Fidel Castro Dead at Age 90

[Lady Scylla]

I think it depends on the civil war.

I don't see the sense in murdering the people that built one of the greatest healthcare systems in the world to empower the people who bomb civilian airliners. Neither are friends to liberal democracy. But then again neither am I.

Democracy is nice, but beyond the votes, it's maintained through blood.

[Commonwealth of Hank the Cat]

I read that Raul plans to step down and hand it over to the Vice President. Personally, I think this is a time to seriously try and topple the Cuban regime. But, of course, that won't happen, so more suffering and lofty "peace agreements" and giving money to dictators so they can have more massive pool parties.

Hooray. I mean, hell, he certainly held on to life for a long time.

I'm sure you'll be first off the boat mate.

Is that the best you can respond? Just pseudo-assumptionus nonsense?

[HUElavia]

The thing is, they were not part of that plan. My great-uncle was part of one of those groups that wanted to assassinate Castro, but the others weren't in it. I mean, they all hated Castro's leadership, but they didn't want to take part in killing him. Unfortunately, my great-uncle took part in it, and we all had to pay the price.

It's sad that had to happen. Why did they hate Castro and the Revolution?

They didn't like the way Castro came into power. I mean, sure Batista wasn't the best leader for Cuba, but we, my family, were okay during those years. My family didn't like the idea of Castro bringing in censorship into the country, as well as throwing dissidents into prison, and they were against his regime. At the end, the bomb incident occurred, and we had to flee.

[HUElavia]

Oh i do, if only because you seem to lack the knowledge of how much worse Batista treated the Cuban people.

As always, it's not the question of "everyone got shafted" but rather who got shafted.

Under Batista, the poor were shafted. Under Castro, the pro-capitalists were shafted.

That's why all of them are in Florida and not in Cuba.

Castro has been horrible for the Cubans. He just was popular enough among a large group of people. And scary.

^ This.

[The Union of Arianiz and Maishach]

I think this is a wonderful opportunity not only for Cuba, but for all Latin America, to get rid of the communist and socialist regimes that have undermined liberty in the region. This death is a chance to change the Latin American mindset and start thinking of development with innovation, creativity and hard work. Let's stop the hate politics of Castro and Chávez!

Umm... the U.S. also supported dictatorships in Latin America, and they were very anti-freedom when it came down to who they wanted as the ruler of the country (in several cases even going so far as to support military juntas).

So the hate politics kind of didn't start with Castro and Chavez over there, considering we staged a coup over a bunch of fucking bananas.

And who said that I agreed with US sponsored dictatorships? That's not what I am talking about. The problem with Latin America is the dominant belief that poverty is the product of external agents ("The Spanish", "the Empire", "The CIA", "The global right-wing") and that it can be solved by a charismatic strongman who steals from the productive to satisfy the immediate needs of the poor. That's the mindset we need to change in Latin America.

[Dwalin]

Oh i do, if only because you seem to lack the knowledge of how much worse Batista treated the Cuban people.

As always, it's not the question of "everyone got shafted" but rather who got shafted.

Under Batista, the poor were shafted. Under Castro, the pro-capitalists were shafted.

That's why all of them are in Florida and not in Cuba.

Castro has been horrible for the Cubans. He just was popular enough among a large group of people. And scary.

I think you make a point, i have always felt more compassion towards the poor than i have towards rich/greedy folks, and after all, i do support socialism more than capitalism.

[MERIZoC]

It's sad that had to happen. Why did they hate Castro and the Revolution?

They didn't like the way Castro came into power. I mean, sure Batista wasn't the best leader for Cuba, but we, my family, were okay during those years. My family didn't like the idea of Castro bringing in censorship into the country, as well as throwing dissidents into prison, and they were against his regime. At the end, the bomb incident occurred, and we had to flee.

Lol. As if Batista wasn't even more oppressive. Let's be honest here and admit that your family was wealthy and got upset when the mean socialists took their land.

[Dwalin]

It's sad that had to happen. Why did they hate Castro and the Revolution?

They didn't like the way Castro came into power. I mean, sure Batista wasn't the best leader for Cuba, but we, my family, were okay during those years. My family didn't like the idea of Castro bringing in censorship into the country, as well as throwing dissidents into prison, and they were against his regime. At the end, the bomb incident occurred, and we had to flee.

I'm still terribly confused by this. I mean, Batista was pretty much the same in those regards. Those arguements concerning freedom earlier and now censorship and throwing dissidents into prison really don't hold anything.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Umm... the U.S. also supported dictatorships in Latin America, and they were very anti-freedom when it came down to who they wanted as the ruler of the country (in several cases even going so far as to support military juntas).

