They Ignore Us So They Can Discredit Us / Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado

They Ignore Us So They Can Discredit Us / Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado
Rosa María Rodríguez Torrado, Translator: Unstated

I knew about the "Cuban Bloggers" event on the night of April 27th,
briefly, late and on the last Cuban TV newscast of the day, which
provided some information they didn't offer in prime time or that they
rejected to make more time for criticisms of capitalism and praises of
the raised-to-mythical-status Cuban tyranny and that of their Latin
American friends. They probably didn't want to give too much media
attention to the event, but they wanted to stay on the good side of the
forum organizers and attendees.

They referred to the "First National Meeting of Cuban Bloggers in
Revolution," held in Matanzas with representation from all provinces.
Once again the alternative blogosphere, as usually happens with the
independent Cuban society, was ignored by the totalitarian government
and its media officials.

Three days alter the journalistic gloss of the event appeared on page 2
of Juventud Rebelde. It summarized the themes such as the inclusion of
the universities in the official blog horizon, which promotes the image
of Cuba in cyberspace "as diverse" and so on; and went on and on about
the main purposes being to "share experiences, create horizontal
mechanisms of integration, achieve complementarity without falling into
dogmas and preconceived themes, and promoting critical analysis from the
blogs."

We find there Mrs. Mariela Castro — I don't know if she has a blog — who
was, of course, interviewed about the meeting and probably had the
implicit mission of mediated at the highest levels for the facilities
and essential tools for this new militia of letters.

I wonder what they will offer university students — who have to spend
much of their time studying in order to do well academically — in
exchange for creating blogs obedient to the totalitarian model and
facing off against the independents. What diversity are they referring
to? In Cuba, the concept is flawed due to the single-party interests of
the government, which takes forceps to diverse political opinions and
mutilates the aspirations and legitimate rights of Cubans to a
multi-color pluralism.

Will they ever respect the right of everyone to access the Internet or
will they continue to use that tool as a device in exchange for loyalty?
It seems they intend to "lower the profile" of the Cuban independent
blogosphere as they did with the alternative political society.

There is a clear design oriented to this end. I don't expect they that
will use the power of manu militari* to redeem us from the attacks of
fear and double standards that they themselves delineate to divide us
with their a unified and virtual propaganda.

What I do expect and will continue to modestly cultivate, is that we
reach the stage where they don't muzzle those who think differently and
they respect the right to freedom as an attribute inherent to human
nature. This is something very natural for democratic societies which I
hope for, but it for the ancient Caesarian government it is too much.

*By force of arms.

May 8 2012

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