"See No 'Che' Evil, Hear No 'Che' Evil"

One of Henry "Economist" Gómez's latest innovations is the Babalú Carte Blanche. Don't insult Cubans without it. Here's how it works: Say anything that you want about Cuba, Castro or "Che," however offensive or flippant, imply anything that you want about Cuban-Americans, however unflattering and unfair, and you will still get a pass from Val & Co if you also link to Babalú and Henry's internet store at CAP.

Miami New Times is the first publication to acquire such a license from Babalú, which entitles them to perpetuate the "Che"myth while berating Cuban exiles for not embracing it. You see, that's another sign of our supposed intolerance. There was, apparently, no attempt on the part of Val or Henry to enlighten the New Times reporter about "Che" Guevara, and, if they tried, they failed miserably.

The reporter, Chuck Strouse, went to the Dadeland Mall, in Kendall, to sell a hidden cache of "Che" tee-shirts and gage the reaction of passersby. Now, one can't just set up shop at a mall, every sq. inch of which is rented or owned by somebody else. You can no more do business at a mall than break into somebody's house and set up a cot. New Times sent its reporter to break the law. Funny that Henry, such a good capitalist as he is, didn't notice or object.

The villain of the story is not "Che" but the mall security guard — or "rent-a-cop," as Strouse calls him — who did his duty and escorted the peddler from the mall. More evidence of Cuban-American intolerance.

Strouse had much difficulty in acknowledging the reason that Cubans, old and young, despise "Che" Guevara. To wit, he was a psychotic serial killer. But not to Strouse. He describes him as a "special prosecutor" responsible for the deaths of "scads of counterrevolutionaries." He was not the "special prosecutor" but the chief executionist. And his victims are counted by the thousands, not by the "scads" (what the hell is a "scad," anyway?). Finally, he wasn't killing just "counterrevolutionaries" but revolutionaries as well. He was killing anyone and everyone that might challenge his master's authority.

Does Henry mention any of this in the post that he dedicated to the New Times article? Not a word. Has his well-known animus towards the "Butcher of the Cabaña" disappeared? No, I don't think so. It's just that business is business and politics is politics. I'm sure that if other facilitators of the "Che" myth, such as the Estefans, had extended their patronage to them, Val and Henry would also now be publicizing their efforts however tainted by their association with Santana. But the Esfefans did not pay tribute and were dismissed as traitors. The New Times reporter interviewed Val & Henry, quoted them, linked their websites and Henry's internet store (even pushing Henry's own "Che" tee-shirts), and received in turn a link from Babalú and nary a word of criticism.

So that's how it works!

http://reviewofcuban-americanblogs.blogspot.com/2008/03/birth-of-rcab-its-foundational.html