does that mean? What are we going to do about it?
Asombra,
I think it says little about “Cubans as a people.” There is good and bad in every society, and there always has been. Bottom feeding snitches like these have always been around to torment their fellows. Most, I believe are motivated by envy or greed. Some, perhaps a few, may be “true believers” or where true believers at one point, and are now to deeply indebted and dependent on the system to get out.
What is to be done about it? I guess that is up to the neighbors who know them best. In most cases, perhaps nothing. Some cases may be addressed through street justice. Regrettable, but a reality. In other cases where great harm has come to innocents, there should be judicial sanctions under a lawful government.
Sadly, “bottom feeders” turned out to be only too plentiful, at all levels and in practically every setting, not just CDRs. That was absolutely critical for Castro to take and consolidate his power, as well as maintain it all these years.
There is still a kind of taboo against admitting that a very significant proportion of Cuban society was willing, if not eager, to screw over their fellow Cubans. It doesn’t really matter what the actual percentage was; the point is it was too high, certainly high enough to enable the disaster and destroy the country.
We have to stop blaming one or a few people for what was, in fact, committed by many, MANY people. It’s very unpleasant and uncomfortable, but sweeping it under the rug is not the answer. I don’t know what the best way to deal with this is, but NOT dealing with it will only come back to haunt us and obstruct true recuperation.
Of course there are bad people in any society, but how many other countries have sunk as low as Cuba? How many have accepted and sustained a monster like Castro and his horrendous system for half a century? Some have, yes, but many more have not. What does that say? What does that mean? What are we prepared to do about it to make sure it never happens again?
The story goes like this….
There are four young black men playing dominoes in the courtyard of an apartment complex in Havana. All of a sudden one of their neighbors runs out her front door screaming: fidel, se cayó, fidel se cayó! (fidel has fallen, fidel has fallen). Upon hearing this, the four young men -in unisom- jumped from their seat, turned the table over, and each grabbed a leg. They were last seen running towards the street and to their neighborhood CDR. We can only imagine what transpired next.
Unfortunately, the fidel that “had fallen” was the woman’s husband, who is also called fidel.
Is this a true story? I don’t know if it is… I only know that people in Cuba are spreading it around the island.
Hmmm, so the floggings will continue until morale improves in the CDRs?
Doesn’t sound like a bad sign to me.