Monday, July 7, 2014

If the Shoe Fits

If the Shoe Fits… / Miriam Celaya
Posted on July 6, 2014

As expected, the birth of the new site 14ymedio.com attracted immediate
attacks from the servers of the Cuban regime. A few hours after the
media's first appearance, it was redirected by official cyber-hosts to a
dedicated page (oh, the satrapy's supreme homage!), not to the
disqualification of counterrevolutionary journalistic medium as such,
but to its "insignificant" manager, the multi-award-winning – and
multi-abominated — Yoani Sánchez-Cordero, evil among the worst.

Interestingly, the essence of the invectives against Yoani the terrific
is not the legitimacy of exercising the right to free opinion, of
creating an information media to and from Cuba, or of the desire that
the media become, in addition to a source of diffusion, an enterprise
producing income to Yoani and her associates, paying for her
collaborators, promoting independent journalism and creating sources of
employment. "The chicken in a chicken and rice meal", as the ever
soporific Lázaro Barredo might say, who had been director of the
libelous "Granma" for a brief period, but who has currently disappeared
from the public scene. It is about questioning what capital this blogger
has available to fund such an enterprise, whether or not she deserved
the awards she has received, and about the nature of her fabulous
emoluments, which, in the imaginary collective of her embittered
detractors is close to half a million dollars.

However, what is truly amazing is that there are some petty characters
in the internal dissent (and even more conspicuous, characters of "the
external"), who have joined the same chant, thus indicating that the
perverse nature of the olive green autocrats has soaked into the
conscience of Cubans beyond suspected limits, also poisoning a sector of
those who call themselves – and indeed are — enemies of the Cuban
dictatorship.

This virulence has reached such magnitude that it instills pity. How
mediocre can an individual be who even feels threatened in the presence
of the mere presumption of the success of others? Why must the
prosperity or the awards and recognitions received by others be a cause
for concern, especially when those "others" not only were and are our
fellows in the cause, but at times have opened space and have shared
with us their fortunes and misfortunes? What dark Cuban trait deprives
us at times of the greatness of rejoicing in the victory of others?

In recent days I have been a witness to, not surprisingly, attacks
launched on the new newspaper 14ymedio.com from our own "trenches" as if
we were their worst enemies. Fortunately, many more words of praise and
encouragement have been sent from the most diverse points, than the sour
bile generated by the ever resentful.

The most poisonous reviews, of course, come from the most mediocre
subjects. Some of these consider themselves "journalists", perhaps in
response to some magical genetic inheritance, though not necessarily
from qualifications or pedigree, or because they feel they have
exclusive rights of "antiquity". If the latter were true, then we would
have to recognize the special rights of the political power of the
regime that has been exerting them for over 55 years in Cuba.

Also not missing in this sui generis repudiation meeting are certain top
dogs inflamed with messianic aspirations, those who always know how,
when, and where things should be done, and who cannot conceive, much
less tolerate, something that is as healthy as it is helpful for the
development of freedom which is simply called competition.

There are those who claim that competition, in order to be healthy, must
have fair opportunities, which remedies the disastrous (and false)
vulgar egalitarianism imposed by the Castros, whose deplorable
consequences we know so well. They are clueless, despite living on
"information" that such a thing as "equality" does not exist in any part
of the world, and that one has to go out and seek the "opportunities",
such as wealth, they have to be conquered, creating them by intellect
and efforts, because they do not fall from heaven, like divine grace, on
anyone's shoulders. And when one reaches them, there is absolutely no
obligation to share them. In fact, it is morally harmful to do so.

Believe it or not, there are individuals from the Cuban dissidence who –
in tune with the government itself — consider others' successes as an
obstacle to their own fulfillment, and, in the licentiousness of their
personal frustration, they take hold of what action they deem
appropriate, including complaints and catharsis about the hardships of
the "un-rewarded" or the "unfunded for professional performance" –what
we often call a cry baby – with such resentment that it reminds us of
the national motto: "I don't want to be as well-off as the Joneses, I
just want for the Joneses to be as fucked up as me."

These kind of individuals don't consider talent, hard work, drive,
courage, will power or – let's say it brazenly and give it its due
–ambition. For them, from 14ymedio.com, there is "unfair competition",
just because Yoani Sánchez has received funding (oh, what a damn word!)
and because she can count on a decent enough comfortable place to work,
so she doesn't need to use the conjugal bed as a sofa. I would consider
this an advantage a bit more hygienic than a status symbol, but – of
course — I understand that we don't all think alike. What is true is
that, for some of the more stubborn enemies of the Castros, comfort and
money (other people's) are as dirty as for the olive green elite itself.

