Castro, Kaepernick, & Diaz
Over the past few years, Colin Kaepernick's quest in fighting police brutality has made him famous, and to some, infamous. Many people acknowledge that police brutality and corruption is a problem in our nation that needs to be addressed, but many also feel that Colin Kaepernick's methods of bringing awareness is only polarizing the issue, rather than helping to resolve it. Kaepernick's decision to appear on live television wearing a T-shirt of the infamous Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has only served to increasingly agitate the American populace, especially Cuban-Americans who fled to America to escape from Castro. One such man was George Diaz.
A columnist for the Orlando Sentinel, Diaz's family fled from Cuba in 1961. Like many Cuban refugees, they were forced to leave most, if not all of their possessions behind and brave a perilous trek to reach the free shores of America. Castro's brutal dictatorship not only severely repressed the Cuban populace, but ultimately led to the deaths of untold thousands. Estimates of the number of people who have died at the hands of Castro range anywhere from 35,000 to 140,000.
For George Diaz, Kaepernick's actions only show him that his is not a warrior of social justice, but a man of ignorance who is naively wearing a T-shirt of one of the most notorious dictators in modern history. Diaz angrily remarked: "Well-played. Your ignorance and stupidity goes well with your sense of comedic timing. We are done here." I think the lesson here shows that our country is not perfect, and there's room for improvement, but battles need to be chosen carefully, and the tactics used to wage those battles need to be held to extensive scrutiny. Claiming to fight for human rights while wearing clothing that glorifies dictators will make it very difficult for people to consider you to be a true fighter for justice.
Sources:
Gabriel, Brigitte. Rise: In Defense of Judeo-Christian Values and Freedom. Lake Mary, FL" FrontLine, 2018
Diaz, George. "Colin Kaepernick Castro T-Shirt is Ignorant of Facts, Insulting." Orlando Sentinel. Oct. 11, 2018. Accessed from https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/george-diaz-en-fuego/os-colin-kaepernick-castro-t-shirt-20160830-story.html.
A columnist for the Orlando Sentinel, Diaz's family fled from Cuba in 1961. Like many Cuban refugees, they were forced to leave most, if not all of their possessions behind and brave a perilous trek to reach the free shores of America. Castro's brutal dictatorship not only severely repressed the Cuban populace, but ultimately led to the deaths of untold thousands. Estimates of the number of people who have died at the hands of Castro range anywhere from 35,000 to 140,000.
For George Diaz, Kaepernick's actions only show him that his is not a warrior of social justice, but a man of ignorance who is naively wearing a T-shirt of one of the most notorious dictators in modern history. Diaz angrily remarked: "Well-played. Your ignorance and stupidity goes well with your sense of comedic timing. We are done here." I think the lesson here shows that our country is not perfect, and there's room for improvement, but battles need to be chosen carefully, and the tactics used to wage those battles need to be held to extensive scrutiny. Claiming to fight for human rights while wearing clothing that glorifies dictators will make it very difficult for people to consider you to be a true fighter for justice.
Sources:
Gabriel, Brigitte. Rise: In Defense of Judeo-Christian Values and Freedom. Lake Mary, FL" FrontLine, 2018
Diaz, George. "Colin Kaepernick Castro T-Shirt is Ignorant of Facts, Insulting." Orlando Sentinel. Oct. 11, 2018. Accessed from https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/george-diaz-en-fuego/os-colin-kaepernick-castro-t-shirt-20160830-story.html.
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