I have complex thoughts on the death of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro this weekend. Once upon a time there was a man who was so outraged by the Batista dictatorship that he rallied his people to revolution.
People flocked to him because people in desperation yearn for change, because change brings hope of a better future.
Unfortunately in what's a common pattern, such regimes bring a little change, before becoming stuck.
Suddenly all the talk of power for the people, is seen to really become power for one man and a limited family of cronies.
Karl Marx's writing, the original Communist, are about trying to create a fairer society. One where there is less of a rift between the rich, and the poor workers who create that wealth. They're not books written by a power-crazed individual. He lived in a squalor that was responsible for the premature death of four of his seven children. Fundamentally his writing yearns to address that terrible injustice.
Unfortunately, his writing is idea fuel for revolution against unjust regimes and those which create real suffering in the general population. But we've seen such 'Communism' mis-sold throughout the world. No country which has called itself Communist has really addressed injustice or delivered on the ideals of a democratically elected and accountable government.
The litmus tests for such revolutions are if one man or his family stays in power too long, or if one family controls too much. No amount of 'on behalf of the people' can smokescreen this.
If a revolution promises to lift you out of squalor, but you find you still have to queue down the street for bread, something is wrong.
Especially if those in power, talking about 'for the people' live in excessive luxury.
Right now, a revolution of sorts has happened in America with the election of Trump. A lot of talk from people who voted for him about how he will bring change, from not being part of the status quo. They've placed a lot of hope in him, hope that he will bring change.
Never stop yearning for a better tomorrow, but be careful who you trust to deliver.
It's been a difficult week for a lot of people, with the news of the victory of Donald Trump as future President of America.
To see someone get elected as the head of the most powerful country on earth, off the back of such a divisive platform is terrifying. Much like Brexit earlier this year, the victory of a far-right agenda has sent a signal that it's okay to openly practice prejudice.
Many women, Mexicans, blacks, liberals, gays and transgender are terrified. Trumps platform has sought to control and limit their freedom. Sadly incidents like the one Angie Jones tweeted below have been common,
One of the reasons that my blog has been quiet of late is that I've been working on a book. It's about a girl who moves to the Moon, gets bullied, and thinks about moving back to Earth.
Rereading a chapter, I thought it'd be good to share - it works out of context of the story. Enjoy...
I got up early to write this – been thinking all night. My CompPad is still not connecting, but last
night felt like being reunited with two of my dearest friends.
My grandfather has a love of books – the old kind made of
paper – and he has rooms just filled with them, on every kind of bookshelf that
will fit. He's passed on a lot to me,
but I could only bring two. Just two! Being reunited with my case means they're back in my hands, and I sat up reading parts of them again.
'I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings' is a book by Maya Angelou,
which is all an autobiography of her as a girl growing up in America during the
early 20th Century. It was a
very different America to the one we visited in '81. Being black was basically to be a second
class citizen, little better than a slave.
And yet she and her family refuse to be beaten.
Being part-black, I'm quite glad that experience is so alien
to me today. I don't think our family ever settled in America. We came from
Jamaica – grandad keeps a lot of histories he's been told, and I really wish
I'd written down. He says there are
stories of how when our family first moved to Britain in the mid-20th
Century, there was a bit of segregation.
It wasn't unusual for there to be signs for 'no coloureds',
and people did their best to avoid having a black neighbour. I've read the famous speech from a British
politician talking about 'rivers of blood' over the tension of having
black people living with white as equals – it's really an ugly and shameful
period.
My other book is about a scarier period, there was a very
scary regime called Fascism which involved half the world in a war in the 20th
Century. It was vicious and brutal – it
waged war, and systematically exterminated anyone they saw as different to
them.
Against all that brutality was a girl, just a girl. A girl who wanted to stand apart. If I could have a time machine, and meet just
one person, it'd be her, Sophie Scholl.
Whilst the world was locked in one of the largest wars in
history, she and her friends believed one of the most brutal and twisted regimes
the world had ever seen could be undermined through non-violence and the
truth. Whilst others capitated, she
resisted, and paid with her life.
In an era where depravity and genocide could show how low we
could sink as a species, she showed the world how brightly we can shine. She was just a girl. A girl who wasn't afraid.
And she was right – non-violence was the way. We saw it with Mahatma Gandhi taking on the
British Empire, to secure freedom for India.
We saw it with Martin Luther King taking on the fight for civil rights
which would consign Maya Angelou's experiences to the dustbin. We've seen it in this century with Mesi
Mawiyah and Namdak Bhuti.
She showed the way.
And damn it, I feel I know what she'd say to me about my situation – not
to run away. To give it my all, and try
my best to settle here.
She'd also not be too impressed about the whole business of
me punching one of my classmates. It's
not really very non-violence of me is it?
No – I'm not sure her or Maya would think much of me wanting
to run away. And I know they're
right. Here goes!
Read more about the amazing Sophie Scholl, and other brave members of the White Rose here.
Be inspired by Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings here.
Now playing - "Don't dream it's over", Crowded House
