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Originally posted by Spanky
In my opinion the only legitimate government is one voted in by the people. That is not to say we should necessarily undermine it, but it is only legitimate if voted in by the people.
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If you want to use the word as a synonym for "democratically elected," that is your right, but that's not what the word means.
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Yes - if you had been paying attention people were saying that the detainees in Gitmo were political prisoners.
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In light of the story today that military prosecutors think the trials will be a sham perhaps that's right, but I still don't think you can equate the prisoners at Gitmo and those elsewhere in Cuba.
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Do you know the liberals on this board? They all seem to like. He is the legitimate leader of Cuba and he is not a despot. And he has significant support in Cuba (who anyone would know this is beyond me).
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Eh? I don't think anyone particularly likes Castro. I think they're arguing with you for other reasons and on other grounds.
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I asked you if you agreed with this statement. "The system is highly flawed, but to say Castro is an illegitimate despot is patently ridiculous." You said you did. I think 'patently ridiculous is pretty close to absurd.
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I think I said that Castro has some legitimacy, in the sense in which other people use the word, not in the sense in which you use the word.
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You don't need to read the newspaper every day to know that Cuba is much more opressive than any other country in Latin America. It is the only one party state left in Latin America and the only government that openly admits that it jails dissidents (they may be some small insignificant island with less than a hundred thousand people that does this - but Cuba is definitely the only significant Country) You know very well that Venezuela, Brazil and Peru are much less oppresive than Cuba. The contest is not even close.
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I find it odd that you are talking to me as if (a) I disagree with you, and (b) I am three years old.
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If Castro was a right wing dictator people on this board would be all over him. If he was a right wing dictator that had outlawed opposition partys, tortured political prisoners and had the only one party state in Latin America, you would be singing to the rafters about how awful he is. However, he is a left wing dictator so all of sudden you are not to sure if he runs the most opressive government. He is legitimate and is not a despot.
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As I said, my observation that he has some legitimacy is positive, not normative. I.e., I'm not saying that it's a good thing, I'm just saying it is. Who on this board supports Castro? Why do you decide that people who disagree with you about policy must support foreign despots?