So the hate politics kind of didn't start with Castro and Chavez over there, considering we staged a coup over a bunch of fucking bananas.

And who said that I agreed with US sponsored dictatorships? That's not what I am talking about. The problem with Latin America is the dominant belief that poverty is the product of external agents ("The Spanish", "the Empire", "The CIA", "The global right-wing") and that it can be solved by a charismatic strongman who steals from the productive to satisfy the immediate needs of the poor. That's the mindset we need to change in Latin America.

That's not even a part of the dominant mindset in the region.

The dominant mindset in the region, when it comes to external agents, is that they sure as fuck did not help anyone. And we kind of don't want external powers like the U.S. and Russia intervening. We'll take an FTA or two, but not extensive help from anyone.

No, the popular mindset is that we need a safety net down there, and neo-liberal rich people in those countries (who have always retained the same power they did before, let's not fool ourselves) are deeply unpopular because they oppose these efforts at a safety net.

So you're basically wrong, unless you somehow happen to think Cuba and Venezuela are "Latin America" and the rest of the countries in the region are just chopped liver.

[TURTLESHROOM II]

Find it hard to believe that people are getting in trouble for "gloating" when Castro's regime is responsible for the death of thousands.

Tens and tens of thousands.

I am honestly shocked and disgusted that they are shilling for the sidekick to Ernesto "the Butcher of La Caban~ya" Guevera. The Moderators are biased and are clearly big fans of Fidel's Cuba. They probably admire how he runs the place because of what he does to dissidents.

[Sanctissima]

They didn't like the way Castro came into power. I mean, sure Batista wasn't the best leader for Cuba, but we, my family, were okay during those years. My family didn't like the idea of Castro bringing in censorship into the country, as well as throwing dissidents into prison, and they were against his regime. At the end, the bomb incident occurred, and we had to flee.

Lol. As if Batista wasn't even more oppressive. Let's be honest here and admit that your family was wealthy and got upset when the mean socialists took their land.

It's one thing to buy a person's business and integrate it into your public sector.

It's quite another to take it at gun-point and seize all their assets, then brand them as traitors and "enemies of the people" if they so much as complain. There's a reason why so many of those who lived in Socialist countries hate Communism with a passion.

[HUElavia]

They didn't like the way Castro came into power. I mean, sure Batista wasn't the best leader for Cuba, but we, my family, were okay during those years. My family didn't like the idea of Castro bringing in censorship into the country, as well as throwing dissidents into prison, and they were against his regime. At the end, the bomb incident occurred, and we had to flee.

Lol. As if Batista wasn't even more oppressive. Let's be honest here and admit that your family was wealthy and got upset when the mean socialists took their land.

I wouldn't say wealthy. They were High Middle-Class, but not wealthy. We earned our money from my great-grandfather who fought for Cuba's independence. To add a note, my family did not leave Cuba immediately when Castro came into power. They left about 1969-1970, a while after the bomb incident from my great-uncle. That's when Castro came after my family and they were forced to leave.

[TURTLESHROOM II]

It's sad that had to happen. Why did they hate Castro and the Revolution?

One phrase: Ernesto "the Butcher of La Caban~ya" Guevera. Castro killed more than Bautista ever did.

The biggest mistake in Cuban history was the USA not holding onto Cuba. They could have been a prosporous, powerful state in the Union, but NOOOOOOO, we had to let them go!

[Commonwealth of Hank the Cat]

Find it hard to believe that people are getting in trouble for "gloating" when Castro's regime is responsible for the death of thousands.

Tens and tens of thousands.

I am honestly shocked and disgusted that they are shilling for the sidekick to Ernesto "the Butcher of La Caban~ya" Guevera. The Moderators are biased and are clearly big fans of Fidel's Cuba. They probably admire how he runs the place because of what he does to dissidents.

That's a little overblown. I highly doubt the Mods are secretive Orwellian-supporting fellows.

[MERIZoC]

Find it hard to believe that people are getting in trouble for "gloating" when Castro's regime is responsible for the death of thousands.

Tens and tens of thousands.

I am honestly shocked and disgusted that they are shilling for the sidekick to Ernesto "the Butcher of La Caban~ya" Guevera. The Moderators are biased and are clearly big fans of Fidel's Cuba. They probably admire how he runs the place because of what he does to dissidents.

This is the best thing I'll read all day.

[Republic of Canador]

According to various news outlets, Cuban refugees and their descendents were partying in the streets of Little Havana, Florida early this morning.

