Re: Comrade Gonzalez

[James Farmelant <farmelantj@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 18 Apr 2000 15:07:36 -0400 "Charles Brown"
<CharlesB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
>
>
> >>> Julio Fernández Baraibar <julfb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 04/18/00
> 02:40PM >>>
> > >>> Debordagoria <phantasmagorias@xxxxxxxxx> 04/18/00 11:50AM >>>
> >
> >
> > --- Charles Brown <CharlesB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > wrote:
> > > Elian's father is a comrade, Communist Party member,
> > > according to the Sixty Minutes interview with him.
> >
> > Does being a member of the Cuban CP automatically mean
> > one is a Marxist, and thus a "comrade"?
> > Just wondering.
> >
> > ____________
> >
> > CB: I usually give someone who says they are a communist the
> benefit of a
> doubt until they show me something otherwise.  I presume in favor of
> those
> who declare themselves communists.
> >
> >
> > CB
>
> A simple worker and cuban citizen who is able to mantain the dignity
> of Juan
> Miguel in front of the provocative questions made by the CBS
> journalist,
> able to answer what he answered midst the terrible and pressing
> situations
> that he is living IS MY COMRADE, marxist or not marxist, comunist or
> not
> comunist. And besides he is comunist. What in the hell means to be
> marxist
> in this context I don't know.
>
> ________________
>
>
> CB: I agree with Julio. I would add that I am sure that Karl Marx
> would be proud as hell of Comrade Gonzalez.
>
> CBS/Dan Rather, on Sixty Minutes,  asked Comrade Gonzalez, why he
> didn't want to "defect" to the U.S. and "freedom". Gonzalez, asked
> rhetorically, "what is freedom ?"  In Cuba , children can go to
> school without threat of being shot. That is not true in the U.S.
> That is not freedom.
>
>  How do you like that, CBS/Dan Rather ?

Presumably, Dan must like the ratings this interview is getting.  I
rather liked
Gonzalez's quiet demolition of Rather's bombast.  I remember the French
philosopher Louis Althusser writing about how he became drawn to
communism
after having the experienced as a POW during WW II the dignity and
courage  and plain
moral integrity that was shown by fellow POWs who were communists.  They
too were
mainly working men.  I suspect that they were not too different from
Gonzalez.

>
> When Rather asked him why the Miami junta would make false claims
> that Gonzalez is an abusive father, Gonzalez started his response
> with " Imagine that I would have to answer such a question ."

Quite impressive.

Jim F.

>
> CB
>

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