{"id":2234,"date":"2020-06-25T21:43:05","date_gmt":"2020-06-25T21:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/?p=2234"},"modified":"2020-06-25T21:43:08","modified_gmt":"2020-06-25T21:43:08","slug":"why-there-are-no-george-floyds-in-cuba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/why-there-are-no-george-floyds-in-cuba\/","title":{"rendered":"Why There Are No George Floyds in Cuba"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Civil liberties and human rights are frequent targets of critics of the Cuban Revolution. There are indeed limits to civil liberties in Cuba. Where I differ from most of Cuba\u2019s critics is their assumption that these limits are in place against the will of the majority of Cubans. That is the price, I argue, that most of them are willing to pay for defending their sovereignty against their implacable foe to the north, looking forward to the day when those limitations are no longer in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If human rights includes, as United Nations instruments do, economic, social, and cultural rights such as healthcare, then Cuba does as well as, if not better than, the United States. Witness, as I write, the exemplary job it is doing in combating Covid-19, unlike its northern neighbor. But almost never on the list of alleged human rights abuses on the island, particularly those drawn up by US critics, is police brutality\u2013specifically, the killing of Cuban citizens, and especially those with roots in Africa. Even the most vociferous critics of the \u201crepressive Cuban regime\u201d, to use their language, are unable to produce any credible evidence that the police in Cuba murder blacks as they do in the United States. Their silence on the matter is almost deafening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hated US-backed Fulgencio Batista regime that was overthrown in 1959 was notorious for its brutality. Its police were particularly sanguinary. A parent going to a police station in search of a missing son dreaded to hear the detested \u201cse estaba . . . \u201d from the authorities\u2014\u201dhe used to be\u201d. For Afro-Cubans the situation was especially horrific. This is why many of the police assassins, some of whom were black, were tried and executed within months of the revolution\u2019s triumph on 1 January 1959, to the applause of millions of Cubans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But am I guilty of comparing apples and oranges, two very different societies? The history of both societies suggests otherwise. If the murder of George Floyd has its origins in the institution of racial slavery, as some would argue, then we should expect to see similar outcomes in Cuba. It existed there almost a century before being planted in what would become the United States. And it outlived America\u2019s \u201cpeculiar institution\u201d by two decades. But, again, what happened to George Floyd simply does not happen in Cuba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of another country in the Americas with a long history of racial slavery, Brazil\u2013where the police regularly kill blacks with impunity. What, then, explains Cuban exceptionalism? Exactly what happened in 1959: the triumph of the Cuban Revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the twenty-five month lead-up to that victory on  January 1, 1959, the Rebel Army, once it liberated a piece of territory from Batista\u2019s despised military, realized that a police force was needed\u2013along with other social services like healthcare and education. To be effective, the new police force, unlike its predecessor, depended on the support and active cooperation of the denizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This practice informed the Rebel Army when it forced Batista to flee the island on  December 31,1958. In collaboration with the underground, the 26th of July Movement, a general strike took place the following day. Key to its success was the seizure of police stations\u2013a relatively easy and bloodless operation owing precisely to the mass character of the general strike. Rank-and-file police surrendered or tried to blend into the crowds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo police\u201d, as the New York Times<\/em> reported on January 6, \u201care on the streets since they are held in quarters and all officers are under arrest. A few police patrol cars are circulating, occupied by two policemen and two members of the rebel militia. Boy scouts are directing traffic in some places.\u201d Thus began the simultaneous top-down\/bottom-up reinvention of Cuba\u2019s police. The Rebel Army commander who headed up the police in the liberated areas became the national head of Cuba\u2019s new police force. The intimate collaboration between the Rebel Army and local population to police an area generalized to the entire country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I ask Cuban friends about \u201csnitching\u201d to the police when they see misbehavior in their neighborhoods, they immediately say, \u201cof course; why not?\u201d US police constantly complain about not getting that kind of cooperation. Unlike in the United States, especially in communities of color, Cubans do not see the police as a foreign occupation force. A US rapper once said about the police: \u201cwhen they start to snitch on each other, then we\u2019ll snitch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Race continues to be a challenge for the revolution. Fidel Castro acknowledged as much in a speech to a largely African American and Latinx audience in New York in 2000\u2013the unfinished quest for racial equality exposed with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Thus began a series of programs and measures that have garnered some success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have had only one encounter with Cuban police during my visits since 1983. In 2006, while sightseeing with a woman friend who was Caucasian, a policeman, a mulatto, thinking I was Cuban, asked for my identification\u2013a frequent complaint of black Cubans. Cuba has strict laws against the harassment of tourists. Without my passport, I eventually convinced him I was a US citizen. He appeared, at the end, a bit sheepish about the whole matter. Never did I feel threatened; maybe because like most police in Cuba\u2013at least then\u2013he did not carry a gun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I confess that I have had only one<\/em> negative (something I am not doing right!)\u2014but telling\u2014experience with the police in Minnesota since moving here in 1971. It was due to the former chief of police of Minneapolis, Tony Bouza, and occurred in his own home. I was attending a Cuba-related event in late winter 1995, hosted by his wife. Together with my then companion, who was Caucasian, we were retrieving our overcoats from one of his bedrooms. He came in and without cause began trying to provoke a fight by mocking how I looked. I thought, at first, that he was being facetious. No, he was serious, and I decided not to take the bait and quickly left. \u201cImagine\u201d, I remember saying later, \u201cbeing a black male in the Minneapolis police station when he was in charge\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being more conscious about my blood pressure\u2013not unimportant for African American men\u2013I have noted that it improves when I have been in Cuba. Maybe because I am more relaxed there, unconsciously less on guard when it comes to the police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who fault America\u2019s \u201coriginal sin\u201d for George Floyd\u2019s murder, Cuba teaches that history is not destiny.