Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Free Speech? Not in Little Havana!

By now everybody has heard about Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen's remarks about how much he loves Fidel Castro.  You've probably also heard that he has now been suspended for five games as a result, even after apologizing and saying his comments were taken out of context.  You probably haven't heard many conservatives or liberals rushing to Guillen's defense, though I'm sure you've heard many from both sides criticizing Mr. Guillen.  Reactions from fans outside the Marlins new ballpark in Little Havana included the following:

"We don't need a guy like that teaching our children that kind of behavior. I won't allow my children, grandchildren, to watch the games if he stays."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/10/2739843/miami-marlins-ozzie-guillen-in.html#storylink=cpy
“I don’t think we should forget the words he has already said,” Sandigo said. “This country is a country of convictions and values. We’re here for a cause.”
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't one of those values freedom of speech?  Even when we don't like what the person has to say.  It seems strange to me that we can be a country that insists spending money is a protected form of speech, that corporations are people, too, but the manager of a baseball team gets crucified for expressing what was on his mind.  I won't pretend to know what many Cuban-Americans have experienced at the hands of the Castro regime, either in person or through family members.  I don't deny that Castro is an evil man who has caused pain for millions of people.  I'm also pretty sure that people who disagreed with his regime were silenced.    Perhaps that makes Little Havana not all that much different from the real Havana.

Free speech?  Not in Little Havana.




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