Monday, January 29, 2007

Castro Death Celebration

Re: The city of Miami is planning an official celebration at the Orange Bowl whenever Cuban president Fidel Castro dies.

My friend writes: "...This is an ill advised, knee jerk, reactionary act, with not a ounce of forethought as to the consequences. I guess Miamians forget the heat they took about Elian, and now they will do it again in a government sponsored shing-ding..."

I agree, and must ask again, doesn't the Miami-based Cuban exile community (as represented by those planning to celebrate Castro's death at the Orange Bowl) understand PR and strategic communication tactics? Apparently not, because what the City of Miami is proposing to do will undermine what little legitimacy remains for the US gov't when calling for a transition to democracy in Cuba.

Let everyone who has suffered as a result of Castro celebrate his death in private, in their own homes, with their remaining family members; or go to church, pray for the souls of the many who died because of that bastard. But to make a public display of jubilation, when, in reality, the US was ultimately impotent and incapable of destroying Castro and his regime is distorted.

Again, celebrate his death in private. Weep for your dead loved ones. Weep for the property you lost and the fact that you're exiled from your homeland - the most beautiful country in the world. But please, the only appropriate public ceremony in the US when Castro's death is announced would be a candlelight vigil to 1) honor and remember those who died as a result of the tyranny and 2) to refocus attention on the millions of Cubans who will continue to suffer because the tyrannical system Castro put in place continues as strong or more so than before.

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