\u00a0Again, despite the revolution\u2019s continuing challenges on the race question, what happened to Floyd does not happen in Cuba. Even its severest critics have to agree with this.\u00a0Is there a better explanation than what I offer here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By August Nimitz on June 17, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Legal Form<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Civil liberties and human rights are frequent targets of critics of the Cuban Revolution. There are indeed limits to civil liberties in Cuba. Where I differ […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101011,"featured_media":2235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuba"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2617,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/trump-administration-boosts-ned-spending-for-cuba\/","url_meta":{"origin":2234,"position":0},"title":"Trump administration boosts NED spending for Cuba","author":"Editorial Team","date":"August 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The National Endowment for Democracy reported spending $5,405,400 in Cuba grants in 2019. That was a 16 percent increase over\u00a02018\u00a0and a 42 percent increase over\u00a02017.The top recipients in 2019 were the Cuban Democratic Directorate with $650,000; Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), $305,726; Grupo Internacional para la Responsabilidad Social Corporativa\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "US Aggression"","block_context":{"text":"US Aggression","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/usa\/us-aggression\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/NED-75.jpg?fit=673%2C353&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/NED-75.jpg?fit=673%2C353&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/NED-75.jpg?fit=673%2C353&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5865,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/us-hypocritically-lashes-out-against-childrens-rights-in-cuba\/","url_meta":{"origin":2234,"position":1},"title":"US Hypocritically Lashes Out against Children\u2019s Rights in Cuba","author":"Editorial Team","date":"January 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Officials of the government of Washington and its Embassy in Havana has once again slandered Cuba, By accusing \u00a0its government of prosecuting minors after the violent events of July 11 and 12, 2021. Faced with such a lie, Bruno Rodr\u00edguez Parrilla, Cuban Foreign Minister, denounced in his twitter account this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "US Aggression"","block_context":{"text":"US Aggression","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/usa\/us-aggression\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/kids-in-detension-1.jpeg?fit=700%2C394&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/kids-in-detension-1.jpeg?fit=700%2C394&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/kids-in-detension-1.jpeg?fit=700%2C394&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/kids-in-detension-1.jpeg?fit=700%2C394&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5283,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/the-united-states-insists-on-destabilising-cuba\/","url_meta":{"origin":2234,"position":2},"title":"The United States insists on destabilising Cuba","author":"Editorial Team","date":"October 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"No matter 62 years of failures and millions of lost dollars, the sick obsession of the U.S. to destroy the Cuban Revolution persists, always with the illusion that the new generations can be influenced, by not having their needs met, hence Biden maintains intact the measures imposed by Donald Trump,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/patria-o-muerte-1.jpg?fit=581%2C423&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/patria-o-muerte-1.jpg?fit=581%2C423&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/patria-o-muerte-1.jpg?fit=581%2C423&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8326,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/cubas-human-rights-achievements-are-highlighted-in-geneva\/","url_meta":{"origin":2234,"position":3},"title":"Cuba\u2019s Human Rights Achievements are Highlighted in Geneva","author":"Editorial Team","date":"November 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Cuba\u2019s Human Rights Achievements are Highlighted in Geneva","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/nina-contra-bloqueo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":370,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/submission-to-un-hrc-on-cubas-universal-periodic-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":2234,"position":4},"title":"Submission to UN HRC on Cuba’s Universal Periodic Review","author":"Editorial Team","date":"October 8, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"COUNCIL OF HUMAN RIGHTS Prepared by Cuba Support Group Ireland Cuba has successfully guaranteed the human right of is citizens in the face of the most extreme aggression from is neighbours in the region for over half a century. Throughout this time it has been confronted with an illegal economic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cuba"","block_context":{"text":"Cuba","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/cuba\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/www.cubasupport.com\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/UN-HRC1.bmp","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2938,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/for-fifth-time-cuba-elected-member-of-the-un-human-rights-council\/","url_meta":{"origin":2234,"position":5},"title":"For Fifth Time Cuba Elected Member of the UN Human Rights Council","author":"Editorial Team","date":"October 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Despite the smear campaign, Cuba's achievements cannot be overshadowed,\" Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez said. Cuba was elected Tuesday to the United Nations Human Rights Council, a body composed of 47 member states responsible for promoting and protecting all human rights in the world. Despite campaigns and pressure from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cuba"","block_context":{"text":"Cuba","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/cuba\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/young-cubana.jpg?fit=600%2C340&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/young-cubana.jpg?fit=600%2C340&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/young-cubana.jpg?fit=600%2C340&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3xdTY-A2","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/19-cuban-students-havana-diversity.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101011"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}