There’s an old saying, don’t speak ill of the dead–well I hope there aren’t any communists reading this because I’m about to speak ill of Fidel Castro and the leaders of our World praising him. There is a reason that millions of Cuban Americans were partying in the streets of Miami’s Little Havana as soon as new broke. Fidel Castro was a monster who should not have received any of the nice eulogies he received. He is responsible for well over 100,000 deaths due to his ridiculous revolutions and executions, and has completely ruined the country of Cuba and the lives of over 1.5 million Cuban-Exiles.
Of course, that’s not what the world heard Saturday after the passing of the Cuban Dictator. It completely embodies George Orwell’s well quoted phrase, “The pigs are walking.” Instead what filled the news was the inappropriate praising of a dictator from world leaders like Canada’s Prime Minster, Justin Trudeau. The Prime Minister’s statement, which was so praising of a cruel dictator, was as if he loved the Communist Manifesto the way we do Harry Potter.
Trudeau’s statement which including hilariously inappropriate lines like: “A legendary revolutionary and orator, Mr. Castro made significant improvements to the education and healthcare of his island nation.” Or, “While a controversial figure, both Mr. Castro’s supporters and detractors recognized his tremendous dedication and love for the Cuban people who had a deep and lasting affection for “el Comandante.” The ridiculous eulogy even lead to the hashtag “#TrudeauEulogies” mocking him for it, too bad that the citizens of Cuba couldn’t enjoy it because (if you didn’t think Castro ruined Cuba already) they can’t have private internet connections.
For anyone to have the audacity to praise Castro for how he created improvements to Cuban education in a country that is 99% illiterate or the medical field in a country that is falling apart because of a long reign is disrespectful and wrong. Any time a leader of the world praises Castro is pushing aside the 78,000 or more lives that have drowned in the Straits of Florida escaping Cuba for their “politically correct” agenda. It’s wrong and no one should stand for it, we should call out every leader who praised Fidel Castro. And if you’re curious of where to start there’s former presidential hopeful Jill Stein who tweeted, “Fidel Castro was a symbol of the struggle for justice in the shadow of empire.” Cuba by the way is 171 out of 180 in the World Press Freedom ranks. Or there’s President Obama’s less than negative statement on Fidel Castro’s death.
Why is this okay? Why is it okay to praise a leader who had ruined millions of lives? It’s hypocritical to call our President-Elect the next Hitler and turn around and praise Fidel Castro. And for anyone who is praising the dictator you should think about the millions of lives that he ruined. You should think about how there is a country in poverty, without access to internet in private, that is illiterate, and has been ruled with an iron fist for five decades. Hold yourself, your friends, your family and your leaders accountable for the disrespect that is praising Fidel Castro.