- Capitalism and Alternatives -

An amputee with low body temperature seeking medical advice

Posted by: Che Guevara ( Handless Brigade, Cuba, Bolivia, Cuba ) on March 25, 1999 at 11:26:57:

In Reply to: Would stumps do? posted by DrCruel on March 24, 1999 at 15:30:53:


: Viva la mass murder. Viva la butchery. Death to technology. Up with ideological nepotism. Whoopie. Hooray.

: They'd love you in Kosova, brother. (Even Lennon was on to this one ...)

Comrade Che replies:

"Dr Cruel (PhD?), please forgive me of my warped, perhaps even morbid sense of humor. I'm not sure, however, that I can agree 100% with your assessement of Cuba.

Yes, Cuba is riddled with bureaucracy, and Cuba's idealogical nepotism borders on incest. Nevertheless, Cuba's human rights record is fairly good when you compare Cuba with the USA and its client states.

Moreover, I think it's a bit unfair to ridicule Cuba's lack of technology given the fact that economic sanction and political chicanery from the SuperPower 80 miles from their island is, to say the very least, an overwhelming obstacle for any nation, much less a nation evolving from chattel slavery, imperial dominance, & Batista.

It should also be pointed out that Cuba at the height of its prosperity under Castro could boast of advanced medicine and education. Perhaps Cuba's medicine and education may not have been as hii-tech as USA or other industrialized nations. But nonetheless given the number of Americans who are excluded from all but the most rudimentary healthcare and education, Cuba's policy of universal healthcare and universal education is a shining star by comparison.

And on a sentimental note: Even if you disagree with Castro & Cuban Communism (which I don't necessarily support), can't you at least admire the fact that Cuba & Castro have overthrown Bastista (a greedy, vicious, corrupt SOB if there ever was one), pushed US corporations off its soil, kicked the Mafia out of Cuba, survived the Bay of Pigs invasion, eluded numerous assassination attempts, and have survived over a decade without its 80% subsidy from the Soviet Union.

Granted, offering you the choice of Castro or US imperialism is perhaps like offering you the choice between three cracks over the head with a tire iron, or just two. But still, I think we should look at both the virtues and the flaws of Cuban society. Then maybe we can take what is good and somehow filter out what isn't good.

I look forward to your reply.


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