Opinions
Fidel’s death leaves us with everything to do
Trump ‘gives’ an enemy back to Cuban government
The man of inconsistencies has died. Founder of schools and concentration camps, endless orator and suppressor of dissenting voices, Fidel Castro is defined by his contradictory gestures. While America was in charge of a suit tailored for the party that was the Cold War, he went to dance a Cossack dance in Moscow. When America opened its nuclear umbrella to defend countries without nuclear weapons, he shouted: “Nikita, shoot first.” Fidel Castro had a paradoxical beard.
Cubans are not sure what to do with this body. On one hand, the reforms of recent years have left Fidel’s regime untouched. Cuba remains under the control of a single party and it has failed to overcome the economic stagnation. The Cuban system, at this point, can only survive if stagnation were to continue. Any attempt to correct it would cause the whole thing to collapse.
The mass funerals prove the need to prolong the myth of Fidel, to make it more pharaonic so that Cuba will continue in the routine of immobility.
Barack Obama’s policies interrupted the lethargy. Trump gives the necessary enemy back to Havana. Another context for the regime’s international isolation and eternity is coming. They have a sense of déjà vu when they remember political speeches of confrontation and the scenario where obstinacy was entrenched. It was a landscape with two sides: A battle between good and evil, depending how you look at it.
Raúl Castro’s government made no concession in terms of human rights during the process of normalizing relations. But at least he agreed to sit at the table. Perhaps the United States was not the best interlocutor, but Obama was. Or so it seemed. Because, in any case, his gifts for political communication highlighted the oldness, the ineffectiveness of the governing discourse in Havana.
Over the last year, however, the situation of human rights defenders has deteriorated. A major campaign began in state media against certain emerging forms of journalism, against alternative newspapers. It reached a climax a month before Fidel Castro’s death: Massive detentions when we did not expect them. The arrests appeared to be an inexplicable remedy in the new context of dialogue.
The great funeral that ended in Santiago de Cuba proves that the era of mass mobilizations, the era of dichotomies and political fanaticism has not ended in Cuba. Fidel Castro left behind a country accustomed to a single command and a charismatic leadership, a failing nation that responds to political diversity with intransigence that still works effectively for the Third World and countries that have recently moved to the left, but rule of law does not work domestically.
Independent activists, these islands of civil society who endure, predicted desperate reactions. Repression will increase. They await new attacks against forms of journalism that are beyond state control. Of course, the samizdat newspapers are already unstoppable on the web. They cannot be burned like papers.
LGBT rights activists, however, remain discouraged because it is impossible for us to associate with each other. The fact that some groups function does not imply that a true movement capable of channeling the demands of a community with so many historical debts exists.
Fidel Castro’s death leaves us with everything to do. Political reform is still pending. The system is preparing theirs and there are many indications that it will reform the military, to build some credibility in their exercise of power.
The following has yet to be done: Marriage equality and the press law, administrative decentralization and a pluralistic Parliament. In short, democracy is about to happen without the “historic generation” of the Cuban revolution, without Fidel’s absorbing trajectory. Yes, we will have the clearest way.
Maykel González Vivero is an independent Cuban journalist and LGBT activist.
La muerte de Fidel nos encontró con todo por hacer
Murió el hombre de las incongruencias. Fundador de escuelas y de campos de concentración, orador infinito y mordaza de palabras ajenas, a Fidel Castro lo definen sus gestos contradictorios. Mientras América se encargaba un traje a medida para la fiesta de la Guerra Fría, él se fue a bailar una danza cosaca en Moscú. Cuando América abría su paraguas nuclear, él gritaba: “Nikita, dispara primero.” Fidel Castro tenía una barba paradójica.
Los cubanos no saben a ciencia cierta qué hacer con este cadáver. Por un lado, el régimen de Fidel permanece intocado, a pesar de las reformas de los últimos años. Cuba sigue sometida al partido único y no consigue superar la deformación económica. El sistema cubano, a estas alturas, sólo puede sobrevivir si persiste en la deformación. Cualquier intento de corrección acabaría por derrumbar el edificio.
Los multitudinarios funerales prueban la necesidad de prolongar el mito de Fidel, de hacerlo más faraónico, para que Cuba continúe en la rutina de su inmovilidad.