However, many conveniently ignore that they have received (or are
receiving) financial help — something that I sincerely admire and hope
never runs out – way before 14ymedio, before someone was awarded, and
certainly, before the independent Cuban blogosphere was born and
developed, otherwise they could not have sustained their newspapers or
magazines, a reason for having allowed payment for collaborations for
some time now. And congratulations.

That's something, for instance, that the magazine Consenso, and later
Contodos (2004-2007), could never do just because they lacked financing,
a reason why many of them did not collaborate with that project, since
they have always worked for money, as is normal and reasonable, though
there have always been romantics that do certain things for free. It is
understood that nobody is obligated to do it. So what's the problem? Why
are they wearing themselves thin attacking other independent projects?
Isn't it better that we have the greatest possible number of
publications in order to continue penetrating the wall of the regime's
information monopoly?

Another practice that the "pure ones" demonize is marketing. They call
it "media hype" as if it were something obscene, and they talk about
"inflated ego", "lack of humility" (a special merit that they apparently
believe abounds among them). Because, at the height of perfidy, Yoani
Sánchez is not settling for creating a newspaper, period, but she aims
to "create the best newspaper", states a critic (or should I say a
criticizer?). And the question arises, what harm is there in pursuing
perfection? Why shouldn't anyone wish to reach that goal at a healthy
pace, particularly when they work so hard to that end?

Personally, as a citizen journalist, I am in the habit of believing that
the better I do my job, the more my readers appreciate it, whether or
not they are in agreement with my opinions. So, with every effort I
undertake, I go beyond, getting close or not to a certain extent, the
perfection I aim for, why settle for less? Why should this be a flaw?

It is curious that certain people often parasitize on the opinions of
others and present them as their own (which in itself is unfair, and
even fraudulent), people who lack education, training or qualification —
academic or self-taught — people who "decorate" with lies or hype the
information given to them, who make up non-existent people in interviews
they publish and limit their relative success in the overwhelming
mediocrity (even more) of those around them – which, de facto, melds
them into mediocre individuals — might seek to establish themselves as
champions of honesty and virtue as well

And, since excessive vanity inevitably leads to the ridiculous, the
sorrowful orphans lie or misrepresent reality: 14ymedio.com has never
claimed to be the first independent digital medium in Cuba, or declared
itself "anti-Castro" (or "anti" anything, but rather, "pro" rights,
although it seems that the same is not equal), which is why, from the
opposite ends, Yoani is accused of falling into "ambiguities" because
there is always some moron who, despite lacking his own projects, feels
he has the right to issue guidelines about what the projects of others
should and must be.

And, finally, to finish off so much Castro-socialist drivel, designed
for those masterfully defined as "perfect Latin-American idiots" by
three academics a lot wiser than I am, let's leave, once and for all,
the eternal posture of the mentally herniated poor little victims, who
will have to be fed and subsidized forever. Neither Yoani Sánchez nor
14ymedio.com, nor absolutely anyone else, other than the same
individuals, are responsible for their own lack of success or of
"financiers" to overcome their woes.

The formula for prosperity, dear idiots of this island village, is not
to wait for generous patrons to appear, but to have something to offer.
You should not have to sit down and wait for some bored mogul to want to
"do justice" and throw you a financial bone.

Perhaps the wailing crew of the day should use the energy they employ in
lamentations to work more efficiently and creatively. Incidentally, it
would not be a bad idea for them to get up to date with the present.
Don't feel put out, none of that! These are only a few suggestions. That
said, be adventurous, take risks. I am referring, in particular, to
financial and professional risks, so don't come back again with the
morsel that this one or that one was taken prisoner, or that they take
their lives into their own hands "on the street", because that is a risk
that all of we Cubans take, from the daredevil who establishes a
political party or who writes independently to the poor devil who steals
three pounds of meat from a warehouse. This is another one of our best
entrenched myths. In Cuba, jail does not depend on anybody's merits, but
on the whim of the satrapy.

And if someone chooses to be personally offended by this post, know that
I can't be bothered with such tackle, but I respect all your conscious
choices. If I have not mentioned names, is not to evade confrontation,
but because I will not give them a single hit or a smidgen of brain
cells, to a debate that, in addition, would be useless. We know that
some people are hopeless. Time is usually a wise judge. Also know that
making enemies does not move me, but false expectations are not
believable: I pick my enemies. I don't know if the recipients of this
post are at the height of the conflict or in the process of getting
there. At any rate, I wish you much success.

Published June 2nd, 2014, by Miriam Celaya
Translated by Norma Whiting

Source: If the Shoe Fits… / Miriam Celaya | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/if-the-shoe-fits-miriam-celaya/

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