The real face of Cuba

Sometimes you don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Here is English TV personality Katie Hopkins’s explanation why, all things considered, Fidel Castro was one of the good guys after all.

Patriotism - manifest in their flag draped around shoulders, and precious currency - young women selling cakes, keen I take the notes home with me, to remind me of their country when I leave.

Pride - in a small island, the David to America's Goliath - who fearlessly prevails, against the odds.

And a strong sense of family, where people stand together, stay together, keep strong for each other to make things better.

A group of young men, appearing out of nowhere to make sure I received the correct change at a food stall, a woman offering me her umbrella as I queue in the sun.

I love what they have built here. I admire the invisible scaffolding in their society which keeps things calm amidst the chaos.

I find the freedom from things of our world to be as welcome as the endless freedom we are indulged with at home.

We have freedom to protest about everything, endless tolerance for multiculturalism which has translated to us living in Ghetto Kingdoms, systems of healthcare so sophisticated they will inevitably bankrupt themselves through our over-indulgence. Education systems so determined to support the stupid at the expense of the brightest, they are left to fail.

I wonder about it all.

We may believe we live in a sophisticated society enjoying more freedom than at any other time in history.

But I have come to understand how Castro giving his people freedom from all that might be a greater legacy after all.

Huh?

Evidently, whoever at MailOnline added pictures to Hopkins’s story messed up big time.  On the other hand, maybe it wasn’t a mistake after all.  Maybe it was done intentionally to prove what a fool Hopkins is to buy the propaganda show the Castro regime put on for the benefit of the throng of journalists who invaded the island to report on the state funeral for “El Comandante.”

The picture giving the lie to Hopkins’s naive comment about Cuba’s “invisible scaffolding” is this one.  Focus on the fellow in dark sunglasses behind the crying woman.  There’s a familiar look to him.  We have seen his type before, though usually dressed in a suit and tie and carrying some sort of communication device or sporting an ear phone.  High-level officials are often seen in public accompanied by a security detail.

Except that this fellow is doing something else.  He isn’t there to protect anybody.  He is clearly a member of Cuba’s secret police, monitoring the crowd to make sure they all do exactly what they were paid to do.  Make no mistake about it.  The Cubans Hopkins saw carrying banners and chanting slogans were either given the day off from work, with full pay (such as it is), or else were students more than happy to play hooky from school in return for a few tacos and beer after the proceedings.  The day after the funeral, it’s back to class to yawn through another lecture on the class struggle, delivered this time perhaps by a bearded professor on sabbatical from Harvard.  Maybe after he leaves the White House, Barack Obama will be invited to lecture on constitutional law in Havana.

Katie Hopkins may wish to take a look at this photo and issue a retraction – though I’m not holding my breath for that to happen. 

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