Las políticas de Barack Obama interrumpieron el letargo. Ahora Trump le devuelve el enemigo necesario a La Habana. Viene otro pretexto para el aislamiento internacional y la eternidad del régimen. Los discursos políticos de confrontación recuerdan, como un déjà vu, al escenario donde se enquistó la obstinación. Un paisaje con dos orillas. Una batalla entre el bien y el mal, según la orilla que se use para mirar.
El gobierno de Raúl Castro no hizo concesión en materia de derechos humanos durante el proceso de normalización de relaciones. Pero al menos accedía a sentarse a la mesa. Quizás Estados Unidos no era el mejor interlocutor, pero Obama sí lo era. O lo parecía. Porque, en cualquier caso, sus dotes para la comunicación política evidenciaron la vejez, la inoperancia del discurso gobernante en La Habana.
Durante el último año, no obstante, la situación de los defensores de derechos humanos empeoró. Comenzó una gran campaña de los medios estatales contra cierto periodismo emergente, contra los periódicos alternativos que aparecieron en los últimos meses. Llegó el clímax un mes antes de la muerte de Fidel Castro: detenciones masivas cuando no las esperábamos, cuando las detenciones parecían un recurso inaplicable en el nuevo contexto de diálogo.
El gran funeral concluido en Santiago de Cuba prueba que la era de las movilizaciones, la era de las dicotomías y el fanatismo político, no ha acabado en Cuba. Fidel Castro dejó un país habituado al mando único y al liderazgo carismático, una nación defectuosa que responde a la diversidad política con intransigencia, que todavía funciona afectivamente para el tercer mundo y las recientes izquierdas, pero no funciona hacia adentro como un Estado de derecho.
Los activistas, esas islas que la sociedad civil conserva, pronostican reacciones desesperadas. La represión arreciará. Aguardan nuevos ataques al periodismo que se consolida fuera del control estatal. Desde luego, ya los periódicos samizdat resultan indetenibles en la web. No se les puede quemar como a papeles.
Los activismos por los derechos LGBT, en cambio, continúan desalentados por la imposibilidad de asociación. Que funcionen algunos grupos no implica que exista un verdadero movimiento capaz de encauzar las demandas de una comunidad con tantas deudas históricas.
La muerte de Fidel Castro nos encontró con todo por hacer. La reforma política sigue pendiente. El sistema prepara la suya y abundan indicios de que se hará en provecho de los militares, para construirles alguna credibilidad en su ejercicio del poder.
Todo está por hacer: el matrimonio igualitario y la ley de prensa, la descentralización administrativa y el parlamento plural. En fin, la democracia está por hacerse. Sin la generación histórica, sin la trayectoria absorbente de Fidel, eso sí, tendremos el camino más despejado.
Maykel González Vivero es un periodista y activista LGBT independiente cubano.
Commentary
Sexting with younger guy has me asking: How queer am I?
Reflections on LGBTQ life in 2024
Once upon a time, not all that long ago, a man sexted another man.
There were words. There were pictures. There were filthy questions and even filthier responses. You know, the way a good sexting convo ought to be, for those who dabble.
One man was 33. The other, 24. And while it comes as no shock that I was the 33-year-old, it may be more surprising to learn it was the 24-year-old who grabbed the reins.
What kinks you into? he asked.
Shit – I didn’t know. I barely even bottomed before the pandemic, and now I had to know my kinks?
I’m open, I replied, evasively. You?
His response left me coughing: “Love musk sweat ws public group rough bb verbal bate edge roleplay and very open-minded.”
Now I’m no prude (in fact, many would call me a downright whore) but this young man articulating his kinks and fetishes in such detail blew my mind. When did he learn what he liked? At 24, all I wanted was to top a guy and leave with as little communication or attachment as possible. At 33, I wasn’t sure what a few of the items he listed even meant.
Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised when young men — and the younger generation across the LGBTQ spectrum in general — have already figured out their sexual interests. I arrived in D.C. from Idaho in 2008 as a fresh-faced 18-year-old; I came out three years later in 2011. Attitudes toward queerness have shifted substantially since then, and these days it is undeniably easier for younger people to explore their sexual and gender identities (which, by the way, is fantastic).
But this conversation left me wondering: What do I like? I haven’t sought out that many new sexual experiences, and while fetishes, kinks, and sexual desires can seem trivial, they’re inextricably intertwined with gender and relationships. If I can’t articulate what I like in the sack (or in public, if I dare), then how do I know what I’m seeking from a long-term partner, or if that’s even what I want?
