Where the Rabble Came From

Where the Rabble Came From / Juan Juan Almeida
Posted on October 22, 2013

The government in Havana, as a transformative method to fight the
alarming reality of the times, visibly marked by social deterioration,
goes all out and launches a highly publicized campaign to restore lost
civic norms and restructure popular morality through the force of laws
imposed, articulating expectations and establishing rules. It's as
absurd as an athlete trying to cross the finish line and getting tangled
up in the tape.

They say their new battle is against vulgarity, marginalization and
coarse behavior. Conduct that we mustn't forget, without looking for
who's to blame, because in reality the times deserve solutions; they
were brought about by the young rebels, the outlaw troops arriving in
1959, who implanted disrespect as the order of the day, Liquidating our
traditions and ending up destroying everything.

The Revolution was imposed as a factor of civilization. Then, belief in
a God not wearing olive-green, using a napkin, toilet paper, and phrases
such as "excuse me, please, and thank you," were customs that were
criticized because they were considered petit bourgeoisie relics. It was
established and became the custom to address others informally, and
thus, at a stroke of a pen, respect and courtesy were erased.

That monster was born, raised and trained in the arts of mimicry and
camouflage. Now they want to show the superiority of some sectors which,
knowingly or not, coexisted and coexist on the margins of morality, and
like part of an emancipating Utopia they created an apology for the
skilled criminal who is respected much more than a scientist, a teacher,
a soldier, a doctor, a construction worker, a housewife, a farmer or an
artist.

The phenomenon entailed — in addition to a great spiritual stench —
absolute popular saturation before the official rhetoric of the bright
tomorrow, the political mythology and a morality that were assumed as a
forced behavior. The few who didn't accept it revealed themselves in a
subtle and silent way.

Those of us who to the schools in the countryside learned that the onset
of puberty in females was a source of hallway gossip and jokes. A girl's
first menstruation used to be a private thing. Modesty became a devalued
noun. So it is not surprising that those same little girls now push
their daughters into the arms of tourists, and see sex as currency

We are concerned about the disturbing social pandemic , which is nothing
more than the result of that awful "idyll." But the whip is not a
solution, nor is giving more power by decree to the repressive organs of
State Security and the National Police.

Social indiscipline is a serious issue that involves us al , we must act
together without fear to find the causes that gave rise to this
dangerous form of questioning power and end the collective
self-laceration as a means of escape.

The so-called Revolution is collapsing; how sad and tragic that it is
falling on us. A terrible metaphor describing the national reality.

15 October 2013

Source: "Where the Rabble Came From / Juan Juan Almeida | Translating
Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/where-the-rabble-came-from-juan-juan-almeida/