Credit Where Credit is Due

Take a look, these young ladies, mostly from Spain, who joined the ladies in white, are the heroines of this weekend, along with Manuel Benito del Valle Ruiz, a Spaniard who undertook the gauntlet/march with Dr. Ferrer on Monday. The true heroes are, of course, the Cuban men and women who take their lives into their own hands and face down a brutal regime. But for the first time I can remember, instead of reposing on their lounge chairs, sipping mojitos, or attempting to make a buck off the backs of the oppressed masses, foreign nationals have stood in solidarity with the Cuban people. Although the potential repercussions they faced were considerably less than those of the Cuban nationals involved, excepting the beating Manuel took, their actions took courage. And I applaud them for it.

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A number of thoughts arise. Out of all of the millions around the world who have visited the island, these are the only tres gatos who gave a damn about the people? What if all those wonderful social justice types stopped serving as shills for the regime, what if the scales fell from their eyes? What if Pastors for Peace stood in solidarity with the Cuban people and not with their oppressors? Can you imagine if the do-good wing of activists were unleashed? Where were those who willingly served as human shields for Saddam? Why was there no cordon of well-meaning peace lovers interposing their bodies between the faux mob and Darsi?

*Pardon the line, but blogger is deconstructing itself as it periodically does.