As soon as I came out, I thought my job was done. All I needed after that was to snatch up a cutie and settle down. Instead, my identity centered on building my career in politics, where sexual openness isn’t as appreciated. I, like many D.C. queers around me, moved here bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready to change the world for good.
Then came a tough lesson: Just because I wanted to improve the world didn’t mean people wanted me to. I was inexplicably fired from not one job but two, and suddenly the do-gooder in me grew jaded. The career I dedicated years to was suddenly ripped from my hands, and I became so disillusioned I didn’t even want it back. Oh, and the cherry on top: My boyfriend dumped me two days later.
Once everything unraveled, I wondered: Was the me of the past the me I truly wanted? Or was I reflecting back what I thought everyone wanted me to be?
Well, a few major meltdowns and an extended slut phase later, my life couldn’t be more different. I now work at a new gay bar in town to support myself, and I’ve given myself space to pursue the arts. This former straight-laced, type-A, tightly wound gay abandoned the safe track and he couldn’t be more terrified. He also couldn’t be more excited.
But losing my old career also left an existential-sized hole in my identity. So, as I sexted this 24-year-old with newfound awareness of my limitations, I decided this must change.
How? As I said, I work at a gay bar in one of the queerest cities in America. Now more than ever I’m surrounded by those who are LGBTQ and every shade in between. Why not learn from those around me, whether younger, older, or around the same age, but whose experiences are no less queer? Why not carve out time to have in-depth discussions and discover what the possibilities are?
If being queer means to go against the established norms of gender and sexuality, then there’s still plenty of territory for me to explore. No longer can ‘bottom’ or ‘top’ be my only options.
So, the purpose of this column – aptly titled Queer Quest – is to capture my exploration of queer identity. It’s not to teach you as much as it is to teach myself, and you can either learn alongside me or simply be entertained. At the very least, I’ll have a series of portraits on what it’s like to be queer in the mid 2020s. At most, I’ll have a better understanding of who I am as a queer person.
Then maybe, just maybe, I’ll become a better sexter.
Jake Stewart is a D.C.-based writer.
Commentary
What will you do to make Pride safe this year?
Anxiety reigns among American Jews after Oct. 7
Each year, hundreds of thousands of Jews and supporters of Israel attend Pride marches. With a few exceptions, these spaces have always been safe and welcoming for the broader Pride community.
But this year is different.
For American Jews, anxiety reigns as we head into this Pride season. The appalling rise of antisemitism since Oct. 7 forces us to ask difficult questions. As many Jews increasingly feel alienated and excluded from progressive spaces, we’re left to wonder: If I wear a Jewish symbol, march with a Jewish group, or wave a rainbow flag adorned with the Star of David, will I be safe at Pride?
Even before Oct. 7, LGBTQ Jews had plenty of reason to feel trepidation about their safety at Pride. From blanket bans on Stars of David at past Pride gatherings to antisemitism on display at the recent Sydney Pride, too often Jews feel forced to choose between their LGBTQ and Jewish identities and hide their connection to Israel.
Since Oct. 7, terms like “apartheid,” “genocide” and “Zionism equals racism” are increasingly thrown around casually, often without a nuanced understanding of their impact or the realities they oversimplify. This rhetoric not only alienates but also endangers Jewish queer people. It makes us feel emotionally unsafe. It increases the chances that we will be physically unsafe as well.
We must not allow the Israel-Palestine conflict to be imported into Pride.
I will always remember the euphoria of the first Pride rally I attended. I was barely 18 years old, in a crowd of people of all ages, races, genders and gender orientations — and they were like me. Queer. It felt safe. It was the first time I experienced that feeling of safety, and it will always stay with me.
Like Pride events everywhere, it was a vibrant, colorful space for LGBTQ people to celebrate our true authentic selves, without fear or reservation.
But that feeling of safety wasn’t shared by everyone in my small New England town. I soon noticed a few people scattered throughout the crowd wearing paper bags over their heads, with eye holes so they could see but not be seen. I later learned that those faceless people were teachers who, in those days before civil rights protections, needed to protect their identities and their careers.
They did not feel safe. Will Jews and those who are connected to Israel feel safe this year?
