Intolerance in The Sunshine State
Posted on 17. Apr, 2012 by Lawrence Davidson in Opinion
An Analysis
by Lawrence Davidson
Part I – Wealth and Ideology
In the early 1500s the Spanish Conquistadors came to the shores of what is now known as Florida (Flowery Land in Spanish). At that time the area was populated by groups of Paleo-Indians whose lives were about to change drastically for the worse. The Conquistadores were out for gold and other riches to which purpose the natives were often enslaved. Along with them came Spanish priests whose goal was strictly ideological: the conversion of the natives to Catholicism. About this the natives would also have no choice. From that time onward the sunny and flowery land of Florida proved a place both of wealth and ideological intolerance.
Even when the Spanish lost control of the territory, first to the British and then to the United States, this duality persisted. In the 19th century, for instance, what stood in the way of Florida’s ideological purity was the perseverance of those pesky Indians. Andrew Jackson, a rigid minded fellow if there ever was one, thought he had the answer to this problem when he waged war against the Seminole Indians who had the audacity to both resist white settlement and harbor runaway black slaves. Eventually he was proved correct. Well-armed racism won the day and from the1830s into the 1850s the process of forced eviction cum slaughter of the natives proceeded. By 1845, when Florida became the 27th state of the Union, things were relatively in hand and most of the remaining Seminoles pushed back into the Everglades.
Over the years the gold that the conquistadors sought transformed itself into citrus fruit and tourism. Today the tourist business brings in over 77 million people a year to Florida and is worth over $57 billion annually to the state’s economy. Three quarters of U.S. oranges are from Florida, as is 40% of the world’s orange juice. Yet, overlaying all this wealth, just like an unhealthy tan, is the persistence of Florida’s ideological obsessions. In contemporary terms, there are two that stand out and we will begin by looking at the one most recently in the news.
Part II – Obsessions
Cuba - Florida has a very high percentage of Cuban Americans. One third of the population of Miami has Cuban roots and in at least 18 other cities and large towns in the state the percentage approaches half. A high number of these people are staunchly anti-Castro. Among the older generation this attitude borders on fanaticism. One can see this reflected in the behavior of the state’s political representatives in Congress who fight tooth and nail against any moderation of U.S. sanctions against the Cuban nation–despite the fact that those sanctions help impoverish the country’s people, a state of being Cuban Americans then blame on the Castro government.
For this point of view to be maintained right-wing Cuban Americans have had to approach history in a highly selective way. When Castro took over in Cuba in 1959 the country was an economic and social wreck. It was ruled by the dictator Fulgenacio Batista who had established ties with U.S. mafia families. Gambling and prostitution were major growth industries under this regime. Poverty deepened, illiteracy was widespread, crime was rampant but nonetheless Batista was seen as an ally of Washington. That is because he ran an anti-communist secret police, trained and armed by the U.S., which acted as the regime’s Gestapo and SS combined.
When Castro took over in 1959 these conditions changed. But to do this he had to nationalize resources and this step was opposed by a small upper class and a portion of the middle class. It was this group who initially fled to the U.S. Subsequently, they have chosen to forget most of Cuban history prior to Castro’s revolution. They also have a deadly resentment of those who take a different attitude and regularly attempt to ruin anyone who has the audacity to publically disagree with them. That is how fanatics behave.
Take the recent case of Ozzie Guillen, the outspoken manager of the Miami Marlins baseball team. Guillen made the mistake of saying that he respected Fidel Castro in a recent interview with Time magazine. The result was a "political firestorm" in Miami. Within hours the politicos of south Florida (sounding like the priests of the conquistadors) were calling for his head. The team suspended him for five games and Guillen himself publically apologized for "betraying the Latin community" and begged forgiveness in a most groveling way. Nonetheless, elements of the area’s Cuban-American community entered into an orgy of hate and threatened to "boicot" (and therefore economically destroy) Miami’s baseball team unless Guillen was fired.
2. Israel - Florida, and particularly the southern part of the state, has the second highest Jewish population in the U.S. (the first is in New York). Notably, most of them are elderly retirees of passionate Zionist persuasion. One of Miami’s main streets is Yitzhak Rabin Boulevard. Next to the issue of pensions, Israel is what commands their interest. That is why all the Republican primary candidates (except Ron Paul) who visited the state fell over backwards in their support for Israel.
No prominent Florida Jewish resident has yet been silly enough, or brave enough, to go public with anti-Zionist declarations, or statements of admiration for Yasir Arafat. And after an example has been made of Ozzie Guillen, the probability of anyone doing so has to have diminished. This is because the right-wing elements of these two communities are allied and feed off of each other.