[Autonomous Eastern Ukraine]

It's sad that had to happen. Why did they hate Castro and the Revolution?

One phrase: Ernesto "the Butcher of La Caban~ya" Guevera. Castro killed more than Bautista ever did.

The biggest mistake in Cuban history was the USA not holding onto Cuba. They could have been a prosporous, powerful state in the Union, but NOOOOOOO, we had to let them go!

Find it hard to believe that people are getting in trouble for "gloating" when Castro's regime is responsible for the death of thousands.

Tens and tens of thousands.

I am honestly shocked and disgusted that they are shilling for the sidekick to Ernesto "the Butcher of La Caban~ya" Guevera. The Moderators are biased and are clearly big fans of Fidel's Cuba. They probably admire how he runs the place because of what he does to dissidents.

Okay who invited the CIA?

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Find it hard to believe that people are getting in trouble for "gloating" when Castro's regime is responsible for the death of thousands.

Tens and tens of thousands.

I am honestly shocked and disgusted that they are shilling for the sidekick to Ernesto "the Butcher of La Caban~ya" Guevera. The Moderators are biased and are clearly big fans of Fidel's Cuba. They probably admire how he runs the place because of what he does to dissidents.

If you are that disgusted, I am entirely sure you can find other forums to go and talk about it and gloat instead of doing it here, where it actually is considered a warnable offense, instead of complaining about moderation implementing a rule here is somehow "shilling to a left-wing mass murderer".

[TURTLESHROOM II]

when the mean socialists took their land.

I love how you downplay literal theft by the government at gunpoint. ANY country that steals someone's land on a scaleof that size deserves an immediate and swift coup d'etat. This isn't Eminent Domain we're talking. It's stealing tens of millions of dollars of land, infrastructure, and investment.

This is why I support the coups d'etat of Iran in 1950s AD, Nicaragua and Chile in the Cold War, and why I wish we would have toppled Venezuela after they elected Hugo Chavez. No nation should be allowed to go Marxist due to the irresponsiiblity of its own people.

[Commonwealth of Hank the Cat]

According to various news outlets, Cuban refugees and their descendents were partying in the streets of Little Havana, Florida early this morning.

I'm not sure what they think this is a victory for. Sure, Castro is dead, but he's long been out of power.

[MERIZoC]

Lol. As if Batista wasn't even more oppressive. Let's be honest here and admit that your family was wealthy and got upset when the mean socialists took their land.

It's one thing to buy a person's business and integrate it into your public sector.

It's quite another to take it at gun-point and seize all their assets, then brand them as traitors and "enemies of the people" if they so much as complain. There's a reason why so many of those who lived in Socialist countries hate Communism with a passion.

As if enforcement by gunpoint isn't what the capitalist class has been doing for centuries. I don't really care about butthurt former landowners who only have their own interests at heart. Castro improved Cuba for most people, and the capitalists can suck it up.

[Philjia]

Castro isn't my idea of an ideal ruler (I don't like authoritarian ideologues regardless of their economic views), but I'd take Castro over Batista in a heartbeat. More than anything else, Castro exposed the US's hypocrisy. When the dictator of Cuba was willing to play ball with Washington and let the US profit off of oppression, nobody batted an eye. When the dictator was a potential ally of the USSR, only then did they sit up and take notice.

[Autonomous Eastern Ukraine]

when the mean socialists took their land.

I love how you downplay literal theft by the government at gunpoint. ANY country that steals someone's land on a scaleof that size deserves an immediate and swift coup d'etat. This isn't Eminent Domain we're talking. it's stealing tens of milliosn of dollars of land, infrastructure, and investment.

This is why I support the coups d'etat of Iran in 1950s AD, Nicaragua and Chile in the Cold War, and why I wish we would have toppled Venezuela after they elected Hugo Chavez. No nation should be allowed to go Marxist due to the irresponsiiblity of its own people.

Whoa there, slow down cowboy.

[TURTLESHROOM II]

Why would the Moderators ban gloating, though, unless they like the target? That's hardly anything close to trolling.
The Moderators wouldn't crack down on people gloating if Trump lost, after all, because htye have no sense of impartiality.

We're not celebrating the death of Obama or anything that hasn't actually murdered tens and tens of thousands of people. It's like celebrating the death of Hitler or Pol Pot.

[HUElavia]

According to various news outlets, Cuban refugees and their descendents were partying in the streets of Little Havana, Florida early this morning.

I can affirm that. I live in Little Havana, and people were out there waiving Cuban flags, hitting pots and pans and cheering.