Castro and Students: Nearly a laugh but really a cry

See this AP report by Anita Snow in the Washington Post. The article focuses mostly on the increasing US travel and trade restrictions with Cuba, a common thing to write about. But what spurred this particular article was an educational trip that some American University students took to Cuba recently.

What made me literally laugh out loud was the following:
"The students said they were at times puzzled by the contradictions between Cuban government rhetoric about the benefits of a socialist society and Cubans' lack of material wealth. 'I've travelled a lot and for me it has been very frustrating,' said 21-year old Jessica Skinner of Grand Junction, Colo. 'I came here being very anti-embargo and now that I'm here, I'm confused.'"

Confused indeed. The reporter then said "Such exposure to the complex Cuban reality is increasingly rare." Yes, that's it... the Cuban reality is "complex". Never mind that this communist country has a single ruling dictator for the past 47 years. Never mind that Forbes has estimated he has a personal net worth of around $550 million (Castro has contested that and threatened to sue the magazine for defamation). Never mind that people are desperate to leave the island nation, and are willing to risk their lives on rickety boats to get to Florida and freedom. Cuba is a "complex reality".

Another laughable quote from this article: "Castro and other Cuban officials have criticized the travel crackdown, saying the Bush administration is violating the constitutional rights of American citizens." Admittedly, whether this is true or not is open to debate. But what is funny here is Castro's appeal to the American constitution. Wow.

So this latest Nearly a laugh but really a cry award goes jointly to the Castro regime in Cuba, these students who are "confused", and their educators who have "confused" them by not teaching the truth about socialism and communism with all of the invidual rights violations that occur in countries that implement such systems.