Back in the 1980s, when the Cuban American community leaders decided to set up their lobby, originally known as the Cuban American National Foundation, they went to theAmerican Israel Public Affairs Committee, otherwise know as AIPAC, for advice and guidance. That relationship has continued ever since. For more information on this please see my book Foreign Policy Inc (Kentucky U. Press 2009). A living representation of this on-going alliance is Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, U.S. Representative for Florida’s 18th Congressional District and currently the longest serving woman in Congress. That status has also made her chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Ros-Lehtinen describes herself as a "strong supporter of Israel" including its illegal settlements, and has worked hard to cut funds for any United Nations agency that recognizes Palestinian statehood. Of course, she also hates Fidel Castro.
Part III – Conclusion
Over-exposure to the "sunshine state" can obviously get you a bad burn, particularly if you are of an open mind and value the principle of free speech. But that is the way it goes when communities form around repugnant ideological cores that then come to characterize their very identity. For many of the Cuban Americans in Florida, to have something good to say about the Castro regime, even if it can be historically substantiated, is the same as betraying their community. For many Jewish Americans in the same state, having something critical to say about Israel and Zionism, even if it is fact based, is the same as declaring yourself an anti-Semite or perhaps a "self-hating Jew."
What is particularly scary about all of this is that the entire prejudicial mind-set is carried forth unquestionably and in lock step by millions of people. Americans often would point fingers at the Soviet Union, the Chinese communists, and now the "Muslim world" for this sort of totalitarian thinking. And all the while, it was right here in our own sunny backyard.
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9 Responses to “Intolerance in The Sunshine State”
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Justin Case
18. Apr, 2012
What we here in Florida want more than anything is to get all the racist niggers back on a outward bound boat to any location other than Florida. Personally I hate them racist coons and would like to see them dispatched by whatever means possible. Honestly between the freakin Mexicans, niggers and sand niggers the state is going to hell, we need help and we need it NOW. How can our country ever improve if we keep letting in all the garbage.
james
18. Apr, 2012
I think if you hate oit thst much it would be easier if YOU left the place, and close the door behind you.
Solonsays
18. Apr, 2012
The common good requires a rebalancing of political power away from lobbyist groups of all persuasions. Since the tax code and deficit spending feed the spoils of most lobbyist groups, severing their nourishment will lead to the realignment of political power and priorities. One idea is to elevate tax equality to a civil rights issue. A national debate airing all the false doctrines supporting unearned tax breaks has the potential to rupture the entire lobbyist system. Learn more about tax equality as a civil rights movement at http://www.solonsays.com
Barry
18. Apr, 2012
Cuba, far from being an economic basket case, had the third best economy in the Western hemisphere prior to Castro's takeover. Our hero Che' got his kicks shooting handcuffed men in the head. The opposition in Cuba was widespread but as usual the communists were better organized and more ruthless. It also helped Fidel to have David Rockefeller and his US State Department along with the US media on his side. The world is awakening to the horrors that could only have been perpetrated due to the collusion of the lying, bloodstained media.
Banderman
18. Apr, 2012
Yeah, like Deeee-troit, where they have 'hated whitey' openly for a few decades now. Racism is a two-way street, you twit.
Ron
18. Apr, 2012
Compared to the USA…how many Innocent People has Cuba MURDERED all over the world? How many countries has Cuba decimated and destroyed? The American Dream has become a a Nightmare run by CorpoRat War Mongering Fascists wo are Immune to Appeals,Protests and the "Rigged" Voting System! Castro and Cuba have resisted and avoided this American Dream that would have brought Cuba what…a Wealthy Elite Cabal with lots of low paying/no benefits jobs,high rents,mountains of Walmart landfill quality trash and a stressed out lifestyle,with no real rights and all strictly dictated by the Greedy CorpoRat Agenda!!!
YouAre AnIdiot
18. Apr, 2012
There are two Floridas, the one you are talking about…and the one that is still Southern. There should be a North Florida and a South Florida…two very different places idealogically…
DrMeatwad
18. Apr, 2012
This could have ended by including the Zimmerman arrest. Combining both rabbid communities together like they were before Castro took over. Who do you all think that mob was running Cubas gangs and casinos? Right, the non Cuba subject matter of this piece was who and why they will never forget Castro. He took away all that free cash money and power.
Ha'ashkee Dahszii Ya'ai Jii
19. Apr, 2012
What happened to the Seminoles? In the early 1920s a treaty was sighned. But, didn't some or all of them sell their reservation recently? Are there any left? If not, why not?