The history of Pride is a testament to courage in the face of adversity. It wasn’t long ago when attending Pride events was a defiant act against societal norms, where participants like those teachers faced tangible threats of discrimination, ridicule and even violence. Even today in some places, our queer community still navigates a gauntlet of hatred as we try to celebrate who we are.
It’s crucial to recognize that within the Jewish community, there is a wide spectrum of views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including many who are deeply committed to advocating for Palestinian rights. In fact, many of the 1,200 innocent Israelis murdered on Oct. 7 were Zionists who devoted their lives to reconciliation and peace with their Arab neighbors.
We are at a pivotal moment, one that demands action: What can we do to ensure Pride remains a safe space for everyone, including Jewish participants?
It’s imperative that Pride committees around the country proactively address these concerns. They must implement training programs focused on de-escalation and fostering an environment of understanding and respect.
As individuals who stand in solidarity with the values of Pride, each of us must consider our role in this effort. Will you march alongside those of us who feel vulnerable, offering your presence as a shield against intolerance? Will you engage in dialogues that challenge the importation of external conflicts into Pride, advocating instead for a celebration that unites rather than divides?
The true test of inclusivity at Pride lies not merely in welcoming a diverse crowd, but in ensuring that every participant feels safe and valued. If we remain indifferent to the vulnerabilities faced by Jewish queer people this Pride season, we will fall short of the very ideals of inclusivity and solidarity that Pride stands for.
Just as we expect schools to protect trans and nonbinary students like Nex Benedict, we have a responsibility in the LGBTQ community to ensure that people can carry an Israeli flag or a Palestinian flag, wear a yarmulke or a hijab and be safe.
As we look forward to this year’s Pride, let us commit to making it a space where safety is not a privilege afforded to some but a right enjoyed by all. Let’s engage with our local Pride committees, advocate for comprehensive safety measures and stand in solidarity with those who feel at risk.
Only then can we celebrate the true spirit of Pride, rooted in love, acceptance and the unwavering belief in equality for all.
Ethan Felson is the executive director of A Wider Bridge.
Opinions
How to protect your sobriety on St. Patrick’s Day
Celebrate with a supportive friend and carry a mocktail
Sobriety can be challenging, whether you overcame alcohol or drug addiction or chose to abstain from alcohol for a healthier life. Holidays like St. Patrick’s Day can serve as a reminder of the past or could be looked at as another day.
Many celebrate St. Patrick’s Day sober, as there are generally family-friendly gatherings, community events, or even sober celebrations. If you have concerns about your sobriety, there are practical tips you can use to protect it on St. Patrick’s Day.
For instance, remind yourself why you are sober, and don’t do it alone. You can still have fun and celebrate but do it with other sober people. Everyone has their reasons for stopping drinking; remind yourself of those reasons and hold yourself accountable.
Know your triggers; it doesn’t matter if you are a recovering addict or have removed alcohol from your life. Be cautious around possible triggers that pose a challenge. Most people in this situation choose to skip the bar and find something fun to do or go to a sober St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
Keep a non-alcoholic drink or mocktail in your hand. People will not bother you to ask if you want a drink if you already have something to sip on, like a mocktail. This also leads to planning how to say no. You will encounter social pressure if you go to a bar on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s unavoidable. It’s wise to practice ways to refuse alcohol.
Finally, if all else fails, take a walk outside if you feel overwhelmed. The most straightforward solutions are usually the best. Remove yourself from any situation you know will lead to relapse. This is also why it’s essential to be with a sober friend or loved one; there is accountability and someone to lean on.
The benefits of being sober are plentiful, along with the numerous health perks, such as better quality sleep, more mental alertness, and lessened anxiety or depression. Yet, there is one benefit that is not necessarily always spoken about.
Being sober on St. Patrick’s Day or any day removes all chances of impaired driving. Unfortunately, days that promote heavy alcohol use may increase the chances of drunk or drugged driving. For example, in Washington State, impaired driving has been involved in roughly half of fatal crashes for decades. In 2022, 52% of traffic fatalities involved an impaired driver, according to the Traffic Safety Commission.
Moreover, drivers ages 21 to 30 make up one-third of impaired drivers in fatal crashes, and another 20% are ages 31 to 40. If you are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day sober, take the necessary precautions and look out for one another. If you choose to consume alcohol, drink responsibly, know your limits, and do not drink and drive.
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