Castro takes the blame for anti-gay activity in the 60s

[marshlander]

This is an interesting piece of historical revision. It always puzzled me that, despite Cuba's advances in education and medical care, attitudes towards glbt people in the revolutionary years were so anti.

In this interview Fidel Castro admits that he dropped the ball and was distracted by more weighty matters such as the US embargo and the missile crisis.

Fidel Castro takes blame for 1960s gay persecution | Reuters

[peterinmalaga]

It's good that he accepts the blame for anti-gay policies but it strikes me as just a little ingenuous. One sentence from him would have helped to end the misery of gay men in Cuba. He wasn't so busy for such a long period of time that he couldn't even make his feelings known on the issue. I'm not convinced that thus U turn is sincere.

[eastofeden]

I wonder if he is worried about death now and is trying to cover his bases. Really...I use this argument with the fundies all the time to no avail but I ask them...do you think the people who had their bibles wide open quoting scripture that kept women from voting...that kept black people on the back of the bus and regarded them as 2/3 of a person...who kept interracial marriages from happening...who endorsed and called for the death of billions of people in the name of "god" over the years...are they sitting in heaven now waiting for all the other dark hearted people to join them and IF they are in heaven what kind of rat hole is it if these are the people populating the streets? If I had actively oppressed so many people in the name of God and Jesus no less...I would surely be afraid to die. Who the heck would want to spend eternity sitting next to fat ass Falwell or that freak Glen Beck? YIKES! No thanks..send me to wherever that marvelous sinner Mae West went! LOL

I'm guessing Castro might not want to face his crimes against humanity and I don't blame him but what is he going to do to change the conditions currently? It is great he is taking responsibility but I would like to see action to try to repair the damage he has done. Legalizing gay marraige in Cuba would be a great start.

[Ultra]

Wow, they offer free-sex changes over there? I know it's not the point, but that's totally interesting.

[marshlander]

I understand what you you are saying, Peter and EofE, But I am still intrigued that he is saying this now. I can't see there is a "next life" element. He has been out of action for a very long time, we are told through illness. Maybe lgbt issues didn't figure on his radar much when he was still in power. Possibly this is a bit of pressure on Raúl Castro? I don't know.

Just in case I sound like a fan of totalitarian regimes I'm not.

The Human Rights Watch alleges that the government "represses nearly all forms of political dissent" and that "Cubans are systematically denied basic rights to free expression, association, assembly, privacy, movement, and due process of law".[82] Cuba was the second biggest prison in the world for journalists in 2008, second only to the People's Republic of China, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international NGO.[83] As a result of ownership bans, computer ownership rates are among the world's lowest.[84] The right to use the Internet is granted only to selected people and they are monitored.[84][85] Connecting to the Internet illegally can lead to a five-year prison sentence.
Cuban dissidents face arrest and imprisonment. In the 1990s, Human Rights Watch reported that Cuba's extensive prison system, one of the largest in Latin America, consists of some 40 maximum-security prisons, 30 minimum-security prisons, and over 200 work camps.[86] According to Human Rights Watch, political prisoners, along with the rest of Cuba's prison population, are confined to jails with substandard and unhealthy conditions.[86]
Citizens cannot leave or return to Cuba without first obtaining official permission.[82]

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However, every idea has its time.