Dear woke people, Cuban tyrant was not a champion

(Endowed Blogs.)
The last relic from the Iron Curtain passed away on Friday, November 25, 2016, at the grand old age of 90.

For a man who had survived over 600 assassination attempts, it's not too surprising that Fidel Castro could not escape the weirdness that 2016 has been so far.

When the news of his death hit the Internet, hippies and members of the woke clan started waxing angelic epistles about the Cuban dictator who stood up to the bully that is the West and made his tiny island nation have one of the best health care systems in the world.

play Former Cuban President Fidel Castro was loathed by many for stifling dissent, but loved by others for providing free universal healthcare and education
(AFP/File)

If you believe in the single story of woke people on Twitter, Fidel Castro was unfairly treated by successive American governments which crippled Cuba with unfair economic sanctions. A tragic song we have heard over and over again even though Cuba was free to trade with most nations on earth apart from America.

 

Also, a lot of good stories came out of how Fidel Castro was a friend of Africa and how he helped African nations and the role he played in wiping apartheid from South Africa.

 

All these things are good but they are nothing more than sugar frosting on a rotten cake. Don't be fooled by the 'we hate America' clique, Fidel Castro was a tyrant. Upon the news of his death, thousands of Cubans in Miami came out to rejoice that the old man was dead.

 

What fancy tweets won't tell you is how Fidel Castro was a mass murderer. From the first day in 1959 when Castro started his 50-year rule, there has been at least over 3,000 firing squad executions in Cuba. His number one assassin Che Guevara (who is strangely seen as a pop icon) was personally involved in 100 of these executions.

play Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who has died aged 90, pictured in the 1960s next to Ernesto Che Guevara in Havana, was legendary for his long-winded political rants
(CUBA'S COUNCIL OF STATE ARCHIVE/AFP/File)

There are blatant records of Castro and his gang trampling on human rights so as to have a firm grip on Cuba. Innocent lives have been lost because one man wanted absolute power. This is the man that woke people on Twitter are hailing as a champion and a giant.

There really is no difference between Castro and the long list of African dictators and tyrants. If you hate Charles Taylor, then it makes no sense to like Fidel Castro. They are cut from the same cloth. Another example, Pablo Escobar donated heavily to the poor does that make him a saint?

play

It's a shame that some Nigerians and Africans have been blinded by Fidel Castro and what he did for the continent. In case you don't know corrupt leaders see Africa as their PR slut, the whore of image cleansing.

Dictators can commit atrocities in their homes, but they know once they throw a few aid packages and money at some African countries, they will get blind loyalists who will canonise them as saints. How pathetic.

The disgrace ex-President of FIFA, Sepp Blatter was corrupt and everyone knew that but African delegates supported him because he threw a few dollars their way. Sadly, the money he gave his African cronies have done little to develop football in Africa. This continent will open its legs to any dictator that winks at it. Africa is the beggar of continents, everyone gives us money. Sad truth.

 

We as Africans should know better. The continent has a long and dark history with dictators. It's disheartening to see Fidel Castro raised up as a god. Standing up to the West doesn't make you a hero. Most of the time, it is just mere playing to the gallery, whipping up emotions, and blaming an external country for what is happening in another nation.

play Cuba says Obama welcome to visit but not to meddle
(Reuters)

Woke people are filled with double standards. They hate Donald Trump but they love Fidel Castro. They hate Obama and his drones but they love socialism and communism that breeds dictators and tyrants.  Injustice in Cuba is injustice anywhere but woke people would overlook it because Fidel Castro defied America.

ALSO READ: US, Cuba restore diplomatic ties after 50-year feud

I would like for these so called enlightened folks to know that Putin would never allow a capitalist nation at its backyard with direct ties to America exist.

Those who want to celebrate Castro should go ahead but it would be hypocritical of them to do so without acknowledging his atrocities.  He was a great man and like most great men he was complex. His story is more than helping Africa fight ebola.