Gatos Gordos

Every once in a while – more often than I care to recall or mention – I come across some column written by some supposedly “enlightened” person or intellectual or editorialist that just makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs. Unfortunately, I came across one of those today, this one from a Leonard M. Goldstein, writing for the Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Indiana. You can read that column here.

In this particular column, what bothered me the most, what made me want to scream, was the typical liberal leftist canard that the Cuban American community in Florida consist of nothing but “fat cats” that “did well” under the “brutal” regimes prior to castro’s. This is all, of course, because we – as proven by our elected officials – simply support the embargo.

I wanted to write another f-bomb laced rant, but opted against it. Given the fact that my 76 year old father – who is an American citizen, certainly not rich, was incarcerated by castro numerous times, is a member of the Miami Cuban-American community and supports the embargo – wont be able to travel up to Ft Wayne to beat the living daylights out of Mr. Goldstein and slap some reality into him, I decided to use the fists dad gave me in a different way. To wit, my letter to the editors:

Dear Sirs,

Leonard Goldstein’s June 9th column, “Time for U.S. to end sad era with Cuba”, displays not only an incredibly peripheral knowledge of the subject at hand, but a myopic understanding of same, and, moreover, is disingenuous and rife with falsehoods. Far be it for anyone to not allow Mr. Goldstein an opinion on any particular subject, but for he to expound same in a denigrating manner and with such blatant bias against and disdain for a particular community borders on libel, is beyond insulting and reads of propaganda the likes of Hitler’s Goebbels.

I take exception to Mr. Goldstein’s continued references to Miami’s “fat cats”, stated with such unbridled hubris, and echoing the same denigrations the castro regime has historically subjected the over 2 million Cubans that have chosen exile. Exile, as opposed to remaining on an island with a mythical 100% literacy rate, a mythical free healthcare system, and a constitution so prostituted by the present regime that Mr. Goldstein’s only positive comment of same is “permits the free exercise of religion.” (A positive comment that is historically and factually incorrect.)

As Mr. Goldstein typed his letter most assuredly quite comfortably from his home office or den, hundreds men and women in Cuba languish in Cuban prisons for doing the exact same thing. There is, as expected, also Mr. Goldstein’s glaring omission of another quite bothersome fact to those who, like Goldstein, seem to have no issue with the castro regime: Cuba currently holds the most independent journalists in prison per capita in the world.

Apparently, Mr. Goldstein has an issue with “certain” American citizens (those pesky “fat cats”) not only exercising their rights to progress economically and seek the American dream, but to elect their representatives, exercising their right to vote as Americans, that will act in their best interests.

Mr. Goldstein seeks to promote the canard that Miami’s Cuban exile and Cuban-American community were and are all “upper class and professionals that did well under the brutal regimes” prior to castro’s. Of course, had Mr. Goldstein any knowledge whatsoever of the Cuban-American community and had Mr. Goldstein not had what I am sure are ulterior motives, Mr. Goldstein would know that these remarks are not only disingenuous, but a severe misrepresentation of the truth and a blatant distortion of the facts. Fact of the matter is that Cubans arrive in Miami every single day seeking freedom and they are from all walks of life, from the professional to the blue collar.

What makes the Cuban-American Community in Florida powerful is not that they are all rich fat cats, but that they – from the rich land developer to the “lower class” average Jose that mows lawns for a living – all vote as one and for what they believe is right. Mr Goldstein may criticize this community of mine all he wants, and he may profess the virtues of the castro regime and system vicariously and until the proverbial cows come home, but until he lives under the jackboot of a true tyranny the likes of fidel castro’s, then he is nothing but the quintessential and proverbial useful idiot.

Regards from the city of fat cats,

Val Prieto
Founder and Editor
www.babalublog.com