Losing by winning

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Another such victory and we shall be undone.

King Pyrrhus of Epirus

The Miami Herald reports today that the lifting of the Cuba travel ban for Cuban-Americans will most likely occur without a single concession from the castro regime. Proponents of lifting the travel ban are hailing this is a victory.

Read the comments to the Herald story and – apart from the usual racism and denigration of the South Florida Cuban-American community – you’ll see all sorts of characters chiming in and cheering.

Yes, cheer away, folks. You won. You can now, as free men, go to and from Cuba freely, to visit your enslaved relatives on the island plantation. All the while filling the pockets of the slavemaster.

9 thoughts on “Losing by winning”

  1. Exactly, Val. And the slavemasters don’t give a shit what the visitors may say against the regime outside of Cuba (assuming they even say much of anything). “Sticks and stones (or lack of material support) may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

    I no longer allow myself to get too upset over stuff like this. The fact is, Cuba was sunk primarily by Cubans, though they’ve always had plenty of outside help, and the “kindness of strangers” is a deceptive, pernicious myth. Getting Cuba out of its hellhole is the responsibility of Cubans themselves, and if Cubans don’t do it, you’d better believe nobody else will. Quite the opposite, as the evidence of half a century overwhelmingly indicates. If enough Cubans aren’t sufficiently serious about seeing their country free, well, it won’t be. Simple (and tragic) as that.

  3. “…the rest of them have no clue how it feels to see a niece or nephew or a great aunt smile when we bring them something as small as a pack of saz?n or a pack of gum.”

    That pretty much says it all. Welcome to the next fifty years.

  4. I said this was going to happen. That’s why I wanted a deal any deal during the W admin. Can’t believe any of you are surprised. Don’t blame Obama, don’t blame Congress or even Rangel blame those idiots who wanted all or nothing…congrats, we got nothing. We should be happy the rest of the embargo sticks, for now.

  5. Anyone can theorize and go “what if,” but there never would have been any deal worth making. Castro, Inc. knew all it had to do was bide its time and wait, especially since there was little or nothing to suggest the slaves would get out of control. Remember, no matter what, the ruling class is always perfectly provided for, and the rest of the population doesn’t count, so waiting is not a problem. One of the big reasons the slaves can be kept passive and/or docile is the highly effective and diligently exploited emotional blackmail of Cubans living outside the island. It works like a charm–always has, and apparently always will. Then there’s the amoral ulterior motivation or agenda of lots of non-Cubans (yes, including Republicans) to aid and abet Castro, Inc. Hell, Serrano sounds like he’s made it his life’s mission to undermine the cause of a free Cuba, and he’s NOT an isolated case. So basically, we have a no-win situation, sort of like we did with Elian. I repeat, if enough Cubans, in and out of Cuba, are not serious enough about seeing their country free, it won’t be. Period.

  6. Oh, and Ziva, like the woman said, freedom is a nice concept and all, but Cuba won’t be free anytime soon, so we just need to get over it. Makes one proud of one’s fellow Cubans, no? Lord